Kennedy was not "the greatest natural orator," Mr. Dukakis said, nor was his Presidential stature apparent to everyone in the early days of his campaign.

But he still faces the same challenge as his rivals: to find the inspirational appeal that gives him Presidential stature.

But Mr. Bush, who was said to be grappling with whether appearing on a talk show would seem too defensive or would diminish the Presidential stature he has been struggling to maintain, said he would not join in another political fad of the 1992 campaign and obtain a toll-free number.

Compared with the dignified Kansan, Gingrich seems to lack maturity, Presidential stature.

Mr. Bush had the opportunity to regain control of the political debate and to highlight the contrast between his Presidential stature and the squabbling of the Democrats.

When Bush tells the people that Senator Dan Quayle is a man of Presidential stature, and tells them to remember Pearl Harbor and then forgets the date himself, they don't seem to mind.

But after squeaking into office, winning merely because they were not David Dinkins or Mr. Cuomo, the Mayor and Governor have so exceeded expectations that they are emboldened to think of themselves as having Presidential stature.

Yet necessity also offers Governor Wilson opportunities for the sort of leadership that might give him the Presidential stature in the year 2000 (when he will be 67) that he lacked this year.

The White House has tried to create new ground rules for what the public has a right to know in reaching a judgment as to Mr. Clinton's Presidential stature.

Mr. Reagan, as a two-term President of often staggering popularity, has a chance for major Presidential stature in the future.