Eugene Register-Guard: Gore, Obama Urge Voters to Back Jeff Merkley

Gore campaigns for Merkley
David Steves, Eugene Register-Guard
10/25/08

PORTLAND — Senate challenger Jeff Merkley got a double-dose of big-name help Friday when Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama urged Oregon voters to back his candidacy.

Not a bad way for Merkley to spend his 52nd birthday.

Gore, the former vice president and winner of a Nobel Prize for his work on climate change, headlined a fundraiser at the Portland Convention Center that drew a crowd of close to 1,000 people and included appearances by other Democratic candidates and office holders in Oregon.

Gore threaded his passion for curbing global warming through his speech advocating for the election of fellow Democrat Merkley to the U.S. Senate.

Gore said it was clear from statements by Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the Bush administration that the United States’ thirst for foreign oil was one of the reasons for the Iraq War, which allowed the establishment of U.S. military bases in a petroleum-rich region.

Gore, who lost to George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential race, took an indirect swipe at Smith, who supported the invasion and occupation until December 2006.

Gore said voters should vote for Merkley if they “want to replace a cheerleader with someone who knew from the get-go that that was the wrong decision.”

Earlier in the day Merkley was the first Senate candidate in the nation to run an advertisement featuring Obama speaking on his behalf. In the TV ad, the Democratic presidential nominee praised Merkley as the choice for change who can help “get our country back on track.”

“Do you stick with the failed Washington policies that put CEOs and special interests first, or do you choose real change?” Obama asked in the ad. “That change is Jeff Merkley.”

The ad comes after the Republican incumbent Merkley is trying to unseat, Sen. Gordon Smith, has drawn national media attention for featuring his bipartisan work with Senate Democrats including Obama.

Smith campaign spokeswoman Lindsay Gilbride played down the significance of the twin shows of support for Merkley.

“It’s not surprising that national Democrats support other Democrats,” she said. “What is unusual is the ability of Sen. Smith to work with those Democrats like Barack Obama.”

She noted Friday night that while Merkley was “out gallivanting with big-name Democrats, Sen. Smith is in Douglas County meeting with timber workers. He’s getting around the state, talking with voters.”

Gilbride also disputed Gore’s “cheerleader” characterization of her boss. She said that ever since he came out against the war, Smith has been “one of the strongest voices for change in Iraq” and has supported legislation that promotes the development of renewable energy.

Gore told the crowd it feels like the country is at a juncture where “one era is ending and another era is beginning.” But to ensure that happens, the next president will need enough senators from his party to overcome filibusters that can block bills.

“Will we have a President Barack Obama and 60 United States senators? It’s up to Oregon,” Gore said, He praised Merkley as more than the potential 60th senator.

“He’s got smarts, and he’s got guts,” Gore said.

Merkley started the race an underdog but is now tied or in a slight lead, according to polls. He told the crowd that, as Oregon House speaker, he had pushed for changes to fight climate change, including renewable-energy standards for utilities, and passed green energy tax credits. He vowed to continue pursuing the environmental cause that Gore brought into the mainstream with his film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” if elected to the Senate. And he lamented that Gore was unable to pursue that and other causes as president.

“We know the United States and this planet would be in a far different place today if it worked out a little differently eight years ago,” he said.

Posted October 25, 2008
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