Former VP Al Gore has a girlfriend

It appears Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former vice president Al Gore is back in the game. Back in the dating game, that is.

He has, according to The Washington Post's Reliable Source blog, a "serious girlfriend."

Her name is Elizabeth Keadle—better known as Liz—a well-heeled Democratic donor from Southern California in her 50s with a background in science and a devotion to environmental causes.

The relationship is solid enough that she accompanied Gore, 64, and an eclectic group of experts and VIPs (Richard Branson, singer Jason Mraz, actor Tommy Lee Jones) on a trip to Antarctica in January to raise awareness of climate change.

Of course, this is not exactly your everyday lurid affair. (Another former presidential/vice presidential candidate is making those headlines.)

Gore, although still married to his wife of 40 years, Tipper Gore, separated from her in June 2010, the blog notes.

The relationship with Keadle apparently was not a factor in his split from his wife and it is not clear when they became a couple, the blog notes. Keadle and her ex-husband, biotech entrepreneur Lyle Turner, have been donors to Democrats, including making a $100,000 donation to a DNC building fund, according to the blog.

Keadle is a longtime resident of Rancho Santa Fe, an affluent San Diego suburb, and also has donated to environmental programs and oceanography studies at the University of California, San Diego, according to the blog.

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