Gore rushed in where Clinton might think twice
IT WAS one of those rare occasions when Al Gore managed to upstage his boss, President Bill Clinton.
After the Vice-President - replacing Mr Clinton at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) leaders' meeting - stepped up to the microphone in Kuala Lumpur to pay tribute to the 'brave' Malaysians who were part of the opposition reformasi movement, then left a dinner studded with leaders and dignitaries, the resulting row eclipsed the rest of the economic forum's agenda.
Back home in Washington, talk is still rife about the emergence of a Mr Gore no one had seen before on a foreign, let alone a domestic stage. And some analysts felt the remarks were angled more at a US audience as Mr Gore geared up for the 2000 election campaign.
In Kuala Lumpur, he appeared as a no-holds-barred speaker of conviction who presented US human rights concerns more forcibly than ever before and as a result drew criticism from nearly every APEC member country.
But was his speech informed statesmanship or a diplomatic gaffe? Although the White House backed Mr Gore's speech and said Mr Clinton would have said much the same thing, many have been left wondering whether he wildly overstepped the mark - and whether the fallout will haunt US ties with Asia. Mr Gore stuck by his remarks, later saying that his democracy message was one he delivered 'with pride', but his aides were concerned and called friends on Capitol Hill asking for statements of moral support from members of Congress.
It had already been decided that Washington - which sees Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as an ideological nuisance in Asia - would show its displeasure by avoiding meetings with him, and by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's meeting jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's wife.
But the confrontational tone of the speech took many by surprise. It was originally written for Mr Clinton by his foreign policy assistants in the National Security Council. However, when Mr Clinton was sidetracked by the Iraq crisis, he never got to see it, and it was passed to Mr Gore to make on his behalf.
The Vice-President, officials said, read the speech virtually verbatim, and did not question the strong language criticising the Malaysian regime. This leads many to question whether Mr Clinton would not have better gauged the circumstances, and watered down the remarks critical of his hosts.
The government-backed New Straits Times newspaper yesterday published two phone numbers Malaysians angry at Mr Gore's remarks can call.
