Rival Strategists Seek Weak Spots in Tsongas Position : Campaign: Democrats target economic issues. Republicans are likely to zero in on his social, foreign policy stands.

As former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas prepares to take his campaign beyond New Hampshire, strategists in both parties are searching for the weak spots in his message--an unusual blend of pro-business views on economics and positions on social policy that Tsongas himself has described as “extremely liberal.”

The sharpened focus on Tsongas was dramatically illustrated in Sunday’s Democratic debate, when he faced a flurry of criticism for his support of nuclear power. And strategists for Tsongas’ competitors say he can expect more of the same in the days ahead.

“The fact of the matter is Paul Tsongas hasn’t had the scrutiny the other candidates have had because I don’t think people thought he was going to be a serious candidate beyond New Hampshire,” argued Frank Greer, the media adviser to Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.

Democrats aiming at Tsongas in the primaries see their principal line of attack on economic issues, such as his opposition to a middle-class tax cut. Republicans, contemplating for the first time the possibility of facing him in a general election, believe they could do the most damage on social issues and foreign policy, such as his strong support for gay rights and his opposition to the use of force in the Persian Gulf.

In a year when Democrats are unusually focused on finding an “electable” nominee, that potential general election vulnerability also could become a tangible liability in the primaries.

But Tsongas has political strengths that potentially complicate the strategies of his current and prospective opponents.

Like such other cerebral neo-liberal Democrats as former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Tsongas’ amalgam of fiscally conservative and socially tolerant views could be extremely attractive to well-educated, relatively affluent younger voters and independent suburbanites who have backed the GOP in recent elections, analysts say.

“It is the quintessentially yuppie message,” said one Democratic pollster unaffiliated with any of the announced candidates.

On the other hand, many observers maintain the lack of either cultural or economic populism in Tsongas’ appeal may inhibit his ability to attract blue-collar workers, Southerners, urban ethnics and other voters who feel that both their standard of living, and the nation’s moral values, are eroding.

“He’s got all of the downside and none of the upside of being a Democrat,” said one high-ranking adviser in the Bush campaign. “He can still take all the hits on value issues that liberal Democrats have in previous elections, but he gets none of the upside on economic populism because he’s basically a Republican on economic issues.”

All of Tsongas’ Democratic opponents are preparing to argue that his economic program is elitist--demanding austerity from middle-income voters to fund investment incentives for the affluent.

For example, Tsongas favors a broad-based reduction in the capital gains tax, while proposing annual increases in the federal gasoline tax, a regressive levy that could ultimately cost middle-class families several hundred dollars a year.

In New Hampshire, Tsongas has successfully defended that posture as economic realism.

But strategists for the other Democrats believe that argument may prove less compelling once the campaign moves away from voters who know Tsongas as well as his neighbors in New Hampshire.

“When you lay out for the electorate his pro-tax breaks for the rich posture, they are clearly going to be troubled,” said Tim Raftis, campaign manager for Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. “He has bought into the theory that if you help big business and the wealthy it’s going to trickle down on us.”

In his campaign manifesto, “A Call to Economic Arms,” Tsongas also calls on Congress to hold cost-of-living adjustments for entitlement programs such as Social Security below the inflation rate; he has also talked about imposing greater means-testing on Medicare and perhaps considering such requirements for Social Security, “way down the road.”

With his staunch free-trade views and opposition to legislation that would prevent companies from hiring permanent replacement workers during strikes, Tsongas could also face a chorus of criticism from organized labor.