ASHINGTON - Vice President Al Gore met last Saturday with House minority leader Richard Gephardt to discuss the possibility that the Missourian could be Gore's running mate. But Gephardt is reluctant to take the vice presidential nomination, and the prospect of such a candidacy has alarmed some Democrats who fear it would hurt their efforts to retake the House.
Gephardt is a hero to many liberals and labor union leaders, some of whom have been less than happy with Gore's support of free-trade deals. But some Democrats said the selection of Gephardt might harm efforts to win over independent swing voters who tend to be more moderate.
In addition, a Gephardt selection might complicate the party's dream of retaking the House. Gephardt, as the top Democrat in the House, would become speaker if Democrats won an additional six seats and became the majority party. Last year, Gephardt met with a dozen or so Democrats who were thinking about leaving the House and said they had a duty to stay because a single race could determine which party controls the House.
But if Gephardt were to leave, Democratic control of his own House seat would be in danger. Under an unusual Missouri law, Gephardt would be barred from seeking reelection if he runs for the vice presidency. His district is considered a tossup and a late Democratic entrant might have trouble retaining the seat for the party.
''I don't think it's going to happen,'' said Eric Smith, Gephardt's former press secretary and now a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Nonetheless, he added, ''I think he would be a great choice.''
A Democratic source familiar with the meeting said Gore did not ask Gephardt to be his running mate. The source said Gephardt requested the meeting to tell Gore he did not want to be ''vetted'' in a full financial and personal investigation by the campaign. The source said Gephardt told Gore he was very reluctant to even be considered for the ticket, although Gephardt did not flatly say he would refuse an offer. The Gephardt-Gore meeting was first reported yesterday on ABC News' Web site.
The Gore team, meanwhile, is continuing to investigate a half-dozen potential candidates, including Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, whose status for weeks has been described by sources as a backup who could get the nomination in case there are problems with other candidates.
While the list of prospects shrinks and grows, various sources said it also may include Senator Bob Graham of Florida, Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, former senators George Mitchell of Maine and Sam Nunn of Georgia, and former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin.
Even some of Kerry's strongest supporters say Gephardt would not be Gore's top choice. Instead, they said his chances appear to depend on whether others in the field falter.
''It's not that his stock is rising, it's whether the stock of others is falling,'' said one Kerry associate who spoke on condition of anonymity and has been actively promoting the senator. Kerry, unlike Gephardt, has not met with Gore to discuss the vice presidency, although he has met with Gore's associates.
Gore campaign officials stressed yesterday that lists and rankings of vice presidential candidates made recently in various media are based only on speculation.
Gephardt advocates said the congressman would be helpful to Gore for several reasons: He would help win Missouri and possibly other Midwest states; he would be popular with union organizations that are upset with Gore's support of free-trade deals; and he might help retain liberal voters who otherwise would be attracted to Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.
But Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute, the moderate Democratic think tank, said: ''Dick Gephardt obviously is a political heavyweight, but I'm not sure putting him on the ticket would help Al Gore with the central challenge of this campaign, which is winning independents who are going to determine this election.''
Marshall said he doesn't have such concerns about prospects such as Kerry or Graham, calling them ''New Democrats.''
