Gore: New Yorker cover ‘way too far over the top’

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NBC’s Tom Brokaw asked former Vice President Al Gore about his view on the New Yorker cover art depicting Barack Obama and his wife as radicals.

Partial transcript

BROKAW: What did you think of this cover on the New Yorker? Michelle and Senator Obama. David Remnick strongly defended it as satire because he says that’s how a lot of conservatives have characterized him. The report inside was extremely well researched and well reported about his political roots in Chicago.

GORE: That’s an interesting debate. Tipper and I were talking about it last night. I really love David Remnick and the New Yorker. Satire has an honored place in our dialogue. I thought it was way too far over the top. And freedom of the press, they can do what they want, but I thought it was way too far over the top myself. But when you’re dealing with humor in politics, a lot of us have had times when we, you know, you have to calibrate — I forget who it was who said a joke is the strangest thing. You have to be really careful.

This video is from NBC’s Meet the Press, broadcast July 20, 2008.

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