PALO ALTO, Calif. - Al Gore is no Bill Clinton when it comes to working a crowd and making political testimonials.
Searching for something nice to say about his boss, Gore came up with this Saturday night:
''Of all the good things I could say about President Bill Clinton ... I could tell you about the many, many times when I have seen him - especially in the early years - nearly buckle under the pressure of this office,'' Gore said. ''But never do so.''
Gore also recalled ''all the criticisms of Bill Clinton that I've heard'' and concluded that ''the one that rings the most hollow is that he has pushed small ideas, little proposals. They just haven't been paying attention.''
It was a pair of strikingly backhanded compliments that caught attention on a star-studded night in Beverly Hills.
When it came his turn to speak, Clinton took a more effusive approach about Gore. He said the man who hopes to succeed him as president is ''the most qualified person in my lifetime to seek this job.'' The president said Gore's election would validate the direction of Clinton's own presidency.
Clinton and Gore came together at a glitzy gathering of Hollywood stars for a $2.8 million Democratic fund-raiser. It was their first joint appearance in more than four months, and it brought out actors Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Smits, Kim Delaney, Rene Russo, Edward James Olmos, and Antonio Banderas. Singers Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow were there; so was Jay Leno.
Gore was the lead speaker and immediately plunged into a heavy reminiscence of his disillusionment with politics as a young man after Vietnam, Watergate, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. After years as a reporter, he said, he decided to jump into the political arena to see if he could make a difference.
The vice president said he and Clinton had faced down special interests, turned huge budget deficits into big surpluses, and transformed a recession-scarred economy into the strongest boom in America's history.
Following Gore to the stage, Clinton won over the audience with a quick joke.
Clinton said he had asked Gore if there was anything special he should say. ''He said, `Nothing special, just get up there and say Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Gore.''' From his seat, Gore reminded Clinton that he had amended that remark. ''He said, `Oh yeah, put Clinton in there somewhere,''' the president said.
Gore has suffered in comparison with Clinton before. The vice president comes off as stiff in public, a dramatic contrast with Clinton, who is commonly said to rank with Ronald Reagan as a great communicator.
In light-hearted moments, Clinton poked fun at Gore. Earlier this month, Clinton quipped about how the Constitution prevents presidents from serving more than two terms and suggested this political slogan: ''Al Gore - because there's a 22d Amendment.''
Running for president, Gore has found it necessary to separate himself from Clinton on everything from policy matters - such as the Elian Gonzalez case - to Clinton's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But with Clinton's popularity still high and his standing among Democrats undiminished, Gore cannot stray too far.
Even as Gore has distanced himself at times, Clinton has never slapped back at his vice president. Perhaps because Clinton feels that Gore's election would vindicate his own trouble-filled presidency.
''You will never get a chance in your lifetime to vote for someone as well-qualified again,'' Clinton said. ''You will never get a chance in your lifetime to ratify a direction and to accelerate the pace of change that is clearly working.''
Lavishing Gore with praise, Clinton said, ''In the entire history of the United States, no one who has ever served in that position has had remotely as much positive impact on America as vice president as Al Gore has. Not even close.''
Clinton acknowledged that ''we are friends, and I am biased.''
