Al Gore lowers his voice, signaling that he's about to take me into his confidence. "I don't consider myself," he says quietly, "a natural politician." Never let it be said the Vice President isn't capable of understatement. Gore lets a half-smile play across his face, a sign that he knows he's revealing the obvious. "The back-slapping political style is not my natural forte," he goes on. "I really, really love the process of democracy. I'm inspired by it. I'm thrilled by it. I'm not exaggerating here." He pauses. "Now the election process is...a little different."
And that's as close as Gore...