A police investigation into your private life is almost never good news. But in this case, it might be what Al Gore needs. If his firm denials are true, he’s been pinned in a miserable spot, with an accuser whose story is all over the Internet and the tabloids–but with no impartial third party capable of exonerating him. (Update: As a commenter notes, the Portland, Oregon, police looked into the allegations previously. But the investigation was dropped after the accuser stopped cooperating. Which seems to be a strike in Gore’s favor, but still hasn’t satisfied many of the people debating the case now, which is a problem for him.) Perhaps the media could play this role, but this one seems to call for legal powers; and the media’s institutions bias is generally toward proving, not debunking, scandal.
In a perfect world unsubstantiated allegations without legal action (especially allegations which may have a financial incentive) wouldn’t make their way onto millions of laptops. In the world we live in, the best thing for Gore’s reputation right now–assuming he did nothing wrong–might be a thorough review by police.