CLINTON LESS LIKELY TO PREVAIL IN HOUSE; GOP SUPPORT GROWS FOR IMPEACHMENT.

Byline: Alison Mitchell and James Dao The New York Times

As the House vote on impeachment drew closer, the ranks of Republicans supporting President Clinton's impeachment grew Monday and, in a more ominous sign for the White House, some of the few Republicans who have been on the record against the impeachment drive began to waver.

The Republican votes for impeachment continued to solidify despite a remarkable stability in public opinion. Sixty-four percent of Americans, including a majority of independent voters, said they did not want their representatives to vote for impeachment, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted Sunday.

The survey also found that while most voters do not dispute the accusations of perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power outlined in the articles of impeachment approved by the House Judiciary Committee, only 24 percent want the House to actually vote to impeach Clinton. An additional 37 percent of Americans want Congress and Clinton to work out a compromise; another 37 percent want the matter dropped entirely.

Unable to escape questions about the fate of his presidency as he continued a Middle East peace-making mission, Clinton said he was open to ``any reasonable compromise'' short of impeachment. ``I don't believe it's in the interest of the United States and the American people to go through the impeachment process and have a trial in the Senate,'' he said.

But with the White House increasingly pessimistic about the president's ability to win the vote in the House, Vice President Al Gore was anything but conciliatory. He denounced House Republican leaders for refusing to allow a vote to censure the president and accused them of ignoring the ``wisdom of the American people.''

Gore's sharp-edged comments came at the end of an otherwise routine White House announcement on a new round of law enforcement grants. ``It's very unfortunate that the leadership of the House of Representatives has made a decision to reject compromise and force a vote only on impeachment, and not give the members of Congress a chance to vote their conscience,'' Gore said.

His tone was echoed by the White House press secretary, Joe Lockhart, who said, ``There is a small group of the Republican leadership who have made it their mission in life to remove the president against perhaps the will of the House but certainly against the will of the American public.''

He also raised the specter that a Senate trial could undermine the economy. ``I'd say that any student of the markets will say that uncertainty is bad for the markets,'' Lockhart said.

Stoking a backlash

Fearing that a direct campaign to lobby Republicans would be counterproductive at this point, the White House and its allies focused many of their efforts on trying to energize the public and stoke a backlash against impeachment. John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, instructed union members to use a toll-free line to call the Capitol and press Republicans for a censure vote. He also urged union locals within 100 miles of Washington to wage a mass demonstration and vigil on the steps of the Capitol when the impeachment debate begins Thursday, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson called for a prayer vigil.

``The effort to impeach President Clinton has moved beyond reason or responsibility,'' he said in a letter to union presidents.

``People for the American Way,'' a liberal advocacy group, said it would broadcast 30-second radio spots this evening urging Americans to use a toll-free line to call Capitol Hill. The ad features a couple locked in conversation about impeachment.

``The country's going to be paralyzed,'' a woman says. ``And you know who is going to suffer?'' Her companion answers: ``We will.''

Capitol offices were already deluged Monday with phone calls, e-mails and telegrams. The phone traffic was so heavy that callers to House offices often received an electronic message: ``All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later.''

And some Clinton allies did try personal appeals. Actor Robert DeNiro made calls against impeachment Monday to at least two New York Republicans - Reps. James Walsh of Syracuse and Sherwood Boehlert of Utica. Neither congressman returned his calls, and Walsh already had declared for impeachment this weekend.

Talking points

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee sought to stiffen the resolve of members. They drafted a set of talking points for Republicans on the committee to use in explaining the committee's votes for four articles of impeachment. It struck three main points: that ``the evidence is overwhelming;'' that ``our laws should apply equally to every American,'' and that ``America and the Constitution are strong.''

``It is the height of egotism to suggest that the president's well-being and the well-being of the country are the same,'' said one of the talking points.

Republicans appeared to be moving steadily toward impeachment. Rep. Christopher Shays, who was one of the first Republicans to speak out against impeachment, softened his position Monday on the eve of a town meeting in his Connecticut district.

``If the vote were today, I'd be voting against,'' Shays said. ``But it is not the same kind of certainty I had a week ago. My certainty has been shaken by the president's failure to come to grips with his problem.'' He was particularly critical of Clinton's statement of contrition Friday.

``He just dug a deeper a hole,'' Shays said. ``I think he needs to say he did not tell the truth. And he did not. Like all Americans, he must abide by the laws.''

Shays said he wanted to meet with the president before he casts his vote. The White House was so alarmed that John Podesta, the White House chief of staff, called Shays to arrange the meeting immediately after reading his remarks on a news wire.

One other in the handful of Republicans who have expressed opposition to impeachment also signaled a possible change of heart. Aides to Rep. Jack Quinn, a Republican from outside Buffalo, said he was now undecided.

In the lame-duck 105th Congress, Republicans hold 228 seats. The Democrats have 206, and there is one independent who usually votes with the Democrats. Democratic leaders are hoping to hold all but three to five Democrats against impeachment. That means Clinton must win support from 14 to 16 Republicans to prevail by just one vote.