Gore Bid Faces Another Glitch

As Al Gore organized presidential votes at a Washington Baptist convention Tuesday, CBS News Correspondent Phil Jones reports a sign of disarray came from within the Vice President's camp.

In the latest headline, Gore's Chief of Staff Ron Klain has resigned. Klain claimed he wasn't pushed out, but either way, the Gore campaign continues to be plagued by embarrassment.

When Gore went to New Hampshire for an environmental photo-op and -- as the nation battled drought conditions -- local power officials released millions of gallons of water into a river to keep the VP's canoe afloat. Equally embarrassing was the news that Gore, who used his sister's death from lung cancer to attack tobacco, has now hired former tobacco lobby employee Carter Eskew as his key media consultant.

The picture of Gore's campaign ineptness was further enhanced when his staff allowed placard-carrying supporters to block the camera view of the candidate during his announcement to run.

How serious are these gaffes? The Gore campaign is compared to the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner by one democratic consultant. Harrison Hickman, who's not involved in the presidential campaign, sees Gore, "sitting in a harbor, trying to turn around to get to open sea. It is not a very agile looking machine, but once it gets on the high seas and has open sea to go to, it moves along pretty good."

In his path is another boat, helmed by former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley. Bradley trails Gore in the polls, though his July 4 weekend campaign office telephone message showed unusual confidence. "After raising $11 and one-half million, and gaining support in New Hampshire and Iowa, the Bradley campaign is taking a day off at the Jersey Shore," the Bradley camp reported.

In the midst of all the apparent Gore campaign glitches a CBS News poll shows he's still leading the race, beating out Bradley by more than a two to one margin. For each of the candidates, it's still a long way to the White House.