ith two weeks until the Iowa caucuses and three till the New Hampshire primary, Vice President Al Gore spent precious campaign time last week dousing complaints about his campaign manager and reversing his own promise to require nominees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to accept that gays be allowed to serve openly in the military.
The near simultaneous stumbles involved two important constituencies to the Democratic Party -- blacks and gays -- and made Gore the target of criticism, especially by Republicans who attacked him in scathing terms on both counts in a South Carolina debate on Friday.
On Wednesday, Gore said during a debate at the University of New Hampshire that he would require any appointee to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to allow gays to serve openly in the military. Late Friday night in Des Moines, Gore reversed course.
''I did not mean to imply that there should ever be any kind of inquiry into the personal political opinion of the officers in the US military,'' he said, after his original comment stirred outrage among Democrats, Republicans and officers in the military.
Also on Friday night, Gore called General Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to smooth over concerns about a comment by his campaign manager, Donna Brazile. She had told a reporter that the Republican party showcases blacks like Powell and Congressman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma because the GOP has no program or policy to benefit blacks and other minorities.
Gore has refused to say whether he apologized to Powell.
''Neither of these is good news for the Gore campaign,'' said William G. Mayer, a political science professor at Northeastern University and an authority on the primary process. ''It reinforces the notion he isn't running a good campaign. It probably does help reinforce Bradley's argument that he's the more electable of the two.''
Certainly, that is what the Bradley campaign would like voters to think.
''It just adds to a perception about how well this guy is able to perform overall,'' said James Shannon, a former congressman who is co-chair of Bradley's Massachusetts campaign. ''If you have too many of these things, it's going to raise questions about what sort of administration you're going to have.''
But on the ground in New Hampshire, the Gore and Bradley campaigns were sticking to their game plans yesterday, without regard for the swirling controversies.
''We haven't had a single call from a real voter about either issue in this office,'' said Douglas Hattaway, Gore's New Hampshire spokesman. ''The national media gets excited by these things, but voters here are more interested in real issues.''
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the lieutenant governor from Maryland, campaigned on Gore's behalf in Manchester, Bedford and Concord, while about 80 volunteers canvassed Nashua with literature.
The Bradley campaign had 500 volunteers canvassing the state yesterday, dropping off fliers that discussed the former senator's position on campaign finance, health care and other issues.
''These are the kinds of things that happen in campaigns and you continue to go about your business,'' said Mark Longabaugh, Bradley's New Hampshire director, referring to the Gore missteps. ''We're going to continue what we've been doing, which is talking to voters in New Hampshire about Bill and where he wants to take us.''
Among political scientists who study the primary process, there was a sense yesterday that Gore faced less risk of being hurt in the Democratic primary by the controversies than he may in the general election.
Linda L. Fowler, a political scientist at Dartmouth College, said she was caught off guard when Gore said he would only appoint people to the Joint Chiefs of Staff who support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.
''When I heard that, I just groaned inwardly and thought that was going to be an albatross in the general election,'' Fowler said. At the same time, she said, Gore's about-face could anger the very constituency he was trying to court.
Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, was equally taken aback.
''It's just amazing to me that Gore could have said what he said in that debate,'' Sabato said. ''That kind of blather will get any candidate in trouble. If you go off message, it will return on video in the fall.''
