Running Out The Clock

Two weeks out from the all-important debates, Al Gore is pursuing a front-runner's strategy, reports CBS News White House Correspondent John Roberts.

That strategy? Stick to the script stay on message, and run out the clock.

Former Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor chaired President Clinton's breakthrough bid for the White House in 1992. Kantor said Gore's campaign is very tightly controlled - as it should be - but also warned that a successful candidate must avoid distractions at all costs.

"If you find yourself either upset by it or continually dealing with it or constantly explaining yourself, you'll never get by…" he said. "You have to maintain focus and discipline."

Gore's message control is legendary. He grants rare interviews only to underscore the theme of the day - or highlight his personality. The last Gore press conference was July 17th's rollicking event with Jesse Ventura, Minnesota's maverick governor.

"They're playing a 'prevent defense,'" said political analyst Charlie Cook. "Don't make any mistakes. Don't give any info to the other side. Don't do anything that would cause controversy. Just keep going the way they are."

But that 'defense' broke down on Tuesday as Gore scrambled to rebut accusations that he'd fabricated a personal anecdote in comparing the costs of an arthritis drug for his dog with those of his mother-in-law. After a newspaper report challenged that claim, Gore was forced to admit that the price wasn't what she actually paid, but that it was taken from a congressional study.

"The issue is not what she pays," said the vice president. "The issue is that humans will pay two to three times what a dog pays."

Caught off guard, it took the Gore campaign two days just to come up with that response. It was as close as the vice president has come in the last month to being pulled off message - and giving Republican George W. Bush's campaign just the kind of opening they're looking to pounce on.