Gore struggles to get traction with voters

WASHINGTON - For all of Al Gore's latest campaign moves - his ''prosperity tour,'' Democratic Party TV ads, a retirement savings plan, an offensive on gas prices - the newest snapshots of the presidential race showed him running in place while Republican rival George W. Bush opened a double-digit lead.

Bush better represents strength, trustworthiness and vision, people told the pollsters, giving Gore more points only for experience. Gore's advisers note, however, that the polls showing Bush leading by 8 to 12 percentage points were completed before the vice president undertook what they consider some of his best maneuvers.

Making his first trip to campaign headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., Gore's new chairman, Commerce Secretary William Daley, dismissed the worrisome snapshot of Bush's appeal.

''There's always a lot of fascination when there's a new kid on the block,'' Daley told The Associated Press.

''I don't think there's any urgency to anything right now. Al's out there. He's gotta remain out there, talking on the issues he's comfortable with and believes in: the economy and prosperity, particularly. And he's gotta keep moving around America, touching a lot of bases,'' Daley said.

Other Gore advisers noted that the new Voter.com-Battleground survey wrapped up just before Gore's tour touting the Clinton-Gore economic record, news of his ''Social Security Plus'' proposal, and an aggressive attempt to turn driver outrage over soaring gas prices against Bush, the Texas governor, for his ties to big oil companies.

Democratic players outside the campaign who were anxious about Gore's performance a month or so ago cited these new moves as reassuring that he is on track.

''Finally, they're using this time when voters aren't paying too much attention to fine-tune the message,'' said Paul Begala, a former strategist for President Clinton.

''This 'progress and prosperity tour' is exactly where they need to be,'' Begala added, ''I think he'll be hammering at three words: Forward or back, forward or back.''

The bipartisan Voter.com-Battleground survey released on Thursday, found Bush winning 52 percent of likely voters to Gore's 40 percent. The same survey last month gave Bush a 6-point lead.

Bush also led, 49 percent to 41 percent, in an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday.

The NBC poll overlapped with the first three days of Gore's prosperity tour - three days muddied by distractions. A Catholic hospital in Pennsylvania nixed Gore's campaign stop there because of his support for abortion rights. Then, campaign chairman Tony Coelho abruptly resigned, citing ill health.

''Voters are seeing this. They're seeing a campaign that is stumbling along and not sending a consistent message to the voters,'' said Republican Ed Goeas, who conducts the Battleground surveys with Democrat Celinda Lake.

In fact, about half of respondents who said they'd seen or heard recent news about Gore said that news made them less likely to vote for him.

Thursday threatened more damaging distraction when it was revealed that a top Justice Department prosecutor recommended a special-counsel investigation of Gore's 1996 fund raising.

Recognizing its headlines have hurt, Gore's team has been scrambling to shore up the confidence of its allies. At the Democratic National Committee, strategist Michael Whouley has briefed activists on the field operations he's organizing in targeted states.

And campaign officials were scheduling huddles with key Democrats in those states, including Illinois state Sen. Vince Demuzio, a former 26-year chairman of the Illinois Democratic party.

''Obviously, we have some difficulty ahead of us,'' Demuzio said. ''When it's all said and done, the election is going to focus on who can do the best job for the economy and voters will say, 'I don't want the boat rocked here ... Why do I have to buy into some unknown?'''

In Pennsylvania, another targeted state, Republican strategist John Braebender said Gore miscalculated in the Social Security debate by attacking Bush's proposal as risky and then belatedly offering something similar - at least on its face.

(Bush would let workers invest some of their Social Security payroll taxes in the stock market, while Gore would offer tax incentives to low- and moderate-income workers to save and invest for retirement, in addition to their guaranteed Social Security benefit.)

That fumble worsened ''perceptions that Bush is seen as a leader and Gore sort of a follower,'' Braebender said.

In the Battleground poll, Bush trumped Gore by 9-15 percentage points when respondents were asked to pick which candidate better represents strength, trustworthiness and vision.

Gore won out only on experience, 50 percent to 39 percent.

Braebender agreed with Gore allies that polls are pretty meaningless at this stage. ''In every state right now the amount of interest in this race is not where you'd expect it,'' he said.