Democrats' Faux Pas -- Why Was There Little Media Reaction To Gore's Gaffe?

Several years ago, then Vice President Dan Quayle made the mistake of correcting a child's spelling of the word "potato" by asserting it should have the letter "e" on the end. To the media, who rely heavily upon computer spell-checkers, this was the ultimate faux pas. Many with a public voice had quite a guffaw with his spelling mistake, not taking into account the millions of Americans who have difficulty spelling "potato" (or "tomato") without help because of disability or lack of education. I considered it a total absence of insight on the part of those who had such a great time with Mr. Quayle's mistake, but I set it aside as ignorance.

However, recently when Vice President Al Gore made the offhand remark about a certain political group having an excess of chromosomes, I was horrified. Not only was I shocked by Mr. Gore's ignorance but I was also surprised those with a public voice made no comment on the thoughtless and inflammatory remark. How dare he say such a thing! "Meet the Press" was the only place I've heard comment on the vice president's remark. Can you explain to me and others who were insulted by Vice President Gore's remark why it passed virtually without comment?

Lori D. Sotelo Mercer Island