Nevertheless, Buttenwieser said he donated another $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee to aid in the Florida recount after he was contacted by Peter Knight, a lobbyist who's a former aide and adviser to Gore.
He said he gave the money only after vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman personally assured him that the Democrats were pursuing the right course of action in seeking the hand recount of ballots in Florida, whose 25 disputed electoral votes will decide who becomes the 43rd president.
Not surprisingly, Buttenwieser also was critical of Republicans, especially of recent allegations by supporters of George W. Bush.
"I think both sides have handled themselves badly," said Buttenwieser, who like any other political junkie has been closely following each twist and turn in the Florida drama.
However, it is Buttenwieser's comments about his own party that are likely to have the most impact.
He has close ties to leading Senate Democrats, and there have been published reports that some on Capitol Hill are worried that Gore will push his case too long.
Buttenwieser, an heir to the Lehman Bros. investment house fortune and a school-reform advocate, has spoken his mind in the past.
He caused a stir during the campaign-finance scandals after President Clinton's 1996 re-election when he suggested that top party fund-raiser Terry McAuliffe wanted a $50,000 donation for him to have lunch at the White House. McAuliffe said Buttenwieser misunderstood him.
Now, Buttenwieser's biggest gripe with the Gore 2000 effort is the active role that his campaign chairman, Bill Daley, and other political aides have played in Florida and some of their strong comments in the early days of the two-week-old stalemate.
He said both Gore and Bush have needed to act more "statesmanlike."
Buttenwieser also says publicly what most other Democrats now are only saying in private:
That Gore is on the brink of losing the White House for the Democrats because his campaign was "fuzzy."
"He didn't lean heavily enough on the accomplishments of the last eight years," Buttenwieser said. "He let himself get caught up in the fear of mentioning Clinton."
He said the Democrats gained three, and possibly four, Senate seats when they ran more aggressively on issues and the Clinton record.
"I think he never made the case why Democrats ought to be passionate for him," Buttenwieser said of Gore.
"He made the case why people should be passionate against Bush - and that wasn't enough."
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