NEW YORK — Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore campaigned in New Hampshire Thursday for education reform and then went to New York where he appeared on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" and attended a star-studded fund-raiser.
"Make no mistake about it, education is one of the biggest differences in this election," Gore said in a speech at Parkside Junior High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he touted his plan to upgrade schools over a smaller competing proposal by Republican rival George W. Bush.
Also Thursday, the Gore and Bush campaigns agreed to hold three presidential debates and one vice presidential forum next month, breaking an impasse and setting the stage for encounters that could help decide the 2000 White House race.
Representatives for Gore and the Texas governor struck the deal during a 4-1/2-hour meeting in Washington. The agreement was a victory for the vice president, who had backed the three-plus-one formula put forward by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
"I think we made great progress today. It's a victory for the American people," said Gore campaign manager William Daley.
The vice president remained publicly focused on his plans to upgrade schools and on the efforts to hold debates, trying to steer clear of new questions about past fund raising.
The New York Times reported Thursday that federal investigators were looking into a memo possibly linking a political donation solicited from a Texas trial lawyer to President Clinton's veto of legislation overhauling the nation's litigation system.
Gore was drawn into the issue because, the newspaper reported, he attended a dinner with Texas trial lawyers in 1995 and was asked afterward by Democratic Party officials to call several of the lawyers and solicit $100,000 contributions.
Aides said Gore did not make the calls and the task fell instead to Donald Fowler, the Democratic national chairman.
"There is nothing new here," said Gore spokesman Chris Lehane. "What everyone agrees here is that Al Gore did not make that phone call. What this really represents is recycled Republican attacks."
Thursday marked the fourth straight day that Gore, who earlier this week campaigned in Illinois, Ohio and Maine, visited a school to promote his 10-year plan to upgrade the nation's education system.
With less than two months to go before Election Day, the majority of polls show Gore slightly ahead of Bush. But most of the leads are within the surveys' margins of error.
In New York, Gore took his campaign to Letterman's show, where the vice president read a "Top Ten" list of what he claimed were rejected slogans for his presidential campaign.
Top on his list: "I'll be Twice as Cool as That President Guy on 'The West Wing."'
Gore then attended a fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall that organizers said raised $6.5 million for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
He also made a late-night stop at Elaine's, a well-known restaurant and celebrity hangout in Manhattan.
Featuring such stars as actors Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts and Michael Douglas, and musicians Paul Simon, Bette Midler and Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Radio City show was the third DNC concert fund-raiser that Gore attended in the past three nights.
The event drew criticism from the Bush campaign, which said Gore had been critical of violence and inappropriate marketing in the entertainment industry.
"No matter what he says tonight, Al Gore's Hollywood-stuffed wallet speaks louder than his words," said Bush spokesman Dan Bartlett.