Gore Slips Concert by GOP

Congressional Republicans thought they had blocked Al Gore's plans for one of his "Live Earth" Concerts on the National Mall. They didn't like a potential Democratic Presidential candidate putting on a show so close to where they work.

But then General Custer probably thought he had the drop on the Sioux.

Seems the Smithsonian was already planning a "Mother Earth" concert at the National Museum of the American Indian -- just across from the Capitol.

Mr Gore announced today, the "Mother Earth" show will join his worldwide series of "Live Earth" concerts tomorrow.

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will headline the DC concert. Odd, they'd play cowboy music at an Indian museum. (AP via Yahoo!)

Maybe Bush'll Grant him Executive Clemency

Former Vice President Al Gore says he's treating the arrest of son Al III as a "private family matter."
The younger Gore was arrested for pot possession after cops clocked his Prius at 100 miles an hour.

Toyota is obviously treating the whole incident as a new land speed record for Priuses. (CNN)

Elections have Consequences

During Wednesday's Senate hearing with Al Gore, Sen James Inhofe (R-OK) apparently forgot who was in the majority. Chairwoman Sen Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had to remind him of the rules of the hearing.



Sen Inhofe had made a big deal on his blog of the Committee voting to change the rules to allow Mr Gore to speak. So it had to be a bit embarassing getting caught trying to change the rules himself -- without the benefit of a vote.

The Senator is a critic the idea humans can influence global climate change. He once compared Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" to Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf.

He Should Know, He Invented the Dang Thing

Former Vice President Al Gore sees the Internet throwing a monkey wrench into political money raising.

Mr Gore says the Internet has changed the way information gets to voters and that could alter the need for raising money. But that won't likely change so long as the 30 second TV ad remains the most effective way to advertise a campaign.

Most campaign contributions go toward paying for media ads. Television is the most expensive -- and still most effective -- way of getting a candidate's message to voters.

A 30 second spot in the 2006 elections cost as much as $25,000 in Los Angeles.

But the Internet has revolutionized the way politicians reach voters. And it can cost practically nothing.

As a result, The Wall Street Journal (see chart) shows politicians doubled their spending on Internet ads between the 2004 and 2006 elections -- from $40 million to $80 million:

A standard-size weekly ad purchased through Blogads costs $2,900 on the progressive site DailyKos for example, or $250 at Hotair.com, a conservative video blog site. By comparison, a 30-second broadcast television spot could set back a candidate anywhere from $90,000 to $110,000 a week in a market like Des Moines, according to Evan Tracey of the TNS Media Intelligence's Campaign Media Analysis Group.

And Internet advertising is putting a dent in other forms of political ads.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project tells 15% of Americans got their political news from the Internet in the 2006 elections. That compares to just 7% in the 2002 midterm elections.