Former Vice President Al Gore Gets the Royal Treatment

And now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine:

Do You Know Who I Am?
Midwest Express Airlines boasts "the best care in the air" — and former Vice President Al Gore can certainly attest to that. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that on a recent trip to Wisconsin the former presidential candidate was pulled aside for random screening at Reagan National Airport. Passengers sharing Flight 406 expressed shock at the pat-down. Mark Graul of Green Bay who told the paper, "You're looking out and seeing Al Gore's unmentionables in his big, carry-on suitcase." But there's more. The following day, Al Gore got ready to board a return flight on the same airline and guess what? He had to remove his shoes again. So how did the former veep feel about two security searches in less than 24 hours? Spokesman Jano Cabrera said, "He was randomly selected both times, and both times he was more than happy, as all Americans are in these troubled times, to cooperate."
 
Ready to Rumble
And country crooner Toby Keith is locked in a war of words with ABC News anchor Peter Jennings. The Washington Post reports Keith says he was asked to open ABC's live 4th of July special — but was abruptly dropped after  Jennings got an eye full of the lyrics to his Angry American song. In it, Keith sings, "You'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A, 'cause we'll put a boot in your ass, that's the American Way." ABC News spokeswoman Cathie Levine  acknowledges that they talked to Keith, but insists that he was never booked. Defending their decision not to use him, she says, "It's a song about anger. We want this show to be about strength and character, a celebration of America."