Re: <nettime> Al Gore and the Internet

["cisler" <cisler@pobox.com>]

I would like to add my own agreement to what Cerf and Kahn have said about
Gore's record being distorted.  In the late 1980's Senator Gore took part in Net
87 hosted by Educom, the higher educaiton NGO whose goal was to foster academic
networking. A number of European universities took part, but it was mainly North
American.  Gore gave a keynote and went on to hold hearings on the National
Research Network which quickly added the word "Education" and became NREN.  My
boss at Apple testified, and we got quite involved with Gore's office in
promoting a vision of the Internet for average folks, not just researchers in
defense and academia and industry.

At that time, There was a lot of talk by people in Washington who had little
interest in or knowledge of computer networking. They thought Gore was backing
something obscure and not really the business of government.  Politicians
usually liked to pose by grand projects (dams, new freeways, youth centers,
spacecraft) but Al Gore would pose by a router because he understood what it was
going to mean in the near future.

Once he became vice-president his view of government's role in the development
of the Internet changed.

Steve Cisler
cisler@pobox.com

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