NEW YORK, NY November 01, 2000 — The 1992 Senate race turned on a charge by Democratic candidate Bob Abrams that Senator Alfsone D?Amato was a fascist. Mr. Abrams lost. Six years later Mr. D?Amato lost his race against Charles Schumer after uttering a Yiddish vulgarism two weeks before election day ? and then lying about it. At the end of the 2000 race for the New York Senate seat the big issue is all about terrorism in the middle east.

Wilson: Strange things happen at the end of campaigns, and strange things tend to pop up, and this may be the issue that closes out the campaign.

Rick Wilson is a Republican consultant who worked on Mayor Rudolph Giuliani?s now-defunct Senate campaign. He says Mr. Lazio may have taken a tactical hit over the half million phone calls the Republican party made linking Mrs. Clinton to the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. But he says the issue is helping Mr. Lazio strategically ? and not just among jews.

Wilson: For Mr. Lazio it helps to continue to drive questions about Mrs. Clinton?s sincerity

But if Mrs. Clinton can turn the issue around and portray herself as the victim, Mr. Wilson says, it could help her.

On Mrs. Clinton?s side. She sees it as a way to try to retain her base vote and try to drive doubts about Mr. Lazio.

Both campaigns worked hard to keep the issue alive Tuesday ? but in very different ways. First, on the Today Show, Mr. Lazio refused Mrs. Clinton?s demand that he apologize for the calls.

Lazio: The real story here is that you have one candidate who is actually receiving funds from a group that supports terrorism. You have one candidate who invites terrorist groups to the White House.

By mid-morning, the Lazio campaign unveiled a new ad by Mayor Giuliani

Giuliani in ad: In vote after vote, Rick has always supported Israel. He has never wavered

SFX: Fade ad.

Within two hours, Mrs. Clinton was swinging back, at a Jewish Senior Center in Midwood, Brooklyn.

Clinton: This campaign should be not about me or my opponent, and his misleading, outrageous, dispicable attacks, it ought to be about you.

That was followed by the Clinton campaign releasing a television commercial of its own.

AD: Absurd," says The New York Times, "irresponsible smear attacks? Newsday calls it "reprehensible", like "Gingrich's slash and burn style."

Even so, Newsday went on to endorse Mr. Lazio. With polls showing the race tightening, President Clinton was in New York City stumping for his wife. And both campaigns were putting forward popular New York City mayors to defend their techniques ? Ed Koch and Rudolph Giuliani

Giuliani: It?s not about?Rick.

Koch: I believe?

If both campaigns have their way, we?ll be hearing much more about the Middle East in the next 6 days. For WNYC, I?m Andrea Bernstein.

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