I am not the biggest Al Gore fan in the world, though I am grateful for his invention of the Internet. But I have always appreciated his commitment to his family and the longevity and apparent inviolability of his marriage. Thus, I found myself sad to hear the news of his pending divorce from his wife of 40 years, Tipper.

Of course I wonder what got them to this point. Partly, this is simply a matter of prurient curiosity. Partly, I’m always looking for ways to strengthen my own marriage and find that I have much to learn from others, both positive and negative. But the issues in the Gore marriage are really not my business, and so I’m satisfied to offer a prayer for them and their family and to get back to making sure my own marriage is strong. (Photo: Al and Tipper on their wedding day.)

I am truly baffled, however, by a comment of someone who knows the Gores quite well. Donna Brazile, who ran Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000, had this to say about Al and Tipper: “They will get through it because these two people truly love one another.”

Huh? This I don’t quite get. If they truly love one another, don’t you think they might make an extra effort to work out their marriage? Or can one truly love one’s spouse and nevertheless seek a divorce from this spouse? I am confused. Or else Donna Brazile is confused.