From The Carpetbagger:

Al Gore has scheduled a major address for Monday. If you get the chance, you might want to check it out — it sounds like it'll be pretty powerful.

In a major address slated for delivery Monday in Washington, the former Vice President is expected to argue that the Bush administration has created a "Constitutional crisis" by acting without the authorization of the Congress and the courts to spy on Americans and otherwise abuse basic liberties.

…Indeed, his aides and allies are framing it as a "call to arms" in defense of the Bill of Rights and the rule of law in a time of executive excess.

I think we've reached a point in which describing Gore's addresses as "cautious and bureaucratic" no longer applies. In August, the former Vice President delivered a devastating critique of the national media and our political discourse. It followed robust and, dare I say, inspiring speeches on global warming, the political uses of fear, [and] the truth someday rising again.

It may seem odd in light of his history of moderation, but Al Gore has become one of the nation's most forceful and articulate progressive voices. If Monday will be a "call to arms," I'll be all ears.

Yeah, but the media won't. Even without Gore running for any office, the 24-hour wankcycle insists he's some deranged sore loser, despite the fact that he won the election. John Murtha got their attention because he's not seeking higher office, is beloved by the military people who aren't political appointees, and spoke directly. The SCLM allowed the Republicans to spin them on "Gore is a liar" so much that they can't present him as credible now or they'd be exposed.

I was thinking last night, before I even knew about this upcoming speech, that the national discussion about the Bush administration is not going to change significantly until a Murtha-like figure - someone who gains nothing personally by criticizing the President and who would normally be sympathetic to his agenda - says somewhere, on live TV (perhaps on the House or Senate floor), "The President is a lying sack of shit."

I don't think anything else is going to break through the wankcycle.