Is Al Gore a Left Behinds Reader?

From Al Gore's blistering attack on Bush's expansion of executive power today:

An executive who arrogates to himself the power to ignore the legitimate legislative directives of the Congress or to act free of the check of the judiciary becomes the central threat that the Founders sought to nullify in the Constitution - an all-powerful executive too reminiscent of the King from whom they had broken free. In the words of James Madison, "the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

and from my amusingly illustrated post last week,

Well, I'm so glad to hear that Alito deigns to agree with the whole reason this country was founded. I'm so glad to hear we probably won't turn back the clock to 1775. I feel so reassured by his begrudging acknowledgement of the fundamental principle of our system of government. As AH reminds us, James Madison wrote in The Federalist that "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

There is not one word from the Federalist in Al Gore's speech that isn't also in Left Behinds. Now, I'm not sayin', but Al is known to "borrow" other folks' ideas without giving credit. I mean, he did invent the internet, and he's got a bit of time on his hands, so he's probably a reader of all the best political blogs. If he delivers a passionate speech next week about JT Leroy I think we'll know what's what.

Tags:wiretapping,news and politics ,executive power,al gore,bush