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Gore Administration Looking Back Pt1
Feel free to ask questions or whatnot since I probably won't get everything right on the first time.
The Accomplishments of the Gore Administration Pt. 1
President Al Gore (2001-2009)
When Al Gore assumed office that winter in 2001, people were not sure what the future would hold. After all, while the Clinton years did bring economic relief and joy, the impeachment hearings remained somewhat on people's minds. Additionally, there was the fact it would be the new millenium. It would be a heavy mantle of responsability to come onto someone, especially with an election that was indirectly decided by a court case. Even if the controversey surrounding Gore's victory was mitigated with the fact that he did win the popular vote (and thus showing that if Bush won, he would've only by electoral office), it still seemed like it would be a difficult road for Al Gore. However, fate has strange ways of defining set paths. Even early on, Gore made such surprising choices, such as sowing the seeds for the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell early on because of growing public disapproval and was marked with large surprises such as the finalization of the division of Microsoft into two companies. One which developed the actual Windows operating system (which would branch out into gaming with the merger with SEGA) and the other company producing the apps and programs such as Internet Explorer and MSOffice.
Everything changed with 9/11.
Thanks to intel from Gore, he worked to try and prevent it and while total prevention failed, the tactics surprised the terrorists enough to force them to improvise. The only building to be seriously damaged was the Pentagon as the Twin Towers suffered a grazing blow while the one aimed at the White House was averted. The public untied under the Gore Administration to fight these terrorists and indeed, before the end of the year, the head of the plot, Osama Bin Laden, would be captured, tried and then killed. Months later would see the decimation of Al-QUeda and the Taliban through quick yet extensive operations in Afghanistan, known as Operation Root along with assistance in the reparation of infrastructure, all by Spring of 2002. THe extensive successes of this would further shape the perception of the Gore Administration and allowed them to push more changes and more ambitious plans. However, another event followed that would shape the Gore Administration, perhaps more personally than 9/11 would.
The Exxon-Mobil Scandal.
While 9/11 would be something that Bush or any other President would've have to face over when they would be elected (and it has become a trend among alternate history buffs and certain pundits 9/11 would've been handled worse under President Bush), the Exxon-Mobil Scandal was a proactive matter, having been something that was kickstarted by President Gore and likely not repeated under other Presidents. Having started as part of a broad inspection/investigation over certain companies after the Enron Scandal, finding the information led to Gore pressing further and before long, successfully using the RICO Act on Exxon-Mobil for misleading the public on climate change and how it is influenced and perpuated by human activity such as burning fossil fuels. While environmentalist causes and concerns were getting gradual attention, it was always treated with half-hearted effort or light teasing on how serious it was being taken. The Exxon-Mobil scandal changed all of that. The conspiratorial nature of the fossil fuel company's deception and the revelations that they along other groups like coal and frieght trains knew about the dangers and proceeded to suppress the knowledge and even launch a misinformation campaign for the sake of profit was absolute wildfire for the American imagination. Gore's status as a stoic intelligent champion of fortitude and American determination was cemented here and policy began following along with a much greater public attention and change in mindset that would influence many decisions to come. The two major events among others such as the handling of Hurrican Katrina, the approach/ruling on gun laws and others presented the Gore Administration of the basis of intelligetn security. They had the best interests of the American people to provide a safe, stable and even prosperous future for the next generation.
As such, people reflect back on some of the major aspects of the Gore Administration.
Enviroment
Unsurprisingly, the environmental accomplishments of the Gore Administration remain by and large among the most prominent. This included reinforcements of the EPA, expansion and better protections for national parks, stricter standards for air and water and most notably was a carbon tax. While carbon credits were considered, a firmer hand was considered better in the wake of Exxon-Mobil. Another noteworthy aspect was the removal of federal subsidies toward fossil fuels. The money would instead go to a tax break aimed at the middle and lower classes along with investments toward renewable energy, green jobs and other aspects such as biofuel. Another accomplishment, albeit one primarily pushed by luck, was on the decline of water bottling as a result of the problems with Nestle. Despite his environmental aims, he aimed at a compromising approach of it with the economy as according to him, market capitalism could be an ally in environmentalism, though it was a stance that was not shared by some of his fellow environmentalists. Other more indirect environmental impacts included the expansion of high-speed Amtrak rail systems though delayed to try and make more environmentally-friendly along with other policies to fight urbant sprawl. Additionally pushed for research into biofuels such as biogas and biodiesal; concerns over ethanol as a biofuel became somewhat mitigated as the Gore Adminsitration switched gears over to Cellulosic ethanol, a form of ethanol produced from the cellulose or plant fibers rather seeds or fruits of the plant. Plans for the research of lowering the prices of development along with assistance from groups like the Institute for Local Self-Reliance showed promise in this and other technologies.
Economy
President Gore managed, for the most part, to maintain the economic growth established by his predecessor. It was fairly turbulent in part because of the environmental policies put into place and certain rammifications, but it was not damaging enough to dent the prestige on Gore though and it did maintain growth overall in his time in office. His increase on the minimum wage did lead to some further price increases across the United States and did force more than a few jobs to increase it a bit more to be a bit morecompetetive. Focus was maintained also on combining economics and the environment, such as promoting new ecologically friendly jobs or solutions that would require future economic input and opportunities. The most notable example of this was Gore's handling of the American automobile industry during and after the Exxon-Mobil scandal. Additionally, many credit the Gore Administration for assisting in establishing or at least accelerating and reinforcing the foundations of independent creators on and through the Internet. Project MAY came about because its three constinuent companies met together in one of the Gore Adminsitrations' gatherings on internet-based companies with Youtube noting that had they not met, the company likely would've sold itself to Google. While there were some periods of stagnation due to the changes, the overall positive reception meant that people were willing to bear it and they would be rewarded for their efforts. Maybe the American Dream wasn't dead after all, but it needed some changes to itself. Another noteworthy economic impact was on Fair Trade. While of prominent if subtle importance, the corporate skepticism in the atmosphere along with environmental policies led to Nestle being targeted for its unethical policies and started a highly unexpected chain reaction. As such, Fair Trade standards were becoming more commonplace, especially as it was being to environmental causes though at the same time, still examined due to the problems within Fair Trade. Nonetheless, the increasing in standards and the awareness of the cause did lead to progress. However, near the end, there were some concerns on the housing market regarding loans. Initially, Gore planned on lowering federal rates so more people, especially the poor, could get loans for homes, but impeded by the Republicans at the time and by the time of his second term, other matters had captured his attention that were higher on the priority list. However, he did begin noticing the potential for foreclosure problems and rates were still lowered if not as much. Additionally, a notice was being taken in regards with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Foreign Policy
The Gore Administration has been ranked consistently highly by America's allies and has been a lean in environmental global policy
- Europe: Al Gore and Tony Blair were on reportedly very good terms, possessing similar goals and agendas and their cooperation assisted in maintaining the Blairites' popularity over the years, even if said popularity begin dwindling over the years over due to certain questionable actions on the part of the Blairites near the end. Nonetheless, American support for green support proved vital for the British and to the rest of Europe in general. However, questions over fossil fuels became more prominent after Exxon-Mobil and tensions began escalating in regards to the reliance of fossil fuels and the need to move away from. Said questions became more political in part because of influence from Russia. Putin's Russia seemed to view the Gore Administration with respect if disdain as they the growing connection of Eastern European nations being drawn into NATO as a threat to Russia's hegemony. Furthermore, after Exxon-Mobil, accusations over capitalizing on fossil fuels became hollow and thus became more difficult for Russia to maintain control. The Russo-Georgian War made matters worse as the accusations of sovereignty flew then followed by Gore's critiques in Russia's pursuit of ensuring their neighbors relying predominantly on them while noting the numerous problems within Russia and for the population. Perhaps more scathingly, was Gore noting that Russia could contribute to the climate change crisis positively thanks to the farm land and even pointed out some of the past accomplishments the former USSR did. The underlying tone was one of challenge over to Putin and how Russia would fare under him, especially when he is gone. Overall though, relations between Europe and the United States improved under the Gore Administration and the cooperation toward environmental protection intiatives and global stability proceeded.
- North America: The Gore Administration grew warm relations with their neighbors and improved on them in contrasting with how things were in the past. The Gore Administration and Mexico cooperated on matters of immigration, the War on Drugs and on renewable energy as potential deals were drawn for nothern Mexico to invest in solar power in the future. Beyond that, other talks were being held regarding other environmental concerns and even certain cultural aspects such as the rise of acceptance of LGBTQ peoples. Meanwhile, relationships between Canada and the US also remained close with the Liberal party working with the Gore Administration on addressing climate change problems though pressure remained regarding Alberta. However, relations declined a bit under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, voted in with a minority government and began drawing unfavorable comparisons between him and Gore. In the last year of his administration, Al Gore also had talks with rising political star, NDP leader Jack Layton. Additionally, the Gore Administration became notable for improving on relations with more American-skpetic governments within the Americas such as helping Jean-Bertrand Aristide against a rightwing military coup although tensions remained with Cuba.
- South America: The more leftist governments were pleasantly surprised by the Gore Administration. While Al Gore remained neoliberal in his stances of business-friendly approaches, his genuine commitment to the environment alongside of fair trade meant that he was deemed as good to get along with. Given the importance of the Amazon Rainforest, it would be unsurprising that it was a topic of discussion between the United States and Brazil along with the other nations containing the rainforest and how to ebst protect it along with dealing with illegal logging and the damage done to the indigenous peoples. Another discussion point was that of Eva Morales and Al Gore regarding the environment. For the most part, South America let out a sigh of relief as they did not have to concern themselves with the Gore Administration and it provided some hope in improving matters with them to benefit people. However, Venezuela remained the troubled spot given their dependence on oil for the economy along with Hugo Chavez's own behavior. However, Chavez did end up toning down th behavior and there were at least a couple of discussions. Some saw this as hope for Venezuela for the US while others noted it could be Chavez's last ditch attempts to remain prominent as discontent with his regime continued.
- The Middle East: Iran and Palestine... two of the Gore Administration's largest accomplishments regarding foreign policy. Iran's deal made to Gore was on the grounds to try and end the economic sanctions plus concerns that the US military would invovle themselves in Iraq. However, the deal and arrangements made have led to considerable increases in amicability for one another and Iran's increase in prominence began displacing Saudi Arabia gradually. Additionally, Iran assisted in various matters such as combatting terrorism and assisting in the Palestine question. Palestine, now an officially recognized nation, has a colossal respect for the Gore administration for the work done. Israel for the most part is on good terms with the US still though the Palestine thing is a complicated one as well as the lingering issue on Jerusalem. Some have speculated Israel is waiting for a Republican president in the hopes of more preferential treatment on whenever someone decides to approach the "Jerusalem question." However, the large tension point was Saudi Arabia. The revelations on Wahhabism, its connection to House of Saud and how most of the 9/11 perpetrators came it, the Gore Administration began leading the cooling of relations, which began causing more internal friction within Saudi Arabia.
- China: Unsurprisingly, the US and China began gradually getting closer fo economic purposes while also to try and improve on the environment, especially notable with the pollution found within the nation. Additionally, US foreign policy at the time favored the nation to try and seperate it from Russia. China for the most part was taking note of this, though they were surprised like everyone else on how Exxon-Mobil went. However, it did lead them to consider the affair more seriously since if the Amercians were willing to defy expectations for them to do so, China should do the same. For the most part, China has been also looking into alternate fuel resources such biogas and the cellulose ethanol though a subsititute for coal was also a primary focus. Additionally, the matter of recycling was discussed as studies were showing that it was impractical recycling plastic and China nor the rest of Asia would be able to take it all in. Proposed solutions included biodegradable plastic, switching from plastic to different materials and so on though the hope was that it would help China.
The Accomplishments of the Gore Administration Pt. 1
President Al Gore (2001-2009)
When Al Gore assumed office that winter in 2001, people were not sure what the future would hold. After all, while the Clinton years did bring economic relief and joy, the impeachment hearings remained somewhat on people's minds. Additionally, there was the fact it would be the new millenium. It would be a heavy mantle of responsability to come onto someone, especially with an election that was indirectly decided by a court case. Even if the controversey surrounding Gore's victory was mitigated with the fact that he did win the popular vote (and thus showing that if Bush won, he would've only by electoral office), it still seemed like it would be a difficult road for Al Gore. However, fate has strange ways of defining set paths. Even early on, Gore made such surprising choices, such as sowing the seeds for the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell early on because of growing public disapproval and was marked with large surprises such as the finalization of the division of Microsoft into two companies. One which developed the actual Windows operating system (which would branch out into gaming with the merger with SEGA) and the other company producing the apps and programs such as Internet Explorer and MSOffice.
Everything changed with 9/11.
Thanks to intel from Gore, he worked to try and prevent it and while total prevention failed, the tactics surprised the terrorists enough to force them to improvise. The only building to be seriously damaged was the Pentagon as the Twin Towers suffered a grazing blow while the one aimed at the White House was averted. The public untied under the Gore Administration to fight these terrorists and indeed, before the end of the year, the head of the plot, Osama Bin Laden, would be captured, tried and then killed. Months later would see the decimation of Al-QUeda and the Taliban through quick yet extensive operations in Afghanistan, known as Operation Root along with assistance in the reparation of infrastructure, all by Spring of 2002. THe extensive successes of this would further shape the perception of the Gore Administration and allowed them to push more changes and more ambitious plans. However, another event followed that would shape the Gore Administration, perhaps more personally than 9/11 would.
The Exxon-Mobil Scandal.
While 9/11 would be something that Bush or any other President would've have to face over when they would be elected (and it has become a trend among alternate history buffs and certain pundits 9/11 would've been handled worse under President Bush), the Exxon-Mobil Scandal was a proactive matter, having been something that was kickstarted by President Gore and likely not repeated under other Presidents. Having started as part of a broad inspection/investigation over certain companies after the Enron Scandal, finding the information led to Gore pressing further and before long, successfully using the RICO Act on Exxon-Mobil for misleading the public on climate change and how it is influenced and perpuated by human activity such as burning fossil fuels. While environmentalist causes and concerns were getting gradual attention, it was always treated with half-hearted effort or light teasing on how serious it was being taken. The Exxon-Mobil scandal changed all of that. The conspiratorial nature of the fossil fuel company's deception and the revelations that they along other groups like coal and frieght trains knew about the dangers and proceeded to suppress the knowledge and even launch a misinformation campaign for the sake of profit was absolute wildfire for the American imagination. Gore's status as a stoic intelligent champion of fortitude and American determination was cemented here and policy began following along with a much greater public attention and change in mindset that would influence many decisions to come. The two major events among others such as the handling of Hurrican Katrina, the approach/ruling on gun laws and others presented the Gore Administration of the basis of intelligetn security. They had the best interests of the American people to provide a safe, stable and even prosperous future for the next generation.
As such, people reflect back on some of the major aspects of the Gore Administration.
Enviroment
Unsurprisingly, the environmental accomplishments of the Gore Administration remain by and large among the most prominent. This included reinforcements of the EPA, expansion and better protections for national parks, stricter standards for air and water and most notably was a carbon tax. While carbon credits were considered, a firmer hand was considered better in the wake of Exxon-Mobil. Another noteworthy aspect was the removal of federal subsidies toward fossil fuels. The money would instead go to a tax break aimed at the middle and lower classes along with investments toward renewable energy, green jobs and other aspects such as biofuel. Another accomplishment, albeit one primarily pushed by luck, was on the decline of water bottling as a result of the problems with Nestle. Despite his environmental aims, he aimed at a compromising approach of it with the economy as according to him, market capitalism could be an ally in environmentalism, though it was a stance that was not shared by some of his fellow environmentalists. Other more indirect environmental impacts included the expansion of high-speed Amtrak rail systems though delayed to try and make more environmentally-friendly along with other policies to fight urbant sprawl. Additionally pushed for research into biofuels such as biogas and biodiesal; concerns over ethanol as a biofuel became somewhat mitigated as the Gore Adminsitration switched gears over to Cellulosic ethanol, a form of ethanol produced from the cellulose or plant fibers rather seeds or fruits of the plant. Plans for the research of lowering the prices of development along with assistance from groups like the Institute for Local Self-Reliance showed promise in this and other technologies.
Economy
President Gore managed, for the most part, to maintain the economic growth established by his predecessor. It was fairly turbulent in part because of the environmental policies put into place and certain rammifications, but it was not damaging enough to dent the prestige on Gore though and it did maintain growth overall in his time in office. His increase on the minimum wage did lead to some further price increases across the United States and did force more than a few jobs to increase it a bit more to be a bit morecompetetive. Focus was maintained also on combining economics and the environment, such as promoting new ecologically friendly jobs or solutions that would require future economic input and opportunities. The most notable example of this was Gore's handling of the American automobile industry during and after the Exxon-Mobil scandal. Additionally, many credit the Gore Administration for assisting in establishing or at least accelerating and reinforcing the foundations of independent creators on and through the Internet. Project MAY came about because its three constinuent companies met together in one of the Gore Adminsitrations' gatherings on internet-based companies with Youtube noting that had they not met, the company likely would've sold itself to Google. While there were some periods of stagnation due to the changes, the overall positive reception meant that people were willing to bear it and they would be rewarded for their efforts. Maybe the American Dream wasn't dead after all, but it needed some changes to itself. Another noteworthy economic impact was on Fair Trade. While of prominent if subtle importance, the corporate skepticism in the atmosphere along with environmental policies led to Nestle being targeted for its unethical policies and started a highly unexpected chain reaction. As such, Fair Trade standards were becoming more commonplace, especially as it was being to environmental causes though at the same time, still examined due to the problems within Fair Trade. Nonetheless, the increasing in standards and the awareness of the cause did lead to progress. However, near the end, there were some concerns on the housing market regarding loans. Initially, Gore planned on lowering federal rates so more people, especially the poor, could get loans for homes, but impeded by the Republicans at the time and by the time of his second term, other matters had captured his attention that were higher on the priority list. However, he did begin noticing the potential for foreclosure problems and rates were still lowered if not as much. Additionally, a notice was being taken in regards with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Foreign Policy
The Gore Administration has been ranked consistently highly by America's allies and has been a lean in environmental global policy
- Europe: Al Gore and Tony Blair were on reportedly very good terms, possessing similar goals and agendas and their cooperation assisted in maintaining the Blairites' popularity over the years, even if said popularity begin dwindling over the years over due to certain questionable actions on the part of the Blairites near the end. Nonetheless, American support for green support proved vital for the British and to the rest of Europe in general. However, questions over fossil fuels became more prominent after Exxon-Mobil and tensions began escalating in regards to the reliance of fossil fuels and the need to move away from. Said questions became more political in part because of influence from Russia. Putin's Russia seemed to view the Gore Administration with respect if disdain as they the growing connection of Eastern European nations being drawn into NATO as a threat to Russia's hegemony. Furthermore, after Exxon-Mobil, accusations over capitalizing on fossil fuels became hollow and thus became more difficult for Russia to maintain control. The Russo-Georgian War made matters worse as the accusations of sovereignty flew then followed by Gore's critiques in Russia's pursuit of ensuring their neighbors relying predominantly on them while noting the numerous problems within Russia and for the population. Perhaps more scathingly, was Gore noting that Russia could contribute to the climate change crisis positively thanks to the farm land and even pointed out some of the past accomplishments the former USSR did. The underlying tone was one of challenge over to Putin and how Russia would fare under him, especially when he is gone. Overall though, relations between Europe and the United States improved under the Gore Administration and the cooperation toward environmental protection intiatives and global stability proceeded.
- North America: The Gore Administration grew warm relations with their neighbors and improved on them in contrasting with how things were in the past. The Gore Administration and Mexico cooperated on matters of immigration, the War on Drugs and on renewable energy as potential deals were drawn for nothern Mexico to invest in solar power in the future. Beyond that, other talks were being held regarding other environmental concerns and even certain cultural aspects such as the rise of acceptance of LGBTQ peoples. Meanwhile, relationships between Canada and the US also remained close with the Liberal party working with the Gore Administration on addressing climate change problems though pressure remained regarding Alberta. However, relations declined a bit under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, voted in with a minority government and began drawing unfavorable comparisons between him and Gore. In the last year of his administration, Al Gore also had talks with rising political star, NDP leader Jack Layton. Additionally, the Gore Administration became notable for improving on relations with more American-skpetic governments within the Americas such as helping Jean-Bertrand Aristide against a rightwing military coup although tensions remained with Cuba.
- South America: The more leftist governments were pleasantly surprised by the Gore Administration. While Al Gore remained neoliberal in his stances of business-friendly approaches, his genuine commitment to the environment alongside of fair trade meant that he was deemed as good to get along with. Given the importance of the Amazon Rainforest, it would be unsurprising that it was a topic of discussion between the United States and Brazil along with the other nations containing the rainforest and how to ebst protect it along with dealing with illegal logging and the damage done to the indigenous peoples. Another discussion point was that of Eva Morales and Al Gore regarding the environment. For the most part, South America let out a sigh of relief as they did not have to concern themselves with the Gore Administration and it provided some hope in improving matters with them to benefit people. However, Venezuela remained the troubled spot given their dependence on oil for the economy along with Hugo Chavez's own behavior. However, Chavez did end up toning down th behavior and there were at least a couple of discussions. Some saw this as hope for Venezuela for the US while others noted it could be Chavez's last ditch attempts to remain prominent as discontent with his regime continued.
- The Middle East: Iran and Palestine... two of the Gore Administration's largest accomplishments regarding foreign policy. Iran's deal made to Gore was on the grounds to try and end the economic sanctions plus concerns that the US military would invovle themselves in Iraq. However, the deal and arrangements made have led to considerable increases in amicability for one another and Iran's increase in prominence began displacing Saudi Arabia gradually. Additionally, Iran assisted in various matters such as combatting terrorism and assisting in the Palestine question. Palestine, now an officially recognized nation, has a colossal respect for the Gore administration for the work done. Israel for the most part is on good terms with the US still though the Palestine thing is a complicated one as well as the lingering issue on Jerusalem. Some have speculated Israel is waiting for a Republican president in the hopes of more preferential treatment on whenever someone decides to approach the "Jerusalem question." However, the large tension point was Saudi Arabia. The revelations on Wahhabism, its connection to House of Saud and how most of the 9/11 perpetrators came it, the Gore Administration began leading the cooling of relations, which began causing more internal friction within Saudi Arabia.
- China: Unsurprisingly, the US and China began gradually getting closer fo economic purposes while also to try and improve on the environment, especially notable with the pollution found within the nation. Additionally, US foreign policy at the time favored the nation to try and seperate it from Russia. China for the most part was taking note of this, though they were surprised like everyone else on how Exxon-Mobil went. However, it did lead them to consider the affair more seriously since if the Amercians were willing to defy expectations for them to do so, China should do the same. For the most part, China has been also looking into alternate fuel resources such biogas and the cellulose ethanol though a subsititute for coal was also a primary focus. Additionally, the matter of recycling was discussed as studies were showing that it was impractical recycling plastic and China nor the rest of Asia would be able to take it all in. Proposed solutions included biodegradable plastic, switching from plastic to different materials and so on though the hope was that it would help China.
- CountDVB
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