Campaigning With Clinton Proves Awkward for Gore

At a star-studded Beverly Hills fund-raiser the other night, Vice President Al Gore learned anew the drawbacks of campaigning alongside Bill Clinton.

For even as Clinton heaped perhaps the most lavish praise that a president has ever showered upon his understudy, it seemed next to impossible for Gore to outshine the big guy.

The poignant moment unfolded on the terrace of the splendorous city-owned Greystone Mansion on Saturday night as Clinton did his best to pass on to Gore one of the most reliable assets of his presidency: Hollywood political money.

As the men took turns addressing about 120 Hollywood celebrities and power brokers, the vice president’s performance served up a fresh reminder of his awkwardness on the stump--and his difficulty in connecting with voters.

Since his first White House bid, Clinton has made regular pilgrimages here to bask in the adoration of celebrity friends and donors who have given tirelessly.

On Saturday night, they were gathered once again, paying $25,000 a head to attend a dinner headlining both Clinton and Gore. Among those spotted in attendance were DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen; Melanie Griffith, Whoopi Goldberg, Berry Gordy of Motown Records, Ron Howard and Edward James Olmos.

After dinner, the crowd shuffled out to the flagstone patio, with its breathtaking view of the shimmering lights of Los Angeles.

Gore took to the podium first--and promptly caused a stir, one that still had Clinton chuckling several hours later.

As the vice president inveighed against turning over the White House to a Republican after eight years of the Clinton-Gore administration, he tried a little humor.

“It would be like a bunch of investors in your industry saying, ‘Well, let’s get rid of the team that made ‘American Beauty’ and get the ones that made ‘Howard the Duck’ . . . .”

His denigration of the latter--a dud of a movie about a man-duck in Cleveland produced by George Lucas--caused some chuckles and plenty of buzz among an audience that seemed surprised by the slap.

Detecting the commotion, Gore quickly said: “I hope I’m not stepping on anybody’s toes here.”

Then he blithely resumed his political pitch.

Hours later, aboard Air Force One as it taxied toward a takeoff for Northern California, Clinton was still having a good laugh over what some viewed as another Gore gaffe.

“Jeffrey [Katzenberg] howled about it,” Clinton told reporters.

But such friendly competition aside, the Saturday night fund-raiser was nothing short of a mutual love fest as Clinton and Gore spoke glowingly of one another.

Their joint appearance was their first since the president’s State of the Union address Jan. 27.

In praising his boss, Gore did not repeat his assessment of 17 months ago--delivered from the Rose Garden right after Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives--that Clinton would go down in history books as one of the best presidents. But the vice president spoke glowingly of his boss nevertheless.

” . . . Of all the criticisms of Bill Clinton that I’ve heard, the one that rings the most hollow of all is that he has pushed small ideas, little proposals,” Gore said.

“And . . . as I’m out there running now, the wind at my back is the fact that people believe we’re headed in the right direction,” he added.

Time and again, Gore said, he has watched Clinton confront “bet-the-farm decisions, bet-the-company decisions,” all the while wondering if the president would “buckle under the pressure.”

But he never did, Gore said.

“Just in strictly personal terms, the highest compliment I can pay is to say he is really a good friend and he knows what friendship is all about.”

As Gore left the microphone--and as Clinton approached it--they stood face to face, clutching one another by the elbows, as if calculating whether to exchange hugs. They did not.

If Gore’s rather dry speech left his listeners fidgeting, Clinton immediately put them at ease.

He joked about how Gore had urged him to keep his remarks simple, saying:

“He said, ‘Nothing special; just get up there and say, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Gore.’ ”

As the laughter subsided, the president added: “That’s not an unrealistic litany there.” Then he proceeded to tout Gore’s service to him as vice president.

But first Clinton had some more fun at Gore’s expense.

Noting that as candidate Gore seeks to establish his own identity, and as every policy difference between himself and the vice president is dissected, Clinton revealed a new one.

“I actually liked ‘Howard the Duck,’ ” he quipped.

Turning serious, Clinton called Gore “the most qualified person in my lifetime to seek this job”--bar none.

“You will never get a chance in your lifetime to vote for someone as well qualified again,” Clinton added. “I certainly wasn’t when I ran.”

After the speeches, actor Jimmy Smits, the former “NYPD Blue” star, was gazing out at the sea of lights in the Los Angeles Basin, contemplating Campaign 2000.

He acknowledged that Gore does not have Clinton’s easy charismatic manner, but he believes that the vice president will improve as the campaign unfolds.

“I think that when we get to September, when we get around to the debates, he’ll be in top form,” he said.