Gore Defends His Conduct During Lewinsky Scandal

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Vice President Al Gore defended his conduct during the White House sex-and-perjury scandal during a campaign swing Saturday through New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary state.

Gore was asked only once about the scandal that led to President Clinton’s impeachment, but it was during the taping of a television program to be aired statewide in April.

“Was there any obligation for you to step up and say you thought his [Clinton’s] integrity was in doubt?” asked a member of the WMUR-TV audience.

Gore looked straight at the man and said: “I made a commitment that I would do everything I possibly could to help Bill Clinton be the best president he could possibly be.

“He is also my friend,” Gore said. “So when he made a terrible, personal mistake and it came out that he actually did, I condemned it. . . . The American people made a judgment that they wanted to move on. . . . The people want to focus on the future and not the personal mistakes of the president.”

Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in February on impeachment charges connected to his affair with former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky.