Al Gore's prospects for the US presidential race in 2000 are being battered by the stream of revelations linking him to Democratic Party fund-raising abuses in last year's election campaign. Mr Gore's poll ratings are slipping and the Vice-President's "Mr Clean" image is getting more tarnished almost by the day as the congressional investigation into the fund-raising yields new evidence about his role. Yet another congressional investigation begins this week which is bound to yield further embarrassing details.
Even more to be feared from Mr Gore's point of view is the increasing pressure on the Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, to appoint an independent counsel or special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal offences committed by Mr Gore when he made 46 fund-raising calls from his White House office.
Republican members of Congress who have long called for an independent counsel to investigate the roles of President Clinton and the Democratic Party, as well as Mr Gore, are now threatening to impeach the Attorney General if she continues to reject their demands.
Ms Reno is now in a difficult position. The reason she gave for rejection has now been undermined by new revelations that some of the money raised by Mr Gore was so-called "hard money", which is subject to strict federal controls. Previously it had been assumed Mr Gore was only raising "soft money", which did not go to support a particular candidate but to the Democratic Party for "party-building" activities.
Ms Reno had ruled that Mr Gore's fund-raising was not subject to federal laws. Mr Gore had also insisted there was "no controlling legal authority" which would make his calls to donors from the White House illegal.
It has now been admitted by the White House that substantial amounts of the money raised by Mr Gore were routinely shifted into candidate campaigns without informing the donors. Ms Reno is being severely criticised for not discovering this before it was revealed in the Washington Post by Bob Woodward of Watergate fame.
Mr Gore has also been embarrassed by the revelation that a visit he made to a Buddhist temple in California during last year's presidential election campaign was in reality a fund-raiser, although it is forbidden to do this in a place of worship. The VicePresident said he was unaware it was a fund-raiser but memos given to the Senate committee investigating fund-raising abuses show that his staff was fully aware that the nuns and monks would be asked for donations.
Mr Gore is said to be shaken by how the press campaign, fuelled by Republican opponents, is building up against him. An ABC News poll last week showed that only 49 per cent of those questioned believed he had the honesty and integrity to be President. A Los Angeles Times poll showed that only 34 per cent had a favourable impression of Mr Gore, compared with 59 per cent for Mr Clinton.
These are dismaying figures for the man who has usually been distinguished from Mr Clinton by having an impeccable past.
Ms Reno has less than a month to decide whether to appoint an independent counsel.