Fascinating

Who knew that the Portland, Oregon Police Department will apparently give high-profile people such as Al Gore the courtesy of filling out a super-secret "Confidential Special Report" instead of the regular ol' public paperwork the average peasant there would receive should they be accused of committing sexual assault against a masseuse?

The incident is alleged to have happened in a high-end hotel there in 2006, and if true would go a long way towards explaining the announced explosion of Gore's long and purportedly happy marriage.

Yes, it's the National Enquirer, but they've been batting 1.000 against sleazy ex-politicians the last few years (to the point of being a recent Pulitzer nominee), so we'll let them run out the string and see what develops in this story.

"Portland police spokeswoman Detective Mary Wheat said this morning she's receiving inquires "from all over the world" regarding the matter, and said police supervisors are about to meet this morning to discuss what material, if any, is available."

We imagine that it's not good news for Mr. Gore that that particular meeting was held.

The outcome of this investigation should be interesting, not for the gleaning of any sad tidbits about Gore's personal life but to seemingly provide a perfect example of how celebrities and politicians continually (and wrongly) get special treatment from the people who are sworn to uphold the law fairly and equally.