ETTENDORF, Iowa - After visiting Oprah and Regis and Jay and Dave, Al Gore dipped into his biographical lockbox again yesterday, offering some surprisingly candid revelations about his college days on the ''Queen Latifah Show.''
The vice president said he used to wear a leather vest as he cruised around on his motorcycle during his Harvard years - the same bike he once rode with three others on a daring double-date that included a dash down an alley when police lights appeared in the distance.
He also told his host, a rap artist and actress, that he prefers a woman dressed in lace to one dressed in leather. And in answer to her question, he admitted playing drinking games in college, although he quickly offered an admonition against the practice.
''I hate to make light of that, because I actually think sometimes that is taken too lightly,'' he said.
Gore tumbled into his motorcycle story during a ''pop culture quiz'' on the program, which is targeted at an audience 18 to 24 years old. While the show normally is taped in New York City, Gore appeared at Scott Community College before a student audience because he was campaigning in nearby Davenport. The episode will air Nov. 1.
Asked whether he had ever worn leather pants, the vice president replied: ''I don't think I have. I had a leather vest. I used to have a motorcycle years ago. I had a leather vest when I rode the motorcycle.
Queen Latifah presented him with a leather jacket, which she said he could wear if he ever rides a motorcycle again. Gore laughed at the thought and recalled how ''Tipper and I would go everywhere on it.''
Asked whether he ever been caught speeding, Gore said no and added: ''I look back on those days and feel like I'm very lucky to have survived.
''Once, on a dare, we went double-dating on my motorcycle. It sounds impossible, but it actually did happen,'' he said. ''We took off, and we had tuxedos on.''
When his host asked whether the police had stopped him, Gore complained, ''You're getting me in trouble here.
''Actually, there was a blue light,'' he said. ''And I can't say for sure that they were coming for us, but just on the chance that they were, we cut through an alleyway.''
