ASHINGTON - In a ritzy hotel ballroom six months ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton made it clear where she stands in the contest between Al Gore and Bill Bradley.
''He is my choice, and I hope your choice, for the next president of the United States,'' she said about Gore at a gathering of 400 Democratic women here.
But, since she became a full-fledged candidate for the US Senate from New York, the togetherness evident in their joint appearance June 1 has become a thing of the past, at least for public consumption.
Though Clinton and Gore often travel the same well-worn New York streets on the same day, house their local campaign staffs in the same office building, and are two number twos trying to become number ones, they might as well be on different planets.
Their situation is emblematic of a campaign in which distancing and dissing have become part of the national political conversation and politics has trumped personal relationships. From Republican front-runner George W. Bush putting daylight between himself and the congressional Republicans who support him to Gore and Mrs. Clinton distancing themselves from President Clinton and each other, the 2000 race has become a contest of disassociation.
''This is about every person for themselves,'' Stephen Hess, a senior fellow of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution, said about this election year. ''This is quite cutthroat politics.''
And nowhere is that trend more evident than in New York, where both Gore and Clinton are locked in very different but equally competitive races: Gore against Bradley in the state's March 7 presidential primary, and Clinton against New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, her likely opponent in the Senate race.
With statewide polls currently showing Gore running neck and neck with Bradley and with Clinton trailing Guiliani, the plan to team up the two candidates before the New York primary is in abeyance.
Gore's aides say the vice president values the first lady's endorsement, but he has not decided how he wants to use it. Those aides say Gore might ask her to campaign for him separately, but any decision on appearing together before the primary, when it could either help or hurt Gore, will have to wait until after New Hampshire's Feb. 1 primary.
If Gore wins in New Hampshire, Gore's advisers say, he will have momentum heading into New York, a state that would then become less crucial to his nomination. That would also make an appearance with Clinton less risky politically.
Those advisers and political analysts say that having the first lady campaign for Gore in New York would only dredge up notions of ''Clinton fatigue'' after her husband's two terms in the White House. It also risks damaging Gore's good relations with Jewish voters who are upset with Clinton's handling of intemperate remarks about Israel by Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, during Clinton's recent trip to the Middle East.
An informal adviser to Gore summed up the campaign's thinking: ''Why stick your toe real deep in the water when you don't know if it's going to be freezing, scalding, or tepid when you will know in time.''
Since June, Clinton has begun to soft-pedal her support for Gore, even saying at one point that she likes both Bradley and Gore. Her campaign insists she remains deeply loyal to Gore and will do whatever it takes to help him win.
Asked last month whether she wanted Gore to campaign for her, Clinton gave a two-word reply: ''Absolutely, absolutely.''
But it may be wise for Clinton to hedge her bets against the possibility that Bradley, a former senator from neighboring New Jersey and a New York Knicks basketball star, wins not only the New York primary but also the Democratic nomination. Come November, she will have to hitch her wagon to the Democratic nominee, whoever it is, and run a coordinated campaign in New York.
There are other risks for her, as well. Analysts say that if Clinton comes out too forcefully for Gore and he loses the New York primary, she would be hounded about her lack of clout in the state.
''She would be well advised not to overplay the Gore connection right now, because the embarrassment would be greater if he lost the primary in New York,'' said New York pollster Lee Miringhoff.
Ultimately, the distancing may serve the interests of both campaigns. Gore is trying to break free from his association with the president and to establish his own indentity. The first lady is seeking to establish herself as a New Yorker and get outside the shadow of national politics.
''Certainly Mrs. Clinton would like to help the vice president in any way she can, but whether she can and whether he wants her to is an open question,'' said New York Democratic consultant Norm Adler. ''Mrs. Clinton has got to figure out how to help herself before she worries about how to help Al Gore.''
As for Gore, Adler added: ''If he is viewing her as a walking stick to help him down the path of victory, he is making one big mistake.''
New York pollster John Zogby said that, in theory, Clinton would derive the greatest benefit by having Bradley as the party's nominee and leading the ticket in New York state. Analysts say Bradley polls well among the state's independent voters, which could give Clinton a boost in November.
''Al Gore at the top of the ticket, I think, is only a reminder of Clinton fatigue,'' Zogby said. ''They would be two Clinton fatigue candidates kind of feeding off each other. Bradley affords her the opportunity to remind voters of something higher and different.''
