So thick was the wonkery that Gore offered a faux apology for being too serious. But Gore did more than outline policies. He also set out a vision of how the world works, a vision that partakes of the paranoid style. A political appeal to paranoia asserts that the world is filled with friends and enemies. Friends are good people who would achieve greatness if not for the conspiracies of the enemy.
Political paranoia evokes a world where decent folk fall prey to dark forces.
But there's a problem, according to the vice president. Not everyone puts the good people first or takes their side. The powerful, the wealthy, and special-interest money men also showed up on Gore's list of enemies. Gore is known as a demonizer, and his acceptance speech will not improve his reputation. His attacks, however, push beyond populism toward paranoia.