Gore and the Internet

[hcap]

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

Internet of Lies

Claim: Vice-President Al Gore claimed that he "invented" the Internet.

Status: False.

Origins: Despite the derisive references that continue even today, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way. The "Al Gore said he 'invented' the Internet" put-downs were misleading, out-of-context distortions of something he said during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "Late Edition" program on 9 March 1999. When asked to describe what distinguished him from his challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, Gore replied (in part):

During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.


Clearly, although Gore's phrasing was clumsy (and perhaps self-serving), he was not claiming that he "invented" the Internet (in the sense of having designed or implemented it), but that he was responsible, in an economic and legislative sense, for fostering the development the I also invented the microphone technology that we now know as the Internet. To claim that Gore was seriously trying to take credit for the "invention" of the Internet is, frankly, just silly political posturing that arose out of a close presidential campaign. Gore never used the word "invent," and the words "create" and "invent" have distinctly different meanings — the former is used in the sense of "to bring about" or "to bring into existence" while the latter is generally used to signify the first instance of someone's thinking up or implementing an idea. (To those who say the words "create" and "invent" mean exactly the same thing, we have to ask why, then, the media overwhelmingly and consistently cited Gore as having claimed he "invented" the Internet, even though he never used that word, and transcripts of what he actually said were readily available.)

[PaceAdvantage]

What are you, his campaign manager now? Do I need to create an "equal time" page?

Talk about a subject that has been beaten to death.

[GameTheory]

I don't think anyone seriously ever thought Gore claimed to invent the internet in terms of technology, etc. They were ridiculing the idea that Gore seemed to be implying -- that without him, there would be no internet, or that he was somehow key in fostering it along (via legislatative means or otherwise). When in fact Gore was totally irrelevant to the development of the internet. Tell me what turning point was caused by Gore or some great decisive action he made that without which the internet would have not developed, or developed much slower.

The site you quoted is just making a straw man argument -- making something up that no one ever really believed and then arguing against it...

[kenwoodallpromos]

"I took the initiative in creating the Internet ...'s economic growth".

I will give hiom credit for all the internet SPAM I get!!LOL!!
Still no airplane with no internal combustion engine- I'm still waiting for him to invent that.

[Dan Montilion]

By the looks of "Big Al" I think he ate the internet.

[Secretariat]

I don't think anyone seriously ever thought Gore claimed to invent the internet in terms of technology, etc. They were ridiculing the idea that Gore seemed to be implying -- that without him, there would be no internet, or that he was somehow key in fostering it along (via legislatative means or otherwise). When in fact Gore was totally irrelevant to the development of the internet. Tell me what turning point was caused by Gore or some great decisive action he made that without which the internet would have not developed, or developed much slower.



Fair enough question. Take the time to read below.

Here's from Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf, two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work.

http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200009/msg00052.html

"But as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time."

"...there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's
initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving
Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and
promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. "

"He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept. Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies."

[dav4463]

I think it's funnier to say that Gore thinks he created the internet. It makes him look like a dumb-ass.

It's the same thing the media does when Bush doesn't say something exactly the right way. The media goes out of the way to try to make Bush look like a dumb ass.


And before you reply, (I already know what your reply will be)........."Bush IS a dumb-ass, he doesn't need the media." Now the Bush-haters do not have to reply.

Be honest. Is there any difference in people who laugh at Gore and say he claims to have invented the internet than those who laugh at Bush for not speaking properly and calling him dumb?

[GameTheory]

Yes, that's right. The Gore-internet thing is just a joke -- some silliness to make fun of Gore. I don't think anybody really takes it seriously except fanatics that write things like the above bit that started this thread.

Sec,

To be fair, Gore was a cheerleader for what became the internet, and he was in a position of (presumable) influence at the time, so I guess my comment "totally irrelevant" is too strong. But if it hadn't been Gore, it would have been someone else (and of course there were lots of other key guys as well) and I'd still be able to sit here and type this and post it out in cyberspace presently. Those guys were overstating the case a bit for their buddy Gore, also because this "Gore invented the internet" riff was apparently getting under their skin. If Gore is proud of what he did, that's fine, he just bungled his claim and now it is a silly joke.

The comparison to the Bush stuff as dav says above is that when Bush muffs a phrase the Bush-bashers actually think that is important somehow or really says something about the intelligence of the President. One of these days maybe the Dems will have a strong candidate that isn't a slick talker (or a droning condescending bore, like Gore & Kerry), and then when he gets made fun of, you'll all be defending him and you'll say he has dyslexia or ADD or something and we should all be proud of his acheivement. And I'll be looking forward to that day, because if he isn't a slick-talker, he probably will in fact have some substance to make up for it...

[hcap]

But if it hadn't been Gore, it would have been someone else (and of course there were lots of other key guys as well) and I'd still be able to sit here and type this and post it out in cyberspace presently. Those guys were overstating the case a bit for their buddy Gore, also because this "Gore invented the internet" riff was apparently getting under their skin. If Gore is proud of what he did, that's fine, he just bungled his claim and now it is a silly joke.He didn't bungle, and yes you're right it became a silly joke for the most part pressed by clever opponents and yucked up by mindless righties. Nice ammunition. However the point is it wasn't someone else who substantially helped the creation of the internet. It was Gore, and he deserves credit, not more mindless yucking.

"In all fairness, it's something Gore had worked on a long time," said former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich two months before the 2000 election. "Gore is not the father of the Internet, but in all fairness, Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet."