ASHINGTON - President Clinton said yesterday that while some people might punish Al Gore for the president's behavior, ''mature'' people would be able to separate the two men when choosing the Democratic nominee for president next year.
''I think a lot of people who may not like me will hold it against him,'' Clinton said when asked whether his liaison with Monica S. Lewinsky would damage the vice president's presidential hopes.
''But I don't think mature people hold another person responsible for another person's conduct,'' Clinton told reporters at a joint news conference with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In blunt comments Wednesday night in New Hampshire, Gore distanced himself from the president, telling voters he felt disappointed and angry with Clinton over the Lewinsky episode.
Gore's response was typical of what he has said in stump speeches. But his remarks during the nationally televised town meeting with Bill Bradley, his rival for the Democratic nomination, were jarring because it was the vice president, not the questioner, who brought up Clinton's name.
''In terms of what he said, he didn't say anything I haven't said,'' Clinton told the news conference yesterday.
In the end, the president said, voters will choose the candidate they believe would do the best job on issues such as education and the economy. ''People are not dumb,'' Clinton said. ''They vote for what is in their interest.''
Looking relaxed and often chuckling at reporters' questions, Clinton joked that some in the journalistic ''fraternity'' try to ''confuse'' voters on what the important issues are. ''But in the end, they almost always get it right and vote for what's best for themselves and their children,'' Clinton said.
Gore also should get credit for what the administration sees as its successes, such as the strength of the economy, the president said.
Clinton also reported no substantial progress on the budget standoff with Congress. He conceded that he would not get one of his priority items, prescription drug coverage for Medicare patients.
There will probably not be a government shutdown because of the dragged-out budget talks, he said.
On foreign policy matters, Clinton praised Obasanjo for his efforts to return democracy to long-troubled Nigeria and pledged to help the country ease its debt problems.
Clinton played down his upcoming trip to Oslo to attend a ceremony highlighting the Middle East peace process. ''I wouldn't want to raise expectations excessively, but they've put themselves on an aggressive timetable,'' he said.
