New Clinton Image: Small-Town Boy Fixing Economy : Campaign: He plans to emphasize Bush’s record on recession and his own rural Arkansas upbringing.

The summertime image to be forged for soon-to-be Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton has been whittled down to its essence: Here is a small-town boy who can fix the economy.

Hoping to take advantage of voter dissatisfaction with the performance of President Bush, Clinton is laying plans to reintroduce himself to voters with a hard-hitting assault on the Administration’s economic record and a simultaneous emotional appeal based on his upbringing in rural Arkansas.

The economy has always been a prominent thrust of Clinton’s campaign. But the release last week of figures showing that the nation’s jobless rate increased to 7.8% in June--and rose to 9.5% in the key state of California--underscored the importance of the economy as an election factor and may have provided Clinton a new opportunity to make his case, advisers to the Arkansas governor say.

The Clinton aides believe he has to not only drive home his ideas for turning around the economy, but also do a better job of explaining other issues--such as education and the environment--in terms of their budgetary impact.

“We think the election will be determined by mom-and-pop, kitchen table economic issues,” said Paul Begala, a senior Clinton strategist. “We just have to keep hammering on economics. That’s what has happened in the last two weeks; that’s our strength.”

The last two weeks have indeed been bright for Clinton, compared to previous weeks when he struggled just to be heard above the din caused by his two opponents, Bush and probable independent candidate Ross Perot.

Clinton advisers credit much of the campaign’s new momentum to the candidate’s showing on such nationally televised programs as the “Today Show” and “Good Morning America,” where he had time to explain to viewers his beliefs on key issues.

Additionally, they believe he has been aided significantly by voter reaction to the sometimes nasty brawl between Bush and Perot that was sparked by several news stories raising questions about the Texas billionaire’s style of doing business and dealing with foes.

Democrats and Republicans alike also presume that Bush has since been hurt by the jobless figures--which undercut the Administration’s attempt to portray the economy as slowly recovering--and that Perot has suffered from the increased scrutiny of his past.

The boost for Clinton, however limited, comes at an opportune time: just as he is entering a two-week period in which he will likely dominate political news.

Sometime during the coming week, Clinton is expected to announce his vice presidential selection, a move that will give voters a chance to assess his judgment. A week from Monday, he heads to New York for the opening of the national Democratic Convention that will resound with praise of his accomplishments and positions.

Those festivities traditionally usher in a honeymoon of sorts for the nominee, although in this topsy-turvy political year it is uncertain how long the focus will stay on Clinton.

Whatever the effects, the Clinton campaign means to leave the convention having given America a more focused picture not only of Clinton’s economic plans but also of the governor himself.

Internal campaign surveys, for example, have shown that voters presume that Clinton, a Yale-educated lawyer and Rhodes scholar at England’s Oxford University, grew up rich. Actually, he was raised in the small Arkansas town of Hope by his mother and grandparents. Clinton’s father died in an automobile accident before the governor was born.

“What we want to do is tell his personal story,” said Clinton campaign press secretary Dee Dee Myers. “People think he was well-to-do, that he’s always had it easy. (But) he had to struggle to get into the middle class.”

Using a phrase that captures the appeal the Clinton forces hope to forward, Myers added: “From Hope, Ark., to Oxford, England, is a long way.”

Campaign officials believe that if voters know the governor’s roots, they will trust his promise to better their lives.

Clinton himself made a point of emphasizing his humble beginnings last week in San Antonio, where he spoke to the national convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens. The opportunity came when Clinton struck back at Vice President Dan Quayle’s attempts to portray him as part of a liberal elite.

“He says I’m in the cultural elite, even though I may be the last person ever to seek the presidency who once lived in a house without indoor plumbing,” Clinton said mockingly.

Exactly how Clinton will press his economic and personal message in the next several months has not been decided.

Strategist Begala said Clinton will continue to experiment with unconventional ways to appeal to voters. “He is open to different ways of campaigning,” Begala said.

In a profession where luck and timing are essential, the best news of the last two weeks for Clinton may have been that he is finally benefiting from factors outside his own campaign. That is an unusual circumstance for a candidate who has long struggled to hammer out and maintain a presence in the race.

The jobless figures, for example, came out as Clinton began a long-scheduled vacation, a time when ordinarily he would have expected Bush and Perot to dominate the news.

Bush’s defense in the wake of the bad economic news--that his programs had been stymied by the Democratic-controlled Congress--also heartened some Democrats who believe that the excuse may backfire.

“Nobody really believes that,” said David Axelrod, a Chicago-based Democratic consultant who is informally advising Clinton. “Ronald Reagan had a plan and he got Congress to go along. What does that say about Bush as a leader?”