Gore Directs Full Attention to N.H., Iowa

On the political stage that is the town of Walpole, Al Gore took his cues Wednesday from a master director.

Ken Burns, the documentary film director who lives here, escorted the candidate on a sunlit walk across the main street from L.A. Burdick’s chocolate store to Toles’ Variety store. He marshaled his film assistants to help coordinate the big event and warmed up the street crowd, tucked neatly behind ropes, before Gore’s arrival.

Somehow--largely at the urging of Burns and Dayton Duncan, a local writer and former political operative--the Gore campaign found the rare New Hampshire hamlet that had not been visited by either Gore or Bill Bradley, the vice president’s competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination.

During a later stop in Lebanon, Gore appeared at a child care center to accept the endorsement of Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who once considered seeking the nomination himself but backed away after a lengthy conversation with the vice president.

Dean, a physician, said Gore’s health care plan helped tip the balance as he debated which Democrat to support for president. He praised Gore’s plan as both practical and affordable.

Turning to the reporters, Gore said he is now focused entirely on the Feb. 1 New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses, which will take place Monday.

In Iowa, a Los Angeles Times poll this week found Bradley trailing Gore by 23 points.

And on Wednesday, Gore’s confidence about his New Hampshire prospects may have been heightened by new polls showing a slight boost in his chances of victory in the primary.

Tracking polls undertaken by the American Research Group showed Gore incrementally moving up in voters’ minds, as Bradley eased sightly downward. But the duo remained essentially tied with 44% for Gore and 42% for Bradley. A CBS News poll, meanwhile showed Gore leading, 47% to 39%, while a University of Massachusetts poll showed Bradley up, 47% to 37%.

“Sen. Bradley may be looking ahead to future contests; I’m just looking at Iowa and New Hampshire,” the vice president said. “This is a real hard-fought contest.”

Gore traversed the western reaches of New Hampshire in a bus that was a moving billboard for his campaign message. At the front was the resurrected slogan, “Stay and Fight.”

Gore first brought out the slogan several months ago, as Bradley’s challenge gained power. It refers to the former senator’s decision to retire from the Senate after Republican majorities were elected in both houses of Congress in 1994.

At the back of the bus was a message that took a twist on Bradley’s slogan, “It Can Happen.” Gore’s banner read: “It Will Happen.”