THE TRUST FACTOR: EVERY CANDIDATE FACES IT

It is hard to believe that everyone in government is a liar, takes bribes, curries favor with special interests for the sake of political gain and behaves in ways that would be considered immoral even in this age of easy standards.

But, thanks to the few elected officials who have strayed beyond the limits of decency, there is a perception among far too many Americans that our government is rotten to the core. And it seems that the higher up in government you go, the worse the perception of corruption.

Former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, who is Al Gore's only announced opposition in the race to become the next Democratic presidential nominee, puts it this way: Public trust is frayed, thanks to the high visibility of scandals in government.

In particular, Bradley points to the shenanigans of the Clinton White House. It behooves anyone who is seeking to follow in the president's footsteps to make sure the voting public understands that Bill Clinton is one kind of person: not like me. Even Gore is making every effort to put a lot of distance between himself and the man he has played No. 2 to since 1992.

Bradley's distancing has a different tone. He laments the fact that the country has had to endure a president who, by his own reckoning, is personally responsible for up to $20 million in legal fees owed to lawyers who have striven mightily to keep him in the White House when any prudent American, given the authority, would have booted him out a long time ago.

"We have to repair that trust," declares Bradley.

How can that be done? Which candidate of any party has the ability to instill a sense of decency in the minds of American voters?

It's one thing to talk about values -- even President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton talk with a straight face about upholding a high moral ground, but it's another to demonstrate a convincing record in this area.

Gore may be the most vulnerable. After all, he has been a staunch defender of Clinton and others in the current administration. Now his support is tempered somewhat by some featherweight condemnation of the actions while upholding those who did the immoral deeds. How can they be separated? How long can Gore make his case that wrong actions deserve support in the form of opposition to any meaningful consequences?

As far as Bradley is concerned, he is generally considered to be a straight-shooting liberal. His congressional colleagues, even those on the right, have praised his honesty and intellect.

Between now and November 2000, candidates of every stripe will have to contend with the trust issue, not because they necessarily have done anything wrong, but because so many others have misbehaved and walked away unscathed.