McCain vows end to attack ads, urges Bush to do same; Dems trade barbs over abortion

February 11, 2000
Web posted at: 6:14 p.m. EST (2314 GMT)

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) -- In a presidential campaign where negative sound bites are becoming increasingly common, John McCain pledged Friday to halt attack ads aired in South Carolina against GOP rival George W. Bush -- and urged the Texas governor to do the same. On the opposite coast, Democratic counterparts Al Gore and Bill Bradley continued to trade barbs of their own on the issue of abortion rights.

"We will put up positive ads. We will run no attack, response or any other kind of negative advertising for the rest of this campaign ... I'd like to encourage Gov. Bush to do the same thing," McCain said during a rally in Manhattan.

During a campaign stop in Charleston, Bush said he had not yet decided whether he would follow suit, but he seemed wary. "I haven't made up my mind yet. You're falling into the old trap. My ads aren't negative. My ads clarify who I am and what I believe."

The Texas Governor is airing commercials in the Palmetto State charging that McCain "solicits money from lobbyists with interests before his (Senate Commerce) committee, and pressures agencies on behalf of contributors. A McCain television ad accuses Bush of "twisting the truth like President Clinton."

Earlier in the day, Bush and McCain traded attacks from the campaign stump. At a rally in Ladsen, South Carolina, Bush lashed out against McCain for taking donations from the same lobbyists he routinely condemns. In New York for two fund-raising events, the Arizona senator accused Bush of running a smear campaign against him.

Bush also defended his father's decision to end the 1991 Persian Gulf War without sending troops after Saddam Hussein, and said as president he would ensure Iraq didn't develop weapons of mass destruction.

"If we catch them developing weapons of mass destruction, there won't be any weapons of mass destruction left in Iraq if I'm the commander in chief," Bush told reporters, without giving details. "I'm not going to tell you what I mean, because I'm not going to tell Saddam Hussein what I mean."

But foreign policy issues in the GOP race have been recently overshadowed by the continuing personal attacks between the Texas governor and McCain, as both aggressively stump for votes in the final week before the crucial February 19 South Carolina primary.

Bush held what his campaign calls "one-on-one meetings" with voters in Ladson, Kiawah Island, and Charleston, South Carolina on Friday before attending a scheduled rally in Columbia.

In stark contrast to the GOP front-runner's seemingly lackluster New Hampshire effort, a newly invigorated Bush has made himself available for press conferences after each event in South Carolina, using the opportunity to tout his Texas gubernatorial record, while disparaging McCain as a Washington insider with nothing to show for his 17 years in Congress.

In a conference call with strategists Thursday night, Bush campaign manager Joe Allbauth said the new tactic was intended to "staunch the hemorrhaging" from the 19-point loss Bush suffered to McCain in the Granite State.

A hard-charging Bush said Friday that McCain "passed theÊplate" among the same lobbyists and special interests he rails against during his Thursday night appearance via satellite at fund-raisers in Washington, D.C. and 17 other locations, including over the Internet.

"I can just hear him now: 'Give 'em hell and pass the hors d'oeuvres,'" Bush quipped.

McCain raises money in New York

McCain, who has made overhauling campaign finance laws one of the mainstays of his campaign, said the contributions "are in keeping with the reforms I want to make."

"They (lobbyists) are supporting my candidacy because they're sick and tired of the system in Washington today," said McCain, who was attending two more fund-raisers in New York City on Friday.

Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" earlier in the day, McCain said there was "legitimate concern" that increased fighting between the two Republicans would leave the eventual nominee wounded going into the general election race.

"There is an orchestrated effort to smear me and to take me down," he charged.

Campaign sources told CNN's John King that some McCain aides were urging him to launch two attack ads ready for air: one criticizing Bush for an event taking issue with McCain's record on veterans' issues, and another similar to the existing McCain ad blaming Bush for the negative turn of the GOP campaign.

However, most aides recommended a return to positive advertising for the week leading up to next Saturday's primary, amid concerns that the negative tone of the campaign was detracting from McCain's reformer image.

Dems continue to stump West Coast

Both Democratic candidates stumped for votes on the West Coast in advance of their next election showdown in the March 7 primaries.

The vice president was in Los Angeles to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian rights organization, with some 350,000 members. Both the vice president and Bradley were vying for the group's support.

The group's executive director, Elizabeth Birch, praised Bradley for his stand on gay and lesbian issues, but hinted that the group felt Gore would make a more viable candidate in November.

"So much of what we all cherish and value and dream depends on the next president of the United States," she said as she introduced Gore.

"I'm honored to have your support and I'm ready to fight along side you to create a brighter future for all Americans," said Gore, who pledged to vigorously prosecute hate crimes and work to end discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Among those in attendance was Judy Shepard, whose gay son Matthew died after being beaten into a coma and left tied to a fence in rural Wyoming in October 1998.

"Sometimes I wake up in the morning, and hope this is all some horrible nightmare, but soon remember that my son was killed, and yes, I know beyond a shadow of doubt that he was killed because he was gay," she said.

Bradley was campaigning in Washington state on Friday, a key participant in the March 7 primary, as it holds the second largest bloc of delegates to the Democratic National convention after California. He attended a women's conference in Seattle before joining striking Boeing engineers on the picket line outside company headquarters.

The New Jersey senator again criticized Gore as a late-comer to the abortion rights issue, telling women supporters that Gore has "chosen to equivocate rather than explain his position on abortion."

"I think he shows a lack of respect for women by refraining to explain the evolution of his views. The vice president has tried to twist his record rather than explain his convictions."

Gore conceded Thursday night that his position on the issue had changed over the years, but accused Bradley of using the issue to drive a wedge between Democrats.

"For far too long some politicians have been willing to play with the issue of choice for their own personal political ambition," Gore said late Thursday at a Beverly Hills campaign fund-raiser organized by women activists.

"So I say to Senator Bradley: Stop trying to divide us on the issue of choice. It's time to join hands and fight the real enemy" in the Republican party, Gore said.

Both candidates will remain on the West Coast this weekend to address the California state Democratic Party convention in San Jose. Their next debate is set for February 21 at the Apollo Theater in New York City, followed by another in Los Angeles on March 1.

Gore had challenged Bradley to weekly debates in lieu of campaign ads last fall, which Bradley refused. But the former New Jersey senator renewed the call for weekly debates on February 1, the day of the New Hampshire primary.

CNN's Candy Crowley, John King, Mark Potter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.