Meanwhile, over the years, Mr. Stein's reformist image had become more ambiguous as he became one of the few major citywide politicians not to agree to campaign-finance restrictions and as he allied himself with many elements of the old-line Democratic organizations.

POSTSCRIPT: My Cigar, Fishing, and Auto editor responded with a long e-mail suggesting that instead of making the strong argument against campaign-finance restrictions, I make the weak argument.

This year, he said, some of the usual Democratic donors may be holding on to their checkbooks because of concerns about the new campaign-finance restrictions on state contractors.

The I.R.S. reversal, according to these experts, opens a potentially large loophole in the new federal campaign-finance restrictions and allows more political activity by charitable groups.

National CLINTON GETS STARTED Moving swiftly to begin his second term, President Clinton said he had asked Republican leaders of Congress to meet with him to begin negotiations on balancing the Federal budget and on campaign-finance restrictions.

The vote dismayed Mr. Wertheimer, who accused Mr. Smith, a law professor from Ohio, of being guided by his longstanding philosophical objections to campaign-finance restrictions.

It's a story pushed regularly by opponents of campaign-finance restrictions.

The question of how to regulate campaign spending moved to center stage after the 1996 Presidential campaign, in which both parties went to new lengths to get around the campaign-finance restrictions enacted in the 1970's after the Watergate scandal.

They aren't asking him to explain to Republican voters how his crusades for campaign-finance restrictions and a half-trillion-dollar tobacco tax square with conservative principles.

The fourth meeting, to be held in Essex County sometime before the Legislature's return on May 24, will review other campaign-finance restrictions and public financing.