The senator from Tennessee was not to be treated like a country bumpkin.

CNN: Excerpt: 'The Prince of Tennessee: The Rise of Al Gore'

Germans who at first thought she was a bit of a bumpkin naive, guileless and even stupid from the backward east have had to change their minds fast.

ECONOMIST: Angela Merkel, Germany��s new-look conservative

Angela Merkel, the Christian Democrats' leader, appears in contrast to be almost a country bumpkin, woefully lacking the qualities needed to govern the country in troubled times.

ECONOMIST: Germany

Yet next to Russia, bumpkin-land is starting to look attractive.

ECONOMIST: Its presidential election, too, could change the world

And in 1997, the guide awarded three stars to the country bumpkin of haute cuisine, Michel Bras, who among other things encourages guests at his remote restaurant in south-western France to use the same knife and fork throughout the meal.

ECONOMIST: The Michelin Guide