The <i>Real</I> Deal In New York?

It's a historic development in the nation's most-watched Senate race: Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Republican opponent, Rep. Rick Lazio, banned soft-money ads, paid for by their respective parties, from their campaigns.

On Sunday, as both sides jostled to take credit, watchdog groups cheered - but also expressed skepticism.

"We've never had two candidates agree not to spend money that they could have had," said Larry Makinson of the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. "I'm surprised. And like the campaigns themselves, I'm a little wary that it will stick."

"The best thing about it is that it shows they're trying to address soft money; the worst thing is, we think it's more politics than actual reform," said Rachel Leon, executive director of Common Cause-NY. "If the candidates wanted to show they're serious about this, they would both pledge to pass a soft-money ban when they're elected."

Both candidates have pledged support for such a law. Lazio said Sunday on ABC's This Week that the voluntary agreement between the two campaigns showed "we can lead without a law being in place."

The campaigns reached a deal late Saturday that prohibits the major and minor political parties endorsing them from airing TV and radio ads boosting their candidates or attacking their opponents. That applies to the Republican and Conservative parties on his side and the Democratic, Liberal and Working Families parties on her side. The agreement does not ban direct mail or get-out-the-vote efforts.

Soft money refers to unlimited funds collected by political parties. While hard money contributions, limited to $2,000 per donor, can be used for ads that advocate voting for or against a candidate, soft money can only be used to advocate an issue, boost a candidate or attack a candidate, rather than stating, "Vote for so-and-so."

Clinton's campaign has already raised millions of dollars in soft money. Lazio's campaign does not have its own soft money account, but has benefited from soft money spending by outside groups.

Lazio also has more hard money than Clinton, so the soft-money ban could give him an advantage. The latest federal filings showed his campaign had $10.2 million to her $7.1 million.

Many of Lazio's campaign aides worked on the presidential primary bid of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who made campaign finance reform his biggest issue.

McCain, who planned to campaign with Lazio in New York on Monday, praised the "bold agreement" on soft money.

"The New York race would have been one of the most soft-money controlled elections in the history of Senate elections," he said, "but these two candidates have taken a risk that can only benefit the future of our democracy."

Clinton's campaign first proposed a ban on soft money spending in December, back when the Republican candidate was New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Lazio, a Long Islan congressman who replaced Giuliani after the mayor dropped out amid prostate cancer and marital woes, brought the issue to a head when he strode over to Clinton during a televised debate Sept. 13 and waved a contract to ban soft money in her face.

Lazio took heat for what some critics characterized as "aggressive" badgering of the first lady, but on Sunday, he told ABC: "If I didn't make that point as emphatically as I did, we wouldn't have this agreement now."

Clinton initially refused to sign the proposal, because it did not compel outside organizations to refrain from soft-money spending.

But Lazio secured agreements from most of the independent groups supporting him, and Clinton's campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said Sunday their side is urging groups supporting her to to refrain as well.

"That's a real big if there," said Makinson. "You're counting on the self-control of outside groups."

The National Abortion Rights Action League, which already paid for one TV commercial attacking Lazio and had begun producing another, said that for now, it will hold off airing the second ad, according to NARAL spokesman Bob Jaffe.

Instead, the group will step up other efforts to try to persuade voters that Clinton is stronger on abortion rights issues. On This Week, Lazio said he would not use Roe vs. Wade as a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees. Clinton has repeatedly said she
would never vote for a judge who did not support abortion rights.

A half dozen NARAL protesters dogged Lazio at a Korean festival in Queens on Sunday, shouting, "Hey Rick, what about the judges?"

Violations of the soft money pact will be punished reciprocally, meaning that if one side buys $100,000 worth of air time, the other side can do the same.

Both sides jockeyed to take credit.

"We have an historic agreement. That wouldn't have happened unless my campaign showed leadership," Lazio said.

"If it was not to his advantage, he would not be doing it," said Clinton campaign spokesman Wolfson, adding: "We are hopeful but wary."