My friend R. Z. Sheppard, the critic, has come up with what he thinks may be the key to Al Gore's personality. Sheppard's theory is that Al Gore is actually a Canadian. If true, this might explain everything. Gore's personality, difficult to grasp in American terms, seems perfectly coherent and natural if transplanted north of the 48th parallel.
National stereotypes are of course invidious.
If Canadians wish to disown Gore, and to repudiate the notion that his personality takes its distinctive resonance from Canadian origins, then that is a decision that must be respected. On the other hand, if Gore were elected president of the U.S, American-Canadian relations might prosper as never before. With Sheppard's insight, we may imagine simply that Gore comes from Ottawa. It is a less dislocating thought. Another friend, John Leo, once won, hands down, a contest to propose the title of the most boring book in the world.