DATELINE: Friday, August 25, 2000, at 2300 hours CDT.
Conway, Arkansas, USA

By D. Ebenezer Baldwin Bowles
CornDancer & Company

If the government we have isn't enough already, Al Gore wants to make more of it by moving fast and furiously into the E-.

E-Government, the E-rate, an E-Bill of Rights, a new E-civil right, a new E-crusade -- Mr. Gore's plans for the Internet and technology are downright dizzying. He is passionate about computers. He wants everybody to have one, even grandmothers.

I'd venture that he knows as much about the Internet as any American political leader in history. That's the dynamic way of the world in cyberspace -- a new milestone at every turn of the Cosmic Wheel. Mr. Gore certainly has the deepest, broadest, most cyber-savvy agenda of any Presidential candidate on the ballot.

He wants Americans, every single one of them, to receive a free Digital Key, certified by and registered with a new bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. He wants the people to enjoy universal broadband access and a 24/7 pipeline to government services. He wants to give away tax breaks and training. He wants to create an interactive map of every neighborhood in America to help keep the peace. You ought to hear him talk about it. It takes your breath away. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The quotes attributed to Mr. Gore, with minor and meaningless exceptions, are genuine and verifiable.]

"I will lead a second American revolution, Ebenezer," he told me, electric fire flashing from his eyes. "With your help, I will create an E-Government."

What kind of help, Mr. Vice President?

Front lines? Tear down and obliterate? I wondered if he might have been flashing back to one of those long, sweaty nights he spent in 'Nam. I tried to remember if we had any computers over there. I was thinking about those huge stone lions at the gateway to I-Corps Headquarters in DaNang when Mr. Gore broke my reverie: "I will bring government closer to the people -- just a couple of clicks away from every citizen, everywhere in the nation."

A couple of clicks? In the 'Nam I attended, a click was one hundred meters. One used clicks to measure the distance 'tween our guys and the enemy. The more I thought about it, though, I'm sure Mr. Gore must have meant mouse clicks.

Metaphors of war and conflict, however, do permeate much of Mr. Gore's rhetoric about his E-genda.

"Think about this, Ebenezer," he said. "Imagine when community policing gets the help of ordinary citizens committed to law and order in their neighborhoods and willing to join together to keep the peace. Every citizen and police department could share resources, logging onto an interactive map of crime trends in every neighborhood. And the citizens would help shape the database because they are the real experts in the lives of their communities: A homebound grandmother could send an officer an instant e-mail to report dangerous behavior on a street corner, or community members could give leads about crimes to their neighborhood police."

Tell me more, Sir, I said with deep attentiveness. Tell me about this E-Government of yours.

"I will work for an E-government that uses the Internet and information technology to make real improvements and real empowerment to all our people," the Vice-President said. "I will put virtually every federal government service on-line by 2003. Eb, I want to make the Internet go faster! I want to create an E-Government where citizens are on-line, not in-line."

Isn't it a fact, Mr. Gore, Sir, that less than half the People have computers, that Internet access in the majority of American homes is either non-existent or limited to slow-speed modems? Won't this lack of infrastructure shut the door to full national participation?

"Eb, there is a Digital Divide in our country," he said. "We have to redouble our efforts to close it. The Internet has been a major force behind our current economic prosperity, and we need to make sure that all Americans have the skills and access to technology to succeed in our new economy."

The Vice-President pointed to the telephone on the coffee table next to an easy chair. "I will launch a new crusade to make Internet access as universal as telephone access in every American household," he said. "I will encourage public-private partnerships and make major new investments in high-speed and satellite technologies, to bring affordable Internet access to the hardest-to-reach urban and rural communities."

Wow! A dedicated digital pipeline for one and all. Thinking about it, I had to ask: Everyone? Everyone, Sir? What about the poorest in the land, the chronically underemployed, the legions of part-timers at MacDonald's and Sonic and Burger King, the seasonal farmhands, Silicon Valley janitors, unskilled laborers, riverboat deckhands, and Tyson chicken wranglers? And, Mr. Gore -- should I dare mention it? -- what about the handful of Americans who are unemployed? How will you enable them to enjoy the benefits of E-Government?

"As your Vice President, Ebenezer, I worked hard to create the 'E-rate' program to provide low cost Internet access to schools that serve our nation's most disadvantaged children," he answered assuredly. "As your President, I will finish connecting every classroom and library in America to the Internet. This will take time. In the meantime, we must make sure every low-income community has a technology center where both children and adults can access the Internet and learn to use technology. I will also deploy interactive kiosks in shopping malls and community centers around the country."

"The next Thomas Edison or Marie Curie may be a child waiting in a ghetto or a rural hollow for the tools to learn and experiment. Let's get him -- or her -- wired and on-line!

"And then we must put the most effective, the most responsive, the most interactive E-government we can create on every desktop in America -- so that every home, every office, and every classroom are truly wired for democracy."

By the time the last word rang through the room, we were all on our feet, pumping clenched fists into the rarified air of the moment. I was roused to unbridled enthusiasm. Sign me up, Mr. Vice President, now, on this very spot. Bring the government into my home and office through the wonders of computer technology. I'm ready to apply for my U.S.A. Digital Key, no questions asked.

"Oh, sure, you'll need one to connect to the Internet after our agenda is realized," one of the Vice President's aides said. "But an application? That's not necessary at all. Your Digital Key was assigned long ago."

Mr. Gore had to go. The campaign is very demanding. He shook my hand good-bye. "Just remember, Eb. The federal government will work in partnership with the private sector to provide a free digital key to you or any citizen who wants to connect with the government on-line. Together we will transform America's collection of ramshackle bureaucracies into an E-government that works for every American."

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