Saying he doesn't want to be part of his boss's potential third-party bid that could keep the White House in Democratic hands, Pat Buchanan's communications director resigned from the Buchanan campaign Friday.
``As an American, I'm disgusted at the prospect of electing Al Gore president of the United States,'' Bob Adams said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. ``As a Republican, I will do whatever it takes to elect our nominee to the White House.''
Adams's defection is the first apparent public indication of trouble in the Buchanan ranks, the AP says. The wire service says Buchanan supporters and campaign workers have expressed concerns about the commentator's intentions.
The Republican nominee seems most likely, for now, to be George W. Bush. Buchanan, who's tried for the GOP presidential nomination three times including now, has charged the party with rigging the nominating process to guarantee the Texas governor's nomination at the expense of crucial social issues like abortion and America's "cultural pollution," the AP says.
Buchanan now is seriously considering jumping to the Reform Party to continue his campaign after his poor showing in the non-binding Iowa straw poll last month. His fellow Republicans want him to stay in the ranks - many say they need the conservative support Buchanan commands - but they fret that his attacking campaign style and views could draw votes away from the Republican nominee.
And the AP says polls suggest up to twice as many Republican as Democratic votes would go with Buchanan.
Adams says he still holds faith in Buchanan's integrity but doesn't know for certain whether Buchanan actually will leave the Republican Party.
This is the latest defection among Republican second-line presidential hopefuls. Earlier this week, Elizabeth Dole's communications director also resigned, throwing her campaign toward questions of its actual viability. And Gary Bauer's national campaign chairman defected to the Steve Forbes campaign.
Adams himself had joined the Buchanan campaign after working for a public relations firm allied with Forbes.
