Al And Tipper Gore Separate

Former Vice President Al Gore is separating from his wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage.

"This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration," the couple said in an e-mail obtained by Politico. "We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further." The news is being greeted with shock in Washington, D.C. Few political couples seemed as close as the Gores back during his vice presidential years, 1993 to 2001.

This IS a surprise.