These two very bright, inquisitive, sometimes stiff politicians were bound from youth by strong Calvinist and Southern gentlemanly senses of duty. Gordon Brown and Al Gore are decent honourable men of service. They are true policy wonk lovers of detail who never look or feel comfortable in the supercilious glare of 24/7/365 media. They often seem uncomfortable and self-conscious within their own skin and their sense of duty and decorum make it almost impossible for them to join seriously in the frivolous one-liner sound byte silliness that dominates the media’s lazy and divisive coverage of politics.

Neither has the brash Texas or Eton command of debate one-liners that everyone remembers and both face(d) smug frat boys as their lead opposition. They can seem ‘elitist,’ a term bandied about now about US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, because they try to keep the debate and dialogue focussed on issues and fail to engage in the popularity politics of mutually assured self destruction.

Gordon Brown faces annihilation in the upcoming local government elections and Al Gore had an election result taken from him by a man who has subsequently brought the world to the brink through bluff, bluster and hubris.

Both deserve much better treatment for their loyalty of service and both have faced a stunning lack of support from the men they succeeded.

They seem stiff in ceremony over substance world leaders on the world stage must master. When Al Gore attempted a joke about his stiffness on “Late Night with David Letterman,” it came across as not funny because it seemed so true and painful for him. When he lost the Presidential election of 2000 most assumed he disappeared and went in to a deep depression. Really though, for the first time in his life he was no longer under a microscope or living up to the political legend of his father, the former senior Senator from Tennessee Al Gore, Sr.

With the pressure off and out of the spotlight as “W” bungled the war effort, Al was free to find out who he really was and unburdened himself of the weight of his past legacy. He relaxed, enjoyed life, took on a rumpled absent-minded professorial look, gained some weight and showed a warm side no one ever saw on the campaign. The real Al Gore is funny passionate and articulate. It was the best thing for him and all of us because he speaks plainly and boils complex policies down to language for the everyman and really enjoys doing it. As a Nobel laureate speaking for climate change, he has often said he has the ability to do things on this issue he never had in Washington. “Stiff Al” is anything but when speaking passionately about the fate of this planet. His latest talk on TED.com is flat-out inspirational and something for everyone to see.

Reading last week’s Time Europe cover story on Gordon Brown, one saw glimpses in the reportage that he is not as dour as everyone in the media would like for us to believe. Stories of his warm and loving nature in surprise birthday parties for his wife and his ravenous thirst for knowledge in Aspen were a pleasant surprise to some and a great relief to many. There is a human being inside the stiff exterior.

Prime Minister Brown needs a few breaks to go his way as thoughtful leaders who do not rise to the media’s bait are often fricasseed by the party and then boiled over by his opponents. It’s no longer good enough to be the smartest guy in the room, they have to like you or everyone will turn on you.

Some say there is an inevitability to the current crisis at Number 10 and it will be painful to watch the swords come out from both sides. He is more than unlucky to follow a showboating, charismatic leader. Just ask Hillary how difficult it is to keep Bill at bay and out of the spotlight during her campaign. When the torch passed to George W. Bush back in early 2001, there were many headlines around the former President’s penchant for controversy saying, “How Can We Miss You If You Never Leave?” His controversial pardons of felons and business dealings gave George W Bush cover to fly under the radar with ridiculous tax cuts and then along came September 11th and the rest is history.

Gordon Brown has quietly and firmly handled every crisis and yet will likely lose ground because he is not as good at debating “Slick Davy” Cameron each week during Prime Minster’s Questions. It just show that our lack of substance drags us further down and we’ll likely see another good man turned away for coolly and calmly keeping his head while everyone else is losing theirs.

I hope that does not happen and if it does, I hope Gordon takes a well deserved moment to find an issue like Al did and learn to enjoy himself a bit. It’s time to let the genuine, warm Gordon Brown out to play. I think we’d all benefit from seeing that.