President Bush, as presidents have always done, has invited this year's American winners of Nobel Prizes to the White House to be honored.

Yes, this includes Al Gore.

The Gore camp said the White House went out of its way to accommodate the former vice president's schedule, even moving the event when there was a conflict with the first proposed date. Bush personally telephoned Gore yesterday to finalize the arrangements.

"The president wanted to call him and lock that in and make sure he's going to be able to come," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "He also offered his congratulations and said he looked forward to having him here."

A Gore adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged the awkward nature of the event. "It's unusual, that's for sure," he said. "But the conversations were good, and the White House has been very gracious about it."

But think about this for a second. After all, Gore is the man who said this:

And this:

I could go on. But if you're Al Gore, and you really, truly in your heart believe all that, do you grace President Bush with your presence?