Clinton Is Backing Away to Give Gore Ticket the Political Field

President Clinton, who has been as comfortable in the spotlight as any president in recent memory, is stepping back to open the political field to Al Gore and Joseph I. Lieberman.

Clinton said Wednesday it’s important for Gore and Lieberman, the Democratic nominees for president and vice president, “to go out and spread the message, engage in the debate and make sure the American people know what the choices are before them.”

“The main thing is that the candidates carry the message and I think they’re doing a fine job,” Clinton said.

Since he presented his political swan song at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles last week, Clinton has taken a mini-vacation at Lake Placid in New York, done a few low-key fund-raisers and avoided chances to trumpet the benchmarks of his nearly eight years in office.

“I think that in the wake of the convention the president is focusing on foreign policy and framing the legislative debate in the fall and leaving the political field wide open for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman,” said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.

That decision was part of a “collaborative effort” between the Gore campaign and White House chief of staff John Podesta, Siewert said.