Tipper Gore might best be described as the opposite of Hillary Clinton.
Although Ms Gore and Ms Clinton were frequently in each other's presence during the last eight years, observers say they have little in common and in fact were never close.
Ms Gore is a much more traditional wife, for one thing, and has never shown a keen interest in policy-making.
Born Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson on August 19th, 1948, she grew up in Arlington, Virginia. Her father, Jack, owner of a plumbing company, left his wife, Margaret, when little Mary, soon nicknamed Tipper, was 14 months old. In their divorce papers Margaret accused her husband of drinking and domestic violence.
Both Tipper Gore and her mother suffered from depression, a fact that Ms Gore has discussed openly in recent years as she has campaigned for the rights of the mentally ill.
In her teens she played drums in a rock band called the Wildcats and drove a blue 1964 Mustang.
Ms Gore met her future husband in 1965 and has described their first meeting as "pure animal magnetism". She followed Mr Gore to Boston, where she ultimately attended Boston University and majored in psychology.
The only time that Ms Gore has strayed from a traditional role as a politician's wife was in 1984. As she tells it, she went to a record store with her 11-year-old daughter, Karenna, to buy a copy of Prince's Purple Rain album. The sexual content and vulgarity of the lyrics prompted her to launch a campaign against the music industry.
She co-founded a group called the Parents Music Resource Center. They campaigned hard for warning labels on records and CDs with sexual, violent or explicit lyrics.
The effort made Ms Gore a hit with religious groups and conservatives but earned her the wrath of the entertainment industry and many free-speech advocates, who saw her efforts as censorship.
To this day, there are many in Hollywood who will not support Al Gore because of his wife's campaign.
One of the most difficult events in Ms Gore's life was an accident that occurred in April 1989. She and her husband and their six-year-old son, Albert III, were leaving a baseball stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. As they were crossing a four-lane road, the boy broke free and dashed into the road, where he was struck by a car.
He suffered a ruptured spleen, cracked shoulder, punctured lung and broken ribs and for a time his survival was uncertain. He made a full recovery, but the incident was said to have deeply affected both parents. Friends say the family grew closer together after the ordeal.
In Mr Gore's current quest, Ms Gore has travelled with him at least three days a week, saying she needs the remainder of the week "to recover".
If Al Gore wins the Presidency, many think Ms Gore will bring a family-oriented, "down-home" and relaxed style back to the White House.