Clinton and GOP’s Gergen Join Forces : White House: Appointment of new spokesman is seen as effort to shore up President’s credibility as a centrist. Aides say more crucial decisions loom.

In the first hours of what his aides view as a crucial weekend for his Administration, President Clinton confirmed Saturday that he had selected influential Republican David Gergen as his new counselor and chief spokesman, a step clearly intended to address concerns that the White House has strayed from its promise of political centrism.

“The message here is that we are rising above politics. We are going beyond partisanship that damaged this country so badly in the last several years to search for new ideas, a new common ground, a new national unity,” Clinton said.

He referred to Gergen as a “moderate, pro-change, patriotic American” who had demonstrated “a sense of patriotism that transcends partisanship.”

Gergen used much the same words, saying: “I hold the old-fashioned belief that when a President asks for help, there is only one good answer: ‘How soon should I start?’ ”

Standing next to Clinton during a morning press conference in the Rose Garden, Gergen joked about the ideological oddity of a Democratic President hiring a prominent Republican for such a high-profile position.

Noticing that Clinton had crossed behind him while he spoke, Gergen quipped: “You did get to my right. That’s unusual, but we’ll look forward to more.”

During the press conference and a subsequent television interview, Gergen displayed the skills for which he had been hired, praising his new boss, flattering senior Washington reporters, subtly denigrating billionaire industrialist Ross Perot and trying to drive home the notion that his appointment demonstrates that the Clinton White House is searching for a “new Democratic philosophy . . . a centrist approach.”

Clearly it is hoped that the appointment of Gergen--who has held key posts in the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan--would help address concerns that Clinton has allowed himself to be influenced too much by the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in both his social and economic programs, and had failed to reach out to Republicans and conservative Democrats.

The repeated invocations of nonpartisanship also apparently reflect a realization on the part of Clinton and his strategists that to remain politically viable, they must lure a large portion of the 19% of voters who cast ballots for Perot in last fall’s presidential election and who continue to express unhappiness with partisan division and “politics as usual.”

As the President continues to try to establish the impression that he is prepared to return to his “new Democrat” ideology, he faces a series of key decisions, many of which will occupy him as he spends the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md.

The results of those decisions, White House aides say, will go far toward determining whether Gergen’s appointment is the first step in a successful effort by Clinton to right his listing Administration or merely a flashy gimmick that placates Washington insiders by rewarding one of their own but does little to address the President’s fundamental problems.

Over the next several days, the President must decide whether to make still more staff changes--and if so, which ones. He must also make key choices about basic elements of his health care plan, formulate strategy for getting his budget through the Senate and choose a new justice for the Supreme Court.

Beyond that, a host of smaller but pressing issues lie before him: whether to drop the controversial nomination of C. Lani Guinier to head the civil rights division of the Justice Department, what strategies to pursue at next month’s summit of industrial nations in Tokyo and how to end the political standoff in Haiti.

At least for Saturday, those broader questions receded into the background at the White House, where aides were left shaken and uncertain how to interpret what had just occurred.

Aides pointed to a host of unanswered questions: How would Gergen, who faithfully served Reagan, handle such stock Clinton lines as the President’s standard denunciation of the “failed policies of the last 12 years?” If he stays in the job until next year, how will he handle the inevitable partisan battles surrounding the 1994 congressional elections? How, as the chief White House spokesman, will he handle communications with the Democratic Party in its battles with the Republicans?

Gergen sidestepped such questions on Saturday, talking only of the need to “go beyond some of these games we play in this town” and to seek a nonpartisan approach.

“It’s just going to be unsettling for a while,” one White House aide said.

“Call me if you hear any other news that’s going to change my life,” said another.

In fact, more news may well be on the way, for aides said the appointment of Gergen was only the first step in what Clinton strategists believe should be a major effort to change the public’s perception of what the Clinton presidency is all about.

With his poll ratings plummeting and his policies beset on every front, Clinton faces what even close friends agree is a crisis point.

“He seems to have lost his footing,” said one longtime friend and political associate.

To be sure, Clinton has faced such crises before, only to recover. But in past episodes, the friend said, “they were always running against somebody. Now that they’re in the White House, they find that they’re running against themselves.”

Most analysts seem to agree that a key problem for the White House has been a lack of focus--an appearance, whether accurate or not, that Clinton has flitted from issue to issue without clearly establishing his priorities.

Restoring that focus is supposed to be the primary task of the man Gergen replaces: George Stephanopoulos, who will become a senior adviser to Clinton with instructions to keep the boss on track.

But many, both inside and outside the White House, say they believe that more changes will have to be made. A key problem, some say, is that while Stephanopoulos may be able to keep the President focused, the White House lacks a disciplinarian who can enforce that focus on its staff.

The man who was supposed to play that role was Clinton’s longtime friend, Harold Ickes, a New York attorney and liberal Democratic activist.

But Ickes was dropped from the White House staff lineup only hours before Clinton unveiled it last December because of an investigation into his ties to a union he once represented as a lawyer. Several of the union’s officials have been identified by law enforcement officials as having ties to organized crime.

Ickes has denied any wrongdoing, and friends say the investigation is within days of completion.

Because of that, many White House aides say they believe that Ickes may soon come to the White House, probably in the role of a deputy chief of staff. One of the two current deputy chiefs of staff, Mark D. Gearan, might then move into a new job overseeing the Cabinet and the White House intergovernmental affairs and public liaison offices.

Some Clinton advisers, less enamored of Ickes, have suggested that other prominent Democratic strategists might take the role. Among those mentioned are John Sasso, an adviser to New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, or former California congressman Tony Coelho.

Those possibilities seem considerably less likely, however. Coelho, in particular, would bring enormous liabilities to the White House. He resigned his seat in Congress after allegations of misconduct involving a savings and loan, and White House aides acknowledged that any move to hire him would become immediately enmeshed in controversy.

Others suggest that any further staff shuffles would be a mistake. A new high-level aide would be simply one person too many, suggested one longtime campaign adviser to Clinton. “You have some powerful forces you would have to contend with. You have Clinton, you have Hillary (Rodham Clinton), you have (James) Carville, you have Stephanopoulos and now you have Gergen.”

* PITCH FOR ECONOMIC PLAN: Clinton promotes his deficit-reduction package in a speech to graduating cadets. A20