What's With Bill And Al?

The relationship between President Clinton and Al Gore is so distant that Gore won't call the president for political advice and appears to be going out of his way to avoid appearing with his boss, reports The New York Times.

The newspaper said that Mr. Clinton has been personally wounded by Gore's rebuff. The nation's chief executive and the No. 2 man have spoken only a few times between the Democratic convention in August and the recent crisis in the Mideast, when Gore returned to the White House for the first time since last May.

The Times quoted an unidentified Democratic fund-raiser as saying of the relationship between the two men: "It's worse than you think."

While Mr. Clinton is expected to take a more active role in stumping for Democrats, including the vice president, there are no plans for the president and Gore to campaign together.

The two men haven't made a joint campaign appearance since a "torch-passing" event in August. [Mr. Clinton and Gore on Friday attended a memorial service for Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was killed in a plane accident earlier this week.]

Gore is putting a different spin on his relationship with the president. In an appearance on NBC's Today show, Gore insisted he was still friendly with the president and that Mr. Clinton is involved the campaign.

"He is on the campaign trail. He will be on the campaign trail," Gore said. "He is helping out, he is helping out and I welcome it," he added.

However, he said the president was busy with his own job. "He is president of the country and has a full-time job. That's not just a throw-away phrase."

Gore insisted the president was his "friend" and that he was very proud to have worked closely with him during the past eight years.

"We've been able to accomplish some good things on behalf of the American people. But I'm running as who I am and on my own and on the basis of what we need to do from here on out," he said.