11/28/00 11:35 a.m.
Gore’s Five Minutes of Shame
Al proves himself a fraud.

By Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, president of the polling company.

ast night, Al Gore offered the country nothing new. That's been his problem all along. He simply is not worth it. Gore did nothing to overcome the natural discomfort that voters have with his position and his presence, or the understandable suspicion evoked the moment he arches his eyebrow and opens his mouth.

The Gore lecture did confirm one thing: why people do not want him in their living rooms for the next four years. The Nielsen ratings may show that 8:55 PM EST witnessed a historically high rate of remote-control clicking and channel changing. At least Americans know that they did not miss much as they readied their nachos for Monday Night Football or tucked in the kids far from the desperate drone of a pitiful man.

No doubt the content, format, timing, and tie color of Gore's aimless address had been "kid-tested-and-mother-approved" in focus groups. But the time has arrived to mollify, not manipulate public opinion. If Gore's goal as he claims, is to "honor the will of the people" he may crunch the following numbers into his head: a majority of Americans rejected him on Election Day and a majority of Americans are now insisting he lost and should concede the presidency to Bush. The public's patience is perishable.

Last night's performance made me miss the old Al Gore. Better to be boring than boorish, wooden than woeful, a phony than a fraud.