Friday, May 9, 2003 | 9:26 a.m.
As former Vice President Al Gore spoke to a large, enthusiastic crowd at a humanitarian charity benefit on C-Span recently, watching this handsome, articulate, diplomatic, intelligent, competent man, a few wistful thoughts occurred. If only he had won the presidential election of 2000.
The United States would still be prosperous and peaceful, and President Clinton's huge "rainy day" surplus would still be intact instead of squandered on enormous tax cuts (payoffs) to the wealthiest Republican supporters and contributors.
Veterans' benefits would not have been shamefully cut. Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and all other Democratic programs to help working, retired and disabled average Americans would be in the lock-box Mr. Gore promised, instead of being savagely ravaged as they are today.
There would be no such thing as "Homeland (Fatherland) Security," and our civil rights would still be safe and sound.
It would have been unthinkable that the intelligent, diplomatic Mr. Gore would have conducted an "all about oil" devastating bombing and invasion of tiny Iraq under the guise of "liberation" and accusations of obviously invisible "weapons of mass destruction."
But what's the use of musing about what might have been? Even though loyal patriotic Americans can't help realizing how incredibly wonderful our country would be today -- if only former Vice-President Al Gore had won the 2000 presidential election. Oops, that's right -- he did!
RUTH DIMAGGIO
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