Are Gores Reflecting the New Reality?

[charlestudor2005]

From http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/04/coontz.gore.marriage/index.html:

Many people assume that late-life divorces are precipitated by some crisis, typically a man leaving his wife for another woman. But a 2004 AARP survey of people who divorced at older ages found that two-thirds were initiated by the woman, often to the surprise of the man.


Although men are more likely to instigate a divorce when they have another partner in sight, women are more likely to say they just couldn't stand to be with this partner any more, which jibes with the research showing that women are physiologically and emotionally more sensitive to the negative effects of an unsatisfying relationship.

The rise in divorce rates for older people, which is occurring in Great Britain, Canada and Japan, as well as the United States, results from the confluence of two new trends. The first is that we expect more from marriage than in the past. It's no longer enough for the other partner to be a good provider or a good housekeeper. We want marriage to include friendship, sexual satisfaction and an interesting give-and-take between equals. The second is that if a marriage ceases to meet their needs, older people have many more alternatives than they used to.

Any reality checks from this group?

[atlcomedy]

Let's ignore the political and financial (oh yeah, Al has invested well)

But yeah I can think of a lot of unhappy parents that decide to split once they are emptynesters.

[charlestudor2005]

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

Al has invested well

Agreed.

I thought the Clintons would be broke w/ all their legal bills at the end of his presidency. But they are well off, too.

[pyramider]

Al must have changed a lot from his presidential bid and winning a Nobel.

Always thought the Gores would last longer than the Clintons. I guess, a business arrangement will outlast love.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by pyramider

Always thought the Gores would last longer than the Clintons. I guess, a business arrangement will outlast love.

What is love if not a business arrangement?

[Little Stevie]

It is hard for a leopard to change his spots. The Clintons are probably glad to have even more time apart and Al has become the "Rock Star" of the Climate Change movement.

(As an aside, the only real argument is whether the Earth's 6,000,000,000 plus population, the machinery those inhabitants have invented and manufactured to do things on a gigantic scale, their food gathering operations and waste disposal over the last 50 years has significantly affected the climate change that is most certainly happening),

Al's following includes thousands of young admirers in every city he visits. The ones who squeal are usually college-age girls. After having observed the "other" Clinton machine that specialized in procurement, Al may have wondered how much fun his steady and sizable investments in Google stock were actually doing him since he wouldn't have been considered "rich" while in office with a net worth of just over 2 million in 2000.

Gore joined the jet-set elite more or less after his political career and with his observations of Uncle Bill and his own Rock Star status, he may just have pissed Tipper off by succumbing to the fame and the groupies who go with it.

I am far more a fan of their politics than the slash and burn regulation-free Bush policies but let's face reality. Politicians don't get elected to higher office being choirboys and they all have egos that they want stroked.

Just one person's take.