Gore criticizes Bush's 'big brother' government

WASHINGTON -- Former Vice President Al Gore accused President Bush on Sunday of failing to make the country safer after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and using the war against terrorism as a pretext to consolidate power.

"They have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, 'big brother'-style government -- toward the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book '1984' -- than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America," Gore charged.

Gore, who lost the disputed 2000 presidential election to Bush, said terrorism-fighting tools granted after Sept. 11, 2001, amount to a partisan power grab that have led to the erosion of the civil liberties of all Americans.

He brought the crowd to its feet when he called for a repeal of the Patriot Act, which expanded the government's surveillance and detention power, allowing authorities to monitor books people read and conduct secret searches.-- From wire reports