SCRANTON, Pa., Nov. 2, -- Having passed through Florida and California Tuesday and Wednesday, Vice President Al Gore rallied voters in Pennsylvania Wednesday night and Thursday, as he continued his barnstorming tour of critical swing states.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush, on a similar swing-state tour, will stump through Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin Thursday. Bush's stops include St. Charles, Chicago and Milwaukee. On Friday, Bush will campaign in West Virginia and Michigan.
At Lackawanna Junior College Thursday morning, Gore repeated his standard argument that his economic plan is good for working-class families, while Bush's economic plan favors the rich. Gore said that given eight years of economic growth and prosperity, "The question before us is, 'Where do we go from here?'" The vice president added, "I want to put$(economic prosperity$)to work for youand make sure you get your fair share of the pie."
Democratic officials say these campaign stops are no longer intended to convert new undecided voters to Gore's side, but are instead primarily targeted at mobilizing Democrats to get to the polls and bring other Democratic voters with them.
After a rally Wednesday night at a massive, cave-like historic iron furnace here, Gore told a local television news crew that he would be back in Pennsylvania before Election Day Tuesday. In fact, Gore has already scheduled stops in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia this weekend, and the campaign is considering a 10-state sprint Sunday and Monday, though the states included have not yet been determined.
Gore is still delivering substantive policy speeches at some stops, but those speeches are largely simply reiterating themes that have been staples of his campaign: that there is "a big choice" in this election; that Republican nominee George W. Bush would squander the current economic prosperity on tax cuts for the wealthy; that Gore will fight for the middle class on important social issues such as improving schools and providing better health care for middle class and elderly Americans.
But the key part of the speech is Gore's plea for help in getting out the vote. "I need you to lift me up so I can lift you up," Gore said in Scranton Wednesday night. At every stop, Gore has urged his supporters to confront people who are apathetic or who believe there is no difference between the candidates.
Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said there is no "formula" for judging the value or impact of a candidate visit to a state, but he said there is "nothing more valuable" for mobilizing voters. He added that where a candidate spends his time is an important indicator of how much he cares about the people of that state.
And so the Gore tour continues, a virtual road map of the critical swing states: Wednesday, Florida; Thursday Pennsylvania and New Mexico (with a stop in Illinois, where his lead is fairly safe); Friday Missouri and Iowa (where Gore leads) followed by a stop in Tennessee (where Gore trails).
Lehane said that while mobilizing Democrats is important, "we are talking both to undecideds and to Democratswe're not taking a single vote for granted."
The Gore campaign Thursday morning shook off criticism of a new Democratic television ad that questions whether Bush is ready to be president. The ad culminates a week of attacks by Democrats - beginning Sunday with vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman - that Bush does not have the experience and judgment necessary to be president. Gore himself has shied away from leveling these charges directly, but Lehane, asked whether the new ad amounts to Gore raising the issue himself, replied, "Absolutely."
But it is not a personal attack, Lehane said, because it is simply drawing the conclusion that Bush's record indicates that he is not ready to be president.
During his speech, Gore said, "You can look at our records and get some indication of what kind of president you want, and what kind we'd be."
