Dems Pitch Green Credentials

On the haze-draped banks of the Hudson River, Vice President Al Gore picked up an endorsement Thursday from the New York League of Conservation Voters. But Friends of the Earth, which backs Bill Bradley, accused Gore of selling out on his promise to protect wetlands.

Gore used the occasion of his endorsement, which included backing by prominent New York Republican and environmentalist Larry Rockefeller, to criticize GOP presidential candidates John McCain and George W. Bush for the second straight day.

"For these candidates clean air really is an act. Clean water is too," Gore said.

The Gore campaign released a television ad in which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says, "There is no American political leader in our history with a greater understanding or commitment to environmental protection than Al Gore."

George W. Gaffe Bush advisor says he didn't know the three writers "with holes in their souls" were Jewish.

The airing of the 30-second spot seemed designed to counter an article in the Feb. 28 issue of The American Prospect magazine, which quotes Kennedy as one of several environmentalists disturbed by the Clinton-Gore administration's support for a plan permitting construction of a shopping mall in New Jersey's wetlands.

Friends of the Earth Political Action Committee, which endorsed Bradley last fall at least partly to show its frustration with the administration, said in a news release that executives, contractors and family members of the Mills Corp., the company building the mall, have given Gore $43,000 for his campaign.

Calling the mall project an outrageous assault on wetlands, Kennedy told the magazine: "It is disappointing to see Al Gore, who I admire, succumb to this kind of mercenary approach."

Kennedy was out of the country on Thursday, Gore said.

"I make you this pledge that if you entrust me with the presidency I will not let you dwn. I will fight with everything I've got to protect the environment here in New York, all through our country, and around our world. I will not let you down. That's not to say we will agree 100 percent on everything," Gore told his riverside audience of about 100 supporters.

Across the continent, Bradley set up temporary shop in Washington state, driving hard for a win in its nonbinding Feb. 29 primary. There, he began airing a two-minute biographical TV ad designed to help with his still-poor name recognition. And he released a 30-second commercial that hits several of his national themes and one of parochial interest. "Only Bill Bradley fought to protect our salmon on the Elwah River," the ad says, latching onto a hot environmental issue in the Northwest.

Bradley argued anew that Gore is a closet conservative, not just in the past, when he was an anti-abortion-choice, pro-gun congressman from Tennessee.

He said, "Washington has the opportunity to send a message to the country. I need your help."

Later, he was warmly received by about 500 people at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, where he took questions. He used the venue - students at the liberal arts school are known as "Greeners" due to their passionate environmentalism - to slam Gore's record on the environment.

Back in New York, Gore accepted the New York environmental group's endorsement with rare, kind words for his rival.

"Bill Bradley does have a good environmental record and I acknowledge that," Gore said. "But I deeply appreciate your willingness to look at not only the two very similar records on votes but also to go beyond that and look at leadership, because I've worked hard."

The national, Washington-based League of Conservation Voters is not likely to choose sides in the Democratic primary, said Lisa Wade, the group's communications director.

In January, the group gave Bradley an 84-percent approval rating for his environmental record during the 18 years he represented New Jersey in the Senate. Gore earned a 64 percent rating.