Clinton To Hit The Trail
With Election Day less than two weeks away and the race for the White House as tight as ever, President Clinton is ready to take his campaigning for Al Gore to the next level.
After keeping a relatively low profile in Gore's campaign for the presidency, Mr. Clinton has now invited several hundred community leaders to the White House Friday to hear what aides say will be a political message. A similar session with religious leaders is also planned for Monday.
But the Bush campaign is not letting Gore forget his boss's scandals in office.
On the campaign trail Thursday, George W. Bush goaded his Democratic rival on character and trust, saying he "is willing to toe the line" for an era of personal responsibility, and implying Democrats are not.
Stirring the question of scandal in President Clinton's White House, Bush also said, "In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal, but what is right, not just what the lawyers allow but what the public deserves."
The comments came as Mr. Clinton prepared for his first direct campaigning for the Democratic ticket, despite misgivings in the Gore organization, wary of the echoes that could raise.
Later next week Mr. Clinton will hit the road to stump for his vice president in California and other states where Democrats need help turning out the vote.
However, he won't be sharing a stage with Gore. The vice president's handlers don't want Mr. Clinton to overshadow the Democratic standard-bearer.
The president is set to campaign Nov. 2-3 in Calif., and in as many as five other states, on a political errand "geared toward helping the vice president and the rest of the Democratic ticket," according to spokesman Jake Siewert.
"It's basically all hands on deck to get every single California voter to the polls for Election Day," said Gore spokesman Peter Ragone.
Mr. Clinton's days in California kick off a trip that will keep him on the road until Election Day. It will end up in New York so he can be at his wife's side as her bid for Senate wraps up.
While Bush has been making an aggressive play for California on the airwaves, Gore has spent nothing on TV ads, and has not visited the state since Sept. 20. Even though Gore's lead in the Golden State has dwindled from double digits to only 5-7 points, the vice president has no plans to return before Election Day.