I must confess that when I first heard this buzz about Tipper Gore running for Senate in Tennessee, I found the whole idea quite improbable.

She's known to be a deeply private person. And I'd at least been given to understand that she was a major factor weighing against another run for her husband in 2004. But tonight I can tell you on quite good and rather direct authority that she's giving the idea serious consideration.

I can also report that she's assembling some senior staff in Tennessee this weekend to discuss the possibility.