Does Gore Need Clinton To Win?
With polls tilting toward George W. Bush, the Democrats, desperate for a breakout, have called in their big gun, reports CBS News Chief White House correspondent John Roberts.
President Clinton joined Vice President Al Gore on Friday at a memorial service for Missouri's late Governor Mel Carnahan. It was the first time they have appeared together since mid-August.
Wary of scandals and his tendency to blow the vice president out of the headlines, the Gore campaign has insisted that Mr. Clinton be relegated to a supporting role - to get out the vote and raise money. That means no stump speeches and no joint appearances.
As Gore made clear Friday, he’s running his own race. "This is a campaign that I'm running on my own and as I have said on previous occasions, I am who I am."
Asked if he planned joint appearances with Mr. Clinton during the campaign's closing days, Gore said that the president's own schedule is crowded with Congress and the Middle East, and details of how he might help the campaign haven't been worked out.
The president denied a report in Friday’s New York Times that he was hurt not to be more involved in the vice president’s campaign.
Besides, Mr. Clinton said he wasn't sure how much he could influence the election, now less than three weeks away.
“People make their decisions independently, so it would only matter if I had an argument to make (that) people would listen to,” Clinton said after the memorial service Friday.
For some Democratic strategists, it's an enormous waste of talent that could jeopardize Gore's chances.
"What Clinton can do is turn out the Democratic base by attacking George Bush. Clinton can do that and Gore can't,” says Bob Beckel, former campaign manager for failed Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale.
Mr. Clinton seems eager to fill this role, finding an opportunity Thursday to hammer Bush on a statement from the last debate.
”I almost gagged when I heard that answer on the Patients’ Bill of Rights in Texas. Could you believe that? Here's a guy takes credit for a bill that he vetoed,” the president said.
That criticism, aides say, was also aimed at the vice president. Mr. Clinton is frustrated that Gore has let the governor off easy by failing to attack Bush’s record and to articulate the differences between him and Bush.
"Clinton believes Al Gore can win this race. But Clinton needs to be a part of it," says Beckel.
Republicans are already crowing that Al Gore can't win this on his own. Even a former Clinton strategist says that bringing in the big man "trivializes" the vice president by making Gore look like the younger brother, ust when he's emerged from his shadow.