URBANK, Calif. - He's been the butt of his share of jokes on late-night comedy shows, and last night Al Gore got a chance to deliver his own punch lines.
How does the vice president feel when people make fun of him on talk shows, ''Tonight Show'' host Jay Leno asked Gore.
''We have a kind of ritual'' at the Gore household, the vice president shot back. ''We sit around the table at about 11:30 every night and make jokes about you.''
And which Republican presidential contender would Gore rather face in November: George W. Bush or John McCain?
''Whichever one loses,'' Gore quipped.
The vice president proved that he is capable of displaying a deadpan wit, one rarely seen when the notoriously earnest candidate is addressing a crowd from a podium.
If Gore has an image problem, it's his public presence as a technology-obsessed, unnaturally straight-spined, wooden-looking policy wonk. One need look no further than the opening monologues delivered by Gore's host last night. Leno has made part of his living taking shots at Gore's stiff manner, and last night was no exception.
''Did you hear this? Computer hackers almost shut down Al Gore for two hours,'' Leno joked.
The vice president acknowledged that he is not a natural politician.
''I enjoy, I believe in what I'm doing,'' Gore said. ''I'm not really a natural kind of back slapper and I'm not sure that's the best talent for being in office anyway.''
Gore got to look a little more natural last night. It was a technique used by President Clinton during the 1992 campaign when the then-Arkansas governor played the saxophone on ''The Arsenio Hall Show.''
Still, Gore couldn't help but do a little policy talk, falling into a common stump-speech refrain about the economy, health care, education, and the environment before making a few jokes.
The vice president does seem to offer more animated peformances later in the day. In the morning, Gore is often so flat in his delivery his facial muscles barely move. He's no morning person, said one Secret Service agent.
But by the end of the day, he gets fired up, waving his arms around, shouting excitedly.
''I've always wanted to say this,'' Gore bellowed at a gymnasium full of voters in Iowa last month. ''Live! From Dubuque! It's Saturday night!''
That's about as rowdy as Gore gets. While Republican presidential contender Senator John McCain charms voters with his sharp, often biting, wit, Gore keeps his ''jokes'' to church-social-friendly humor.
Here's a Gore favorite: ''Are there any grandparents out there? You know, Tipper and I just became grandparents (of a boy, Wyatt). I've found that the preferred method is to give that grandchild anything he wants. And if that causes any problems, why, you just give him right back to his parents.''
Oh, and the grandchild ''was born on the Fourth of July. He's a Democrat.''
That last witticism was amended in Los Angeles yesterday to accommodate Latinos: ''The next (grandchild) will be born on Cinco de Mayo,'' the Mexican holiday commemorating the defeat of French troops in 1864, Gore said.
Then there's the joke Gore tells about the man who went out driving when he was tired, worrying his wife. The woman was listening to the radio, and heard that a driver was endangering other motorists by driving the wrong way on the highway. Alarmed, she called her husband on his car phone to tell him. ''It's worse than that, honey!'' the man told her. ''There's hundreds of 'em!''
Gore didn't tell any of those jokes last night. Spokesman Chris Lehane, asked if Gore had been coached, said, ''It's authentic Gore.''
