Clinton Returns to Donahue Show--for a Replay of Testy Exchanges : Campaign: TV host turns inquisitor, grilling the candidate on issues ranging from his trip to Moscow to his protests of the Vietnam War.

NASHVILLE —  As Bill Clinton likes to say along the campaign trail, referring, of course, to his sparring mate President Bush: If you fool me once, shame on you. If you fool me twice, shame on me.

On Tuesday, he should have minded his own adage. Instead, the Democratic presidential nominee accepted another shot on the Phil Donahue television show, where earlier this year he was subjected to a 25-minute harangue from the host on the subject of Clinton’s once-troubled marriage, college dope smoking and assorted and sundry other criticisms.

Before beginning what will be a virtual self-imposed exile to prepare for next week’s series of presidential debates, Clinton ventured onto Donahue’s set.

Fooled again.

The silver-haired talk show host turned in an excellent impersonation of an inquisitor at the 1950s McCarthy hearings, pushing and probing the rumor mill for all sorts of questionable information.

Like this: “And you were alone in Moscow on New Year’s Eve of 1969? Mr. Lonely Guy in Moscow in 1969? That doesn’t sound like a lot of laughs. Did you visit anyone there? Did you discuss peace with anybody?”

And this, referring to the possibility that Clinton’s passport records in the State Department have been tampered with:

“There are missing pages from your files . . . missing pages. Well, isn’t this interesting? Boy, I’ll tell you what, we are not without our intrigue during this election season.”

The talk show host acknowledged that his questions, delivered in a conspiratorial tone with full Donahue drama, were asked without benefit of any independent investigation or proof of any wrongdoing by the candidate.

Clinton’s appearance on the show--alongside his running mate, Tennessee Sen. Al Gore--eventually degenerated into a testy exchange between Donahue and Clinton.

Clinton’s sharpest retort came when the talk show host suggested that Clinton had played down his involvement in anti-Vietnam War protests for political benefit. During the campaign, actually, Clinton always has made clear his opposition to that war.

Donahue claimed that Clinton had covered up his anti-war passion as part of a pattern of wanting to “impress and be loved by everyone.”

Clinton heatedly responded that “you are wrong to ignore my entire public life as you and a lot of others have done and to make up your own characterization of this so you can once again divert people from discussing the things that will affect their lives.”

Donahue also questioned whether Clinton had attended a large anti-war rally in London in 1969. Clinton said he had. Donahue asked if Clinton had attended a 1969 meeting in New England which led to the formation of an anti-war coalition. Clinton said he had been there as well, but that the meeting was a reunion of volunteers from Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 presidential campaign.

Clinton, who has acknowledged attending a few anti-war marches in his youth, eventually took umbrage at Donahue’s accusations.

“You drew a conclusion that I had somehow tried to have it both ways on the Vietnam War. That’s a load of bull,” said Clinton, who was repeatedly applauded by the audience.

The backdrop of Donahue’s accusations was the collage of late-in-the-campaign charges from Republicans about Clinton that seek to question his allegiance to the United States and his travels in Moscow when he was studying in England on a Rhodes scholarship.

The rumors have been fanned by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), a Bush partisan who suggested that on Clinton’s vacation to the former Soviet Union in the winter of 1969, he might have come into contact with KGB officials.

Dornan admitted that he had no facts to back up his supposition. At the time Clinton traveled to Moscow, such trips were not unusual.

“I went there because I wanted to see Moscow,” Clinton told Donahue.

Separately, the FBI is looking into the possibility that Clinton’s passport records have been tampered with. FBI investigators said the probe, which began when the passport office noticed an apparent discrepancy between the contents of Clinton’s file and an index of the pages, was unlikely to get anywhere.

Only State Department employees had access to Clinton’s file, as the candidate alluded in his response to Donahue’s questions.

“I didn’t even know I had a State Department file,” Clinton said. “I didn’t know the State Department kept files on American citizens.

” . . . The other crowd has been in charge of the State Department, not me, so why don’t you ask them?”

At that, the Donahue audience burst into supportive applause.

Much the same scenario--the audience defending Clinton instead of the host--occurred in the first session between Clinton and Donahue on April 1, when the candidate was grilled for 25 minutes about his personal life until audience members protested.

At the time, Clinton accused Donahue of “debasing our politics” with his subject matter. Six days later, he returned for another Donahue show, this one featuring not questions from Donahue but simply give-and-take between Clinton and his then-competitor for the nomination, former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.

Today on the Trail . . .

Gov. Bill Clinton has no public events scheduled.

President Bush campaigns in San Antonio, Tex.

Ross Perot has no public events scheduled.

Vice President Dan Quayle campaigns in Fresno.

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TELEVISION

Clinton is on ABC’s “Good Morning America” at 7:30 a.m. PDT.

Bush is on CNN’s “Larry King Live” at 6 p.m. PDT.