But that he would repeatedly take an adversarial role with the press, making such bans a pattern since his official VP days, is curious. In January, 2007, Gore banned the press from a talk he gave at Augustana College, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and in 2001 he attempted to place a gag order on his students during his brief stint as a professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism.

In 2001, Rolling Stone published an exhaustive account of Gore's inglorious experiences with the media, citing such instances as when the Washington Post reported that he'd "wasted" 4 billion gallons of water in a staged photo op, when media outlets worldwide lampooned him for allegedly stating that he'd "invented the Internet", and when he was cast as a "liar" for saying that his mother used to sing the "Look for the Union Label" to him in his crib at night. The latter claim was meant as a joke, as Gore was 27 when the jingle was written. But the media didn't make it seem that way.

What are we to think if all these mishaps with irresponsible journalists have rendered Al Gore press-shy? It seems that most people trust Mr. Gore, and maybe that's why this pattern of banning reporters from his talks isn't getting more ink. But what if we didn't trust Gore? Is this setting an acceptable precedent for our public figures?

[Image: Lindsay Beyerstein]