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Tipper Gore as first lady

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Earth First! activists linked together by krytonite bicycle locks around their necks stage a protest Monday, July 10, 2000 at the local campaign headquarters of Democratic Presidential candidate Al Gore in Knoxville, Tenn. Knoxville police persuaded the other demonstrators estimated at around 100, to go outside while they negotiated with the chained protesters, who eventually left voluntarily and avoided arrests. Earth First! leader Daniel Patterson says the group doesn't see much difference between Gore and Bush. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

July 12, 2000 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tipper Gore says her penchant for spontaneity and desire for fun will continue even if her husband, Al Gore, is elected and she becomes first lady.

Otherwise, "it could be an isolating life, if you weren't careful about that," she told The Washington Post in an interview published in Tuesday's editions.

The vice president's wife, who generally remains protective of her family's privacy even after decades in public life, said she'll be able to balance the staid and scripted duties that come with being first lady with her need to be playful and interact with people one-on-one.

"I can change and adapt. Frankly, I do that very well," said Mrs. Gore, who is known to cruise city streets in a van searching for homeless people in need of health care. She also is a longtime advocate for sufferers of mental illness. She once struggled with clinical depression.

"To have a larger forum to advocate for issues I feel deeply about is something I hope I have the opportunity to do, but I don't see that as inconsistent with being able to continue being the individual I am and to live life the way that is important to me," she told the newspaper.

Mrs. Gore said her bout with depression, following a 1989 car accident that nearly killed the couple's son Albert, taught her "that I need to set and prioritize my boundaries, and then I need to enforce them. And I do that.

"And I try to remind other women to do that - that if they don't take care of themselves, they are going to pay some kind of price," she said.

The wife of the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting said she hasn't had a recurrence of depression, for which she took antidepressants. Her mental health fitness program consists of exercise, a balanced lifestyle and plenty of fun.

Mrs. Gore once said yes to an Albuquerque event so she could ride in a hot air balloon and, in Florida, her staff made a detour to ride Space Mountain at Disney World three times.

On the night of the White House Correspondents Association dinner in April, Mrs. Gore was partying with gays and lesbians at RFK Stadium and playing the drums while her husband and President and Mrs. Clinton were stuck in a packed hotel ballroom.

There's also the surprise trip she arranged for the couple's 30th wedding anniversary in May, after managing to rearrange her husband's campaign schedule and conspire with Secret Service to keep him in the dark. Tucked into his CIA briefing folder was Tipper's hand-drawn invitation for a helicopter getaway to Bethany Beach, Delaware, where they went as teen-agers.