Is There Anything Al Gore Can’t Do? 34355

Former Vice President Al Gore may not be in the running for the upcoming presidential elections, but his star has never been brighter.

First, he won us over on SNL, by giving an uncomfortably prescient glimpse into a world where peace reigns, global warming has long ceased to exist, cars run on trash (rather than oil or gas) and yes, Al Gore is president.

Next, he shot to stardom with An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary that delivered a powerful environmentalist message and revamped Gore’s image by showing him to be bosom buddies with actor/Prius owner Leo DiCaprio.

And today we learn about Gore’s most impressive accomplishment to date, namely his ability to procure an advance copy of the embargoed Sopranos finale.

As the Times notes, however, Gore’s request was initially denied, in spite of the former VP’s obvious political clout and personal friendship with the Paramount chairman, Brad Grey. Thankfully for Gore, however, Grey ultimately had a change of heart.

On the Sunday of the finale, he had a Halliburton-made steel case, containing a copy of the episode, delivered to the tarmac where Mr. Gore???s plane sat in Chicago. The case was locked with a code (some might call it a ???lockbox???). Mr. Gore could not open it until the plane was in the air, when he was instructed to call Mr. Grey???s office for the numeric code. Mr. Gore sent Mr. Grey a photo of himself trying to pry open the case, which Mr. Grey now keeps on his desk.

And, as much as we’re enamored by the prospect of a world without war, poverty, compromised national security, soaring oil prices, or global warming, we’ve learned that we need to take our small victories where we can find them.

Which, for the time being, means sitting back and watching a man who should have been our nation’s great and fearless leader employing his elite powers of diplomacy to secure an advance copy of an hour long tv show about fictionalized mobsters.