President Bush, ignoring vicious, personal insults from Al Gore over the past seven years, invited the Nobel Laureate in for a 40 minute chat in the Oval Office.

Bush has extended himself graciously more than once to Gore, personally sending an Air Force a jet to fetch Gore back from Europe so he could attend the 9/11 memorial services at the National Cathedral shortly after the attack.

The White House emphasized before the meeting that Bush had called Gore to extend a personal invitation and that the ceremony honoring the prize-winners was scheduled to ensure that Gore could attend.

Asked whether Bush invited Gore in order to hear about global warming or as an opportunity to make amends over the 2000 election, Perino said, “I didn’t psychoanalyze the president to find out why he decided to invite Al Gore to the White House. . . . It’s a friendly and neighborly thing to do, to invite someone to come to the White House,” she said. “It’s not something that was calculated.”

Make amends for what, getting more electoral votes? What ass would ask such a stupid question? Answer: any number of stupid asses in the press corps. Sheesh.

For a taste of Al Gore’s nasty vitriol, go here.