Clinton stumps in Kentucky where Gore has given up.(Chicago Tribune)

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LOUISVILLE, Ky._A clearly focused President Clinton, captive of a political lockbox designed by Vice President Al Gore, hit the road Tuesday to loyally stump for selected congressional candidates, as well as the protege with whom his relations have apparently cooled.

"Let's face it, all over America these races are close," Clinton told a rally at a high school here. He thus painted the backdrop against which he will campaign until Election Day, albeit in circumscribed ways, and then drew distinctions between the two major parties.

"There are differences, there are consequences," he declared in a systematic, low-key dissection of what he argues is a gulf in principals between Gore and Texas Gov. …