Maybe Al Gore really should be the next president. Anything to keep him from pursuing a second career as a diplomat.

The vice president was sent to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation annual meeting in Malaysia to announce a joint U.S./Japan $10 billion rebuilding plan for Asia’s shattered banks and businesses. Instead, he used his podium time to trash his host, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, as a suppressor of freedom and a trampler of liberties. Had Dr. Mahathir not been sitting right at Mr. Gore’s elbow, it’s likely kicker of dogs would have added to the indictment.

Too bad Mr. Gore didn’t take a moment to acquaint himself with Dr. Mahathir before firing up Air Force Two (and his rhetoric). It’s likely he would have discovered that in Malaysia, as it is in most places, things are not always as they initially appear.

Yes, there are anti-government demonstrators in the streets of Kuala Lumpur demanding reform — or, as the multi-cultural vice president put it, reformasi. Yes, there are allegations that the corruption and sex crime charges against Anwar Ibrahim, Dr. Mahathir’s long-time deputy, are trumped up. But the presence of demonstrators, especially in times of economic crisis, does not make Dr. Mahathir a tyrant. And before he defends the jailed deputy too vigorously, the vice president should reflect on how common it is for high government officials to deny hanky-panky.

At the very least, Mr. Gore should have spent a few minutes with the State Department’s leading expert on Malaysia. He would have learned that Dr. Mahathir is not a jackbooted despot. He is a 72-year-old physician who rose from humble beginnings to help transform his country from a rice paddy with a ruling elite into a modern nation with a growing and thriving middle class. The vice president also would have learned that Mr. Anwar was on the prime minister’s team for 16 years and became a freedom fighter only after the collapse of the Asian economy rippled through Malaysia and he was being investigated for bribery and rape.

Mr. Gore might have been reminded that the United States is, at the moment, on the brink or war with Iraq and that alienating one Islamic country at a time is more than sufficient.

Instead, the vice president read a prepared speech just as some anonymous and overly fervent staffer wrote it. No editing, no toning down, no deference to the host or consideration of the circumstances. Mr. Gore’s tough guy speech will make a dandy commercial for a presidential candidate. It’s just lousy diplomacy.