Bush, Gore Turn To Old Allies
With just 18 days left in the closet presidential race in decades, Al Gore and rival George W. Bush are calling on some old allies with whom they've had checkered relationships.
Gore is joining President Clinton on Friday at a memorial service in Jefferson City, Missouri, for Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was killed this week in a private plane crash.
Mr. Clinton met Gore at the airport, they shook hands and the president put a hand on Gore's shoulder. Gore chatted with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton while Tipper Gore patted Mr. Clinton on the back. They rode to the services together in the president's limousine.
After the funeral, Mr. Clinton was going to Indianapolis, while Gore was traveling to New Orleans.
This is the first time Gore has been seen in public with the president since declaring himself “my own man” in accepting the Democratic presidential nomination two months ago.
Bush headed to New England on Friday to campaign with Arizona Sen. John McCain, who put up a stiff fight for the Republican presidential nomination before fading. Speaking without McCain at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Bush said the Arizona senator had food poisoning and was unable to attend, but would join the candidate later in the day.
"He ate some rotten crawfish in Mississippi last night and is not feeling very well," Bush told hundreds of enthusiastic supporters.
Bush said he and McCain remained close.
"Our friendship is now as strong as ever," he said, invoking McCain's name several times.
"If John were here, I would thank him for introducing legislation, that I would sign, that would prevent the Congress from shutting down the government," Bush said.
McCain was expected to appear with Bush in Bangor, Maine, on Friday afternoon. He was also expected to campaign with Bush running mate Dick Cheney in Michigan on Monday, and with Bush in Florida on Wednesday.
Bush said he hoped to campaign soon with and other Republican stars as well, including 29 GOP governors and retired Gen. Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
McCain scored against Bush during the primary season, largely by attracting independent voters crucial to the general election. Relations between the two men have been testy and one of McCain's key issues is campaign finance reform, where he has big disagreements with Bush.
Gore, meanwhile, was launching a television campaign in New Hampshire reminding voters that McCain argued in the primary season that Bush offered “not one new penny for Social Security.”
“That's anything but straight talk,” the Gore ad says, mimicking McCain's campaign slogan.
In an issue-oriented interview on NBC's “Today”, Gore refused to say whether he was held to a higher standard than Bush in the candidates' three debates.
“It's not up to me to judge,” he said. “I think that all three of the debates, taken as a whole, will sort of be mulled over by people. I think people are deciding very late in this election. That's not necessarily a bad thing.”
Gore struggled to distance himself from Democrats' quips about Bush's intelligence, insisting none of the comments was made on his behalf.
“I do not raise any questions about his capacity,” Gore said. “He is a governor. You know, these are the kinds of judgments that the American people have to make.”
In the campaign's closing days, Gore has pledged to focus on the administration's success in boosting the economy, boasting “America has put its house in order.”
Also Friday, Bush received the endorsement of The Washington Times which said he “far surpasses Vice President Al Gore whether the qualifications are measured in terms of political priorities, leadership, personal character, governmental philosophies or vision of the future.”
“On issue after issue ... Bush offers the correct approach to the problems confronting America,” the paper said.
Bush is running a close campaign against Gore in Maine and New Hampshire, while Missouri is a tossup battleground state.
Both presidential campaigns are looking for any edge they can get, because polls have shown the race a photo finish. A new national poll by NBC and a poll by Voter.com of battleground states both showed the race within the margin of error.