On a hot day this summer, I sat in a barn in Etna, listening to Al Gore address a group of Dartmouth students and local residents on why he wanted to be our next president. Sitting there, as a New Jersey resident who was leaning toward supporting Bill Bradley, I was listening intently for any reason to consider instead supporting the Vice President. I heard many, which is why I am now writing this column as the co-coordinator for Dartmouth Gore2000.
But the main thing that Al Gore said to win me over was a response to the question I asked him about how he would address the issue of sexual abuse on college campuses. He told me that this was an issue with which he was very familiar.
When he was in Congress, he authored legislation to require all colleges and universities to have a system through which survivors of sexual abuse could report the crime. Wow! In an age when most candidates are trying to dream up ways to grab the women's vote, here was a candidate who had actually supported women's issues before it was the popular thing to do. I was sold.
In working on the campaign, I came to learn a lot more about the Vice President and his history of supporting issues because they were right for the country, not because they would garner the support of voters or wealthy interest groups. For example, Gore triumphed the cause of environmental protection long before it was trendy.
When he was in Congress, Al Gore co-authored legislation to clean up the nation's worst toxic waste sites, demanded and held first of their kind hearings on major corporate polluters and on the green house effect and authored laws protecting the stratospheric ozone layer, reducing emissions of green house gases and safeguarding virgin ground from mining.
As Vice President, he has launched a major administrative initiative on livability, been a leader in administration efforts to enact strong, new clean air standards that will prevent up to 15,000 premature deaths per year, fought for new measures to protect drinking water, demanded aggressive toxic waste clean-ups, and called for new steps to give communities information about chemicals released into the surrounding air and water. As recently as Sunday, Al Gore has renewed his pledge to save our environment in a way that will also create a vast amount of new jobs for working Americans.
The difference between Al Gore and other candidates who claim to support environmental issues is this: He did not merely hop on the environmental bandwagon, he has led the charge to protect our environment since long before a proverbial bandwagon even existed. Outside of the Town Meeting you may see protesters on behalf of the environment. Remember, regardless of the words on their posters or in their chants, Al Gore has done far more than any other candidate for our environment.
As a student, I could not help but look at Al Gore's stands on education before I decided to wholeheartedly endorse him. Now, it is clear to me that he is more dedicated than any other candidate to ensuring access to and financial assistance for higher education for any American who wants a college degree.
The Vice President has worked to expand student loans and lower their cost to students, to create HOPE scholarship tax credits, to make the first two years of college virtually free for every American, to expand Pell Grants for needy students to attend college and to defend these crucial priorities when some in Congress tried to block or cut them. Al Gore believes that in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, everyone who is willing to work for it must have the chance to go to college.
I've heard Al Gore speak about these views and many other stands that he has taken. I have no doubt that he can convince you that he is the best man to lead the country far better than I can. The intelligence and sincerity with which he speaks will make him stand apart from other candidates. So I conclude my remarks with a request to each of you: Please watch the Town Meeting on television tonight. The best candidate will be clear.
