Clinton Problems Linger in the Shadows : Campaign: Amid delight at primary showing he is bracing for a rough ride ahead--dogged by voter skepticism about his character.

There was no denying the grin that creased Bill Clinton’s face as he took the stage at The Ritz nightclub here, his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination back on track.

Invoking the Amazing Mets of 1969, he proclaimed: “Their slogan then should be our slogan now: ‘You gotta believe!’ ”

But his avowed delight and obvious relief were tempered by what aides described as a quiet conclusion that his double victories in New York and Kansas, and his slim lead in Wisconsin, had not put his problems to rest.

Only three weeks ago, after similar triumphs in Michigan and Illinois, Clinton had predicted that voters’ skepticism about him would begin to fade as he advanced toward the nomination.

But what the Arkansas governor learned from the New York campaign was the importance of confronting such doubts head-on. And, as exit polls showed just how pervasive the concerns remain, he did not expect his rough ride to come to a quick end.

Asked the other night how he hoped to put so-called character issues to rest, Clinton’s smile turned wan. “I’m going to give every living person in every other state the same chance to ask me questions and evaluate me and my candidacy,” he said.

But Clinton showed no confidence that his strong showing could relegate former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. to insignificance--or exile Paul E. Tsongas to permanent non-candidate status.

Amid the throng of Clinton backers that crowded The Ritz Tuesday night, the Arkansas governor sounded a gracious note of success. He praised his rivals and urged his supporters to “reach out to those who did not vote for me but voted for change. We want to be their campaign too.”

But already Clinton and his campaign were bracing for continuing the campaign “alone, as one of two, or with the two others.” He warned that Brown would be dealt with for what he termed “scurrilous” and “gutless” last-minute attacks. And he issued a pointed reminder to Tsongas--who seemed to be thinking of re-entering the race--of what had happened in their previous head-to-head jousts.

“If he wants to come back in and fight it all over again, let him come,” Clinton said as he spent a morning at work in the Arkansas Statehouse before flying back to New York.

The impression he clearly hopes to leave is that of a candidate who does not sit but fights back.

But the pugnacity also reflects the insecurity of a campaign that believes it has no choice but to keep up the attack.

Clinton has prepared for new ways to cushion the blows. He complained during a live appearance on a Milwaukee television station this week that the media had transformed American politics into an “absolute orgy of obsession with (the) past.”

If the strong showing on Tuesday was likely to quiet some of the charges that have dogged him, what Clinton learned in his brief trip home may serve as a reminder of new complications.

Clinton was told that a shortfall in state revenue had reached the point at which he had to slash spending by $20 million over the next three months to comply with Arkansas law.