Two Clinton Rivals Level a Double-Barreled Attack : Primary: Tsongas and Harkin use terms like ‘cynical’ and ‘insensitive’ on eve of South Carolina primary.

Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton came under double-barreled attack Friday from two of his Democratic presidential rivals, as former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas called him “cynical and unprincipled” and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin charged him with “insensitivity” on racial issues.

Harkin, campaigning in South Carolina, called on Clinton to apologize for a newspaper photograph published Tuesday in the New York Times that showed Clinton and Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn standing before rows of black inmates at a boot-camp style correctional facility in Georgia.

“In no way would I ever accuse Bill Clinton of any kinds of acts of racism,” Harkin said. “However, what this picture demonstrates is an insensitivity. . . . A picture is worth a thousand words, and we can’t afford to have pictures like this going around America in major newspapers because it sends the wrong message about what we want to be as Americans.”

Harkin campaign workers and union supporters were knocking on doors in low-income areas across South Carolina in an effort to distribute 80,000 copies of a leaflet that juxtaposes the Clinton photograph with one of Harkin with the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Tsongas, campaigning in Florida, accused Clinton of pandering to voters and dubbed him “Pander-Bear.” He also charged that Clinton, in criticizing Tsongas’ economic proposals earlier this week, used “code words” that implied an ethnic slur.

Tsongas’ remarks represented his strongest denouncement of Clinton in a campaign that began with the two men continually expressing admiration for each other.

The blasts came on the eve of today’s South Carolina primary, which Clinton is favored to win easily, and as campaigning intensified in preparation for next week’s Super Tuesday slate of 11 primaries and caucuses, including several in the South.

Clinton, in comments late Friday night, scoffed at the claims by his two foes. He charged Harkin with playing “racial politics.” And he said of Tsongas: “We’ve all had some long and hard days on this campaign trail and we get frustrated and say things that we probably shouldn’t say.”

The photograph with Clinton and Nunn in the foreground and black inmates in the background was first raised as an issue by former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. during a Thursday night debate among the Democratic candidates. Brown charged that the photo made Clinton and Nunn look “like colonial masters” and sent a message of racial bias.

Clinton indignantly rebuffed Brown’s interpretation, and noted that the facility at which the photo was taken is an alternative to prison that is designed to give convicted youths of all races a chance to “get their lives back together.”

On Friday, Clinton deputy campaign manager George Stephanopoulos dismissed Harkin’s focus on the photograph as “the act of a desperate man.”

Harkin, whose campaign so far has failed to generate much support, is hoping for a strong showing in the South Carolina primary to boost his efforts.

Tsongas launched his attack on Clinton during an impromptu press conference in West Palm Beach, Fla. Along with calling Clinton “cynical and unprincipled,” he went on to say of the Arkansas governor: “He’ll do anything, say anything to get votes. There is nothing he will not do.”

Tsongas’ words marked a sharp change in direction for him. As recently as Thursday he was speaking with restraint about Clinton. But Friday, both he and aides said they believed he has been too polite to his adversaries, especially in light of a barrage of criticism Clinton has been directing at Tsongas’ proposals to revive the economy.

In the last several days, Clinton has been charging that Tsongas’ proposals are designed to help the wealthy more than the middle class and, as such, represent little more than a refined version of Reaganomics.

Tsongas’ ire on Friday was sparked, in part, by his interpretation of comments Clinton made Thursday in Dallas. As he questioned Tsongas proposals that he contends promote growth at the expense of fairness, Clinton said: “It won’t work. It’s not America.”

Tsongas said Friday, “When Clinton used the term ‘not American,’ this is a code word, people who are ethnic know what he is talking about and I resent it.”

Later, in a speech at a Greek Orthodox Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Clinton said: “Code words used to be what (North Carolina Republican Sen.) Jesse Helms did, used to be what George Bush did. Now, it’s in the Democratic Party.”

Friday night, Clinton aide Stephanopoulos expressed surprise at Tsongas’ comment, saying: “He’s trying to create an issue that just isn’t there.”

Tsongas also derided Clinton for calling for a continuation of the Pentagon’s Seawolf nuclear submarine program, saying it was an effort to pander to voters. Said Tsongas: “From today on, he’s Pander-Bear.”

President Bush has canceled the program, and Tsongas said he agrees that funds for it should be used for other purposes.

Times staff writer Cathleen Decker contributed to this story.