Gore 'was lazy dope as student at Harvard'

Ever since The New Yorker magazine exposed George W Bush's poor college grades, the hunt has been on to find out whether his likely presidential opponent, Vice-President Al Gore, was any smarter. Yesterday, The Washington Post revealed that Mr Gore's grades at Harvard were actually worse.

Mr Bush's college performance came in for scrutiny after he spectacularly failed a "pop quiz" on foreign affairs that was sprung on him by a radio interviewer. Until now, Mr Gore has generally escaped questions about his intellect.

Asked to comment on the apparent contradiction between Mr Gore's ability and results, a former teacher said Mr Gore was a classic case of "a boy who shows a lot of potential".

A college friend of Mr Gore has recalled in print he was "stoned" a lot of the time.