Who knew that Al Gore, of all people, could be such a tease?

Matthew Panzarino that "this is the first time that anyone with ties to the Apple organization, even if it is just a Board Member, has made any affirmative statements about the release of its next-gen iPhone." Apparently if Mr. Gore can be an , anybody can.

"There is always the possibility that Gore misspoke, of course, or was just making statements based on the rumors that are already out there," Panzarino concedes, "but it seems like a pretty big mistake to make at a public conference." Exactly: People are far more likely to big mistakes at private conferences.

But to show he's maintaining journalistic objectivity and skepticism, Panzarino goes on: "So, now that Gore says that we're getting a new iPhone next month, do you believe it more? He is a politician after all and we all know how much they like to say things, regardless of how true they are."

Unlike, you know, the Internet professionals writing about iPhone 5 rumors.