As the revelation of a 24-year-old drunk-driving conviction shook Governor George Bush's bid for the US presidency, the Gore campaign denied that it was engaged in "dirty tricks" with just four days to the election.
With Mr Bush still narrowly ahead in national polls, the two rivals stormed through crucial Midwest states seeking vital votes in one of the closest elections in US history.
As a defiant Mr Bush admitted that he had been arrested and convicted on a drunk-driving charge in 1976 while driving back from a bar to the family compound at Kennebunkport, Maine, his spokeswoman, Ms Karen Hughes, told the media that "the American people are tired of this kind of gotcha politics, they're tired of last-minute dirty tricks".
Vice-President Gore refused to comment on the revelation but his spokesperson, Mr Chris Lehane, said that "the Bush campaign's suggestion that we had anything to do with it is just patently absurd".
The main source of Mr Bush's brush with the law which resulted in a $150 dollar fine and a driving licence suspension, was, however, a Democratic Party activist, Mr Tom Connolly, who has run for the post of Governor in Maine and attended the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles last August. He denied that he had any involvement in the Gore campaign but said he had tried to fax the details of Mr Bush's arrest and conviction to the Gore headquarters before releasing them. Mr Connolly, who is a lawyer specialising in drunk-driving cases, said he felt it was his duty to disclose the information. "It allows people who are independents or who are Republican, who are Democrat, to evaluate who should be the next president."
Political commentators were dubious about whether the revelation would seriously damage Mr Bush so close to the election. He has frequently alluded in public to his heavy drinking habits in the past, while noting that he gave it up 14 years ago. He was arrested on two other occasions as a student for stealing a wreath as a prank and for brawling at a football game but no charges were brought. Mr Gore continued to hit out at Mr Bush's radical plan to reform social security, which he said would put pensions at risk.
Mr Gore also questioned Mr Bush's ability to be president but did not mention the latest development. Mr Gore has admitted using marijuana when a student. Mr Bush's running mate, Mr Dick Cheney, has two convictions for drunk driving dating back to his student days.