Gore campaign spokeswoman Kiki Moore was vague about Brazile's day-to-day responsibilities. "The vice president wants to take the campaign in a certain direction and Donna fits in perfectly with what we are trying to do," she said.

But according to Robert Borosage, a former campaign staffer for Jesse Jackson who heads the Campaign for America's Future, Brazile has been called in to help the trains run on time. "The vice president's schedule is completely out of sync with the campaign schedule. It will be up to Donna to work that whole thing out," he said. Brazile has to get the campaign in gear and "energize the troops so that they go into Iowa prepared," he said.

The pairing of Gore and Brazile is a contrast in styles, pitting Gore, the self-acknowledged "stiff," against Brazile, who is loose, charismatic, chatty and vibrant. Gore speaks in cautious and measured tones; Brazile is driven and brash, given to speaking in a slew of four-letter words that do not stop in the presence of the press.

"I don't know about him," she said of her new boss, "but I feel opposites attract and together we can make good music, if he lets it happen."

Known as a talented field operative and grass-roots organizer, the first black woman to head a major contender's presidential campaign will not report to Gore directly but to forceful campaign chairman Tony Coehlo. Friends of Brazile like Borosage say she sought direct access to Gore. "She's tough," Borosage said. "I am sure one of the first things she asked [after being appointed] is if she could report directly to Gore." But Gore turned her down.

Brazile said she has no problems reporting to Coehlo, and chastised members of the press corps for pushing the issue of the Gore campaign organizational chart. "Why is it men always want to know who you report to?" she said.

The question has drawn attention, however, because of lingering doubts about her "maturity" that date from her notorious 1988 comment about whose bed Barbara Bush sleeps in. She was working as a deputy field operator on Michael Dukakis' presidential bid amid rumors that GOP nominee George Bush was having an affair with a woman named Jennifer Fitzgerald. The press was reluctant to publish the story. So she said, "The American people have every right to know if Barbara Bush will share that bed with him in the White House."

Her remarks were a major embarrassment for the Dukakis campaign and Brazile was forced to resign. It may be for that reason that Gore decided to take full advantage of her organizational skills while distancing himself from her personally.

Next page | Dammit, Al, I'm a campaign manager, not a doctor!