San Diego (special) -- In the 1992 election, when Democratic challenger Bill Clinton was running successfully against Republican President George Bush, Clinton's campaign strategists would not so gently remind each other to stay focused on the main issue before the voters. "It's the economy, stupid!" was their watch phrase.

Eight years later, when Bush's son, George W. Bush, and Vice President Al Gore are the two parties' presumptive nominees, Democrats believe the economic issue continues to have as much punch. "It's still the economy, stupid!" they appear to be telling each other whenever they may be tempted to veer into less productive waters.

Clinton stumped at The El Cortez Hotel on June 22 for Assemblywoman Susan Davis, D-San Diego, in her campaign against Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Imperial Beach, He focused on economic policy, reminding his audience that times were tough during eight years of Ronald Reagan's and four years of Bush's presidency while the economy has been growing tremendously in the eight years of his administration.

"We tried it their way for 12 years; we tried it our way for eight years," said Clinton. "Does anyone seriously doubt which way works best? Let's don't go back.

"We are for a minimum wage increase; they are not," Clinton said. "Only now they feel bad about it, that they are not. We are for a Patient's Bill of Rights; and they are not, only now they act like they feel bad about it -- that they are not. We're for a Medicare Voluntary Prescription Drug program for all of our seniors. They are not, only now they have pollsters who tell them what words they are supposed to say so you will think they are for it.

"Now I am not the most partisan person we have ever had in the White House. I like working with Repubicans. I will work with Republicans every day before I leave if they will work with me, but I am not going to paper over the differences and you shouldn't either. There are real differences on economic policy, on Medicare prescription drugs, on the Patients Bill of Rights, on Minimum Wage, on whether we are going to protect our environment or weaken our enviornmental protections, on whether the next Supreme Court will protect the right to choose for a woman."

Giving his version of Republican priorities, Clinton said: "They want to take all this marvellous, projected -- the operative word is 'projected' -- surplus, and spend it on their plan for a tax cut of $1.3 to $1.5 trillion; on their plan to partially privatize Social Security, which would be $800 billion "They (Republicans) want to spend more for their missile defense system and their other defense ideas, and for their school voucher program. They want to spend it all now because they 'know' it is going to materialize. "Now, I ought to say it will (materialize) because it is self-serving for me. We turned this deficit around, and we have a projected huge surplus, but again I say 'it is projected.' We don't have the money yet; how in the world can we give it all away until we've got it? "Let's save 20 percent on the front end by taking all the taxes you pay for Medicare, and putting it over here so it can't be spent on anything else, and keep paying down the debt," the President said to applause.  "Let's give the people a tax cut, but one they really need, to help educate our children and send them to college, pay for child care, pay for long term care for the elderly, pay to give people incentives to invest in the poor areas that have been left behind. And let's make sure it is something we can afford even if what is projected doesn't materialize...."

MY FIRST PRESIDENT--A tot surveys the presidential crowd from the safty  of his father's shoulder during a June 22 appearance in San Diego by  President Bill Clinton.

Campaigning also for Gore, Clinton said: "I am for him because I know he will try to extend the benefits of this prosperity to the families, the people, and the places that have been left behind, which is a passion of mine. If we can't take economic opportunity to the poor neighborhoods, the poor people and the poor places that have been left behind, if we can't close the digital divide, if we can't raise educational opportunities, when will we ever get around to it?" Pounding on the lecturn for emphasis, he added: "Now is not the time to change our commitment to spreading the benefits of this economy!"

Clinton also painted Gore as a visionary about the effects of global warming. "When everyone else was saying it was some kind of conspiracy to undermine the American economy, he said, 'no the climate is getting warmer and it is going to wreck a lot of what we do and how we live, and we still can grow our economy and improve our environment."

He also praised Gore's role in bringing more competition to the telecommunications industry. "All the big monopolists moved in on Congress and Al Gore said, 'Nope, we are going to have competition here. We are going to let small entrepreneurs and little guys get in here and take advantage of this technological revolution and we are going to have an e-rate so that every library and school can afford to log onto the internet and none of our kids will be left behind."

Third, said Clinton, "when all of our health records and all of our financial records are on somebody's computer somewhere and a lot of big economic interests want to get their hands on it, for obvious reasons, Al Gore is up there in Washington, saying, 'no, Americans have the right to privacy and unless they say you can have that information, you shouldn't get it!'"