In their continuing struggle to prove to America how normal and regular they are, Al and Tipper Gore let it be known last week that they are now grandparents, courtesy of their daughter Karenna. And how did normal, regular Al and Tipper spread the word? Why, the same way proud grandparents have always done it -- they phoned a gossip columnist.
"We're very excited," the vice president told the Washington Post's Reliable Source column. "It feels very natural, very healthy, very wonderful," Mrs. Gore chimed in, perhaps using the upstairs extension at the V.P.'s mansion. In any event, they related the entire saga of the birth, and the Post duly recorded it as the lead item in the Reliable Source (Washington gossip isn't what it used to be). The Gores even managed to work in a plug for the Manhattan hotel that sheltered them while the baby was born. "It's a lovely hotel and they were very sweet to us," Mrs. Gore continued. Just another landmark in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Average American.