St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 19

SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 2000 ST.LOUISPOST-DISFWCH Gore, Lieberman start campaign trek down Mississippi 3 3 hTfe.v.Sii2S' Ws THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The vice president focuses on campaign finance reform at stop in Wisconsin. From News Services ABOARD THE MARK TWAIN Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore and running mate Joseph Lie-berman embarked on a four-day trip down the majestic Mississippi River on Friday, trying to stir heartland excitement for their freshly launched presidential campaign. They are traveling on a 120-foot boat named after legendary author and humorist Mark Twain. Gore and Lieberman set off on their "Charting America's Course" cruise in La Crosse, barely 12 hours after claiming their parry's nomination. A white-suited Mark Twain impersonator, a barbershop-style a cappella singing group and about 5,000 people saw the candidates off at Riverside Park.

The riverboat trip will cut through four battleground states Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. It will end Monday in Hannibal, Twain's hometown. Boats of Secret Service agents sputtered along on each side of the Mark Twain, whose maximum speed according to pilot Ray Richmond was a mere 8 mph. The pace made Gore more than an hour late to greet some 2,000 supporters at his final stop of the day in Prairie du Chien, Wis. Posing near the bow, Gore turned down photographers' suggestions that he balance himself hands-free as Leonardo DiCaprio's character did in "Titanic." "No," Gore chuckled.

"Wrong metaphor." Gore focused his "bon voyage" remarks on campaign finance reform as he shared the Riverside Park stage with Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis. Feingold, along with GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is one of the leading champions of overhauling the system of campaign fund raising. This election, Gore said, should "enable and empower all of us to join together to say the people of America have had enough" of special-interest money corrupting politics.

Ralph Engh of Genoa, salutes the Mark Twain as it heads down the Mississippi River with Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore and his running mate, Joseph Lieberman, on Friday. with a grin, "they seem to be gaining relevancy." President Bill Clinton carried the crucial Midwest in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. But Gore has consistently trailed Bush in polls here. By emphasizing "a new chapter" and "a new time" in his speech, Gore apparently sought to be seen as more than a repository of Clinton's legacy. "It's very clear he got out from Clinton's umbrella," said Jeff Ekola, 58, a La Crosse real estate agent Playing on the caricature of Gore as "wooden," Wisconsin Attorney General Jim Doyle said Gore showed in Los Angeles that "he's ready to put the wood to Republicans in this campaign." There was one part of the Clinton legacy that Gore hoped to claim.

Landing in La Crosse near dawn, Gore reminded the La Crosse Tribune that Clinton launched his 1996 re-election campaign in Wisconsin. His own post-nomination trip was beginning in the same city because, Gore said, "It's good luck." Gore's folksy, made-for-pictures tour through battleground states that could well decide the November election comes at a critical moment in Gore's quest for the White House. Friday's 11 -hour itinerary through Genoa and Lynxville to Prairie du Chien, Wis. was no sightseeing cruise. The churning waters of the Mississippi, its lush green banks and the gleaming white Mark Twain are providing voters with spectacular images of the vice president and his running mate.

The Mark Twain is outfitted with a red faux paddle wheel and patriotic red, white and blue bunting. But it wasn't all imagery. On board the boat's sunny deck, Gore and Lieberman led a floating town hall meeting with citizens, discussing the vice president's proposal to use $250 billion of projected budget surpluses over the next 10 years to provide prescription drug benefits under the Medicare program. At one point during the discussion, Gore noted that he got less than three hours' sleep en route from Los Angeles. To stay awake, he said, he had used up "two or three of those daily Diet Coke rations" his preference to coffee.

The Liebermans, who are Jewish, were breaking off in Genoa to observe the Sabbath. They will return Sunday when the boat stops in Mo-line, 111. Latest poll An NBC-TV overnight poll of 500 likely voters showed Gore with 46 percent, Republican presidential nominee George Bush with 43 percent and Green Party nominee Ralph Nader with 7 percent. The margin of error was 4.4 percentage points. NBC's overnight poll after Bush's acceptance speech at the GOP convention two weeks ago had Bush at 44 percent and Gore at 41 percent, with the same margin of error.

As for the poll, Gore said, "I don't put much stock in polls," but added How many continents are there? World Book Encyclopedia, The New Encyclopedia Britannica, the Houghton Mifflin Dictionary of Geography and Random House Unabridged Dictionary all say there are seven: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia (listed in order of size). Technically Europe isn't a continent, but a peninsula of Asia, in which case the combined continent is called Eurasia and there would be six. The islands of the Pacific, or Oceania, aren't part of any continent Australia is sometimes considered part of Oceania, but Oceania isn't a continent on its own. Federal judge apologizes for revealing new grand jury investigation of Clinton prompt, responsible and cost-effective manner." But the White House was not assuaged. "Wherever the information came from, even after $50 million, an 800-page report and proceedings before both houses of Congress, the independent counsel seems to want this investigation to go on and on and on," 1 said Jake Siewert, a White House spokesman.

"The American people have put this behind them, and they must be wondering why the independent counsel can't do the same." with Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern, but that it would not take any action before Clinton leaves office in January. Ray said he regretted that Cuda-hy's disclosure led to "unsubstantiated accusations" that his own office had engineered a political leak just hours before Vice President Al Gore addressed the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. He said the disclosure about the grand jury, which was secretly impaneled on July 11, "undermines our i ability to complete this matter in a. Richard D. Cudahy of Chicago, appointed in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, said he mentioned the existence of the panel Thursday when replying to a reporter's question about why he had voted to continue the investigation of special prosecutor Robert Ray for another year.

Ray, meanwhile, was authorized by Cudahy and two other judges who supervise Ray's office to break his silence about the matter. Ray said the grand jury would investigate possible criminal charges against the president; ,1 with affair An appeals judge says he inadvertently disclosed it to a reporter. The Associated Press WASHINGTON A federal appeals court judge who is a Democratic appointee apologized Friday for what he said was his inadvertent disclosure that a new grand jury had been impaneled to investigate President piston,.