http://www.nbc11.com/news/11512505/detail....ss=bay&psp=newsWednesday, April 4, 2007, 10:26 am Get Set To Laugh!
Al Gore Talks Tech In South Bay Former Vice President Al Gore treated an audience of engineers and technology professionals at an industry convention in San Jose to his imitation of former President Bill Clinton Tuesday morning.
Speaking at the Embedded Systems Conference, a relaxed, jocular Gore gave a talk that contained a healthy dose of stand-up comedy.
Gore began his talk with the same opening line he has used in most of his recent Silicon Valley appearances.
"I am Al Gore and I used to be the next president of the United States," Gore said.
Gore described the difference between his life in the private sector and his former life in politics.
"I flew on Air Force Two for eight years and now I have to take off my shoes to get on an airplane," Gore said.
The jokes about the 2000 election continued.
"My attitude is: You win some and you lose some and then there's that little-known third category," Gore said, alluding to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that awarded the presidency to George W. Bush.
Gore continues to be mentioned in the national media as a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for president.
His talk Tuesday was not the focused-on message stump speech of a political candidate. He spoke without a teleprompter and digressed from his topic on engineering opportunities in the current environmental crisis at several points to tell unrelated anecdotes. He even humorously imitated the distinct drawl of his former boss Clinton, the husband of potential presidential rival Hillary Clinton.
"That'll be on eBay soon," Gore joked after finishing his Clinton imitation.
Gore spoke for almost an hour. He exhorted the engineers at the conference to devote their energies and research toward developing clean and green technologies that will help in the fight against global warming because it is good both morally and for business.
Making the fight against global warming a national priority similar to the space race of the 1960s will also help encourage young Americans to pursue careers in science and engineering, according to Gore.
"Make this an overriding challenge that (you) are determined to meet," Gore said. "You will find young people flowing into science and engineering because they are desperate to be part of something meaningful."
Gore won an Academy Award in March for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which highlights the growing dangers of global warming and climate change.