Gore critical of American leadership

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AUSTIN, Texas, March 10 (UPI) -- Former Vice President Al Gore offered a harsh critique of American governance in a speech at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Drawing on a technological metaphor, Gore said "our operating system in the U.S. is our Constitution" and the people are no longer in charge of it.

The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman said Gore urged those in attendance to find better ways to communicate with fellow citizens and demand better leadership from politicians at all levels of government.

Also appearing at the annual forum Saturday was WWE star John Cena, who spoke about pro wrestling's work to harness social media to enhance fan experience and increase revenue. Cena said he was at first hesitant to join Twitter because he worried about his family's privacy but said the social medium has provided a valuable platform for interacting with fans.

Cena is Twitter's third most-followed athlete behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, spoke to the gathering about his new commercial space endeavor, saying he was hopeful to begin commercial space flights, possibly originating from Texas, in the next two or three years.

The discussions are a portion of the annual SXSW, or South-by-Southwest, festival in Austin that sees musicians, authors, indie movie makers and others gather for a series of concerts, lectures and film screenings.