Bush says Gore wants to be 'obstacle-in-chief' to reform

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Al Gore as president would be the ''obstacle-in-chief'' fighting against school, tax and Social Security reforms, George W. Bush said Monday, hardening his anti-Gore rhetoric with 15 days until the election.

Gore mostly stuck to his prosperity theme, declaring ''America has put its house in order'' and this is no time to change economic leadership. He also took a more political slap at Bush, saying the Republican hopes to avoid the issues people care about and ''run out the clock'' on the election.

Both candidates sharpened their lines of attack as the campaign moved into the final two weeks, an acknowledgment that neither man has been able to sway the undecided vote. Many voters still believe the Texas governor is ill prepared for the presidency but also harbor doubts about the vice president's integrity, polls show.

Bush holds a slight lead in some of the national surveys, but the margin has narrowed. Gore's struggling in traditionally Democratic states such as California, where a new poll showed his lead in this must-win state for him shrinking from double digits to five percentage points.

Both Bush and Gore are playing up their rivals' weak points - and trying to paper over their own.

During an animated question-and-answer session with GOP faithful here, Bush said that Gore had criticized his Balkan policy last weekend after expressing a similar view of the European issue during their debates. ''He's willing to say anything to get elected,'' the two-term Texas governor said.

He accused Gore of being unable to hold an ''honest discussion'' on the GOP plan for Social Security. ''Scare tactics, distortions and exaggerations - that's all my opponent has left,'' Bush said before flying to Iowa and Wisconsin, two Democratic bastions Gore is struggling to hold.

Bush, who often campaigns with GOP stalwarts, toured here with four GOP governors - all of whom said he is ready to serve and portrayed the Democratic vice president as a political hack.

''We know Governor Bush doesn't make things up,'' Ohio Gov. Bob Taft said in a dig at Gore, ''he makes things happen.''

Gore's advisers were divided this weekend over whether to have the vice president directly confront the question of Bush's fitness or leave the dirty work to surrogates. His most aggressive advisers argued that it was time to take a risk, while others said a full-throated attack would look desperate and alienate undecided voters.

Gore opted for the safer route: Aides said he will be talking about his own experience this week, letting voters make the comparison themselves.

''America has put its house in order. We have record surpluses and the lowest unemployment in 30 years,'' Gore said. ''We face a big choice: Will we use this moment to extend prosperity and share it widely or will we just lavish more on those who need it the least and put all our economic progress at risk?''

In a veiled reference to Bush's seasoning, Gore said voters understand ''I can bring my experience to bear.'' Running mate Joseph Lieberman told Florida voters, ''You've got to consider the extraordinary experience that Al Gore has had in foreign policy and military matters.''

Gore plans a personality offensive in the campaign's closings days, hoping to show voters - particularly women - that he is more likable and trustworthy than they think.

In Washington state, another Democratic stronghold giving Bush a long look, Gore toured the small business run by Heather Howitt, who gushed about an economy that ''is so awesome.''

Bush showed off a new stump speech that targets his message to particular voting blocs. He is bipartisan (women voters), supports smaller government (core GOP voters) and can provide ''executive leadership (swing voters who aren't sure he's up to the job).

''During this campaign, Americans have seen my priorities. They have seen the issues near my heart. Better schools. Fairer taxes. Stronger military. Security for our seniors,'' he said. ''These reforms are coming to Washington. In truth, we should have had them long ago. But something stood in the way: The Clinton-Gore administration has blocked reform at every turn. It came in with ringing promises, and is now leaving us with a big sigh.''

The crowd of several hundred squealed with delight, recognizing the reference to Gore's eye-rolling and deep-sighing debate performance.

''He wants to be the ... obstacle-in-chief,'' Bush said.

He said Gore's education plan doesn't hold students accountable. He called the vice president's tax plan an ''iffy tax scheme'' because it would reduce rates to people if they met certain conditions. And he said Gore would delay fixing the Social Security system for too long, throwing the trust fund $40 trillion in debt.

But neither Bush nor Gore deals with Social Security's looming financial crisis, which will arise once the baby boomers begin retiring and the program begins paying out more than it collects.

Later, thousands of people crowded into a Milwaukee arena for a ''W Stands for Women'' rally - a flashy smoke-and-lights national tour designed to court swing-voting females. Gore trails Bush in Wisconsin, where a new polls shows nearly half the voters don't like the vice president.

''We love you, Mr. President!'' a woman shouted to Bush from the rowdy crowd.

''Behave yourself,'' he fired back with a grin.

In the end, neither man broke completely out of his typecast. Bush stumbled over a few sentences, saying at one point that government ''shouldn't expand opportunity'' when he meant that it should.

And the vice president's personality didn't impress Howitt's 14-month-old son, Sawyer, who sat on his mother's lap and cried during Gore's chat. ''He's restless,'' the vice president said.