USTIN - As the presidential campaigns prepare for the final sprint to Election Day, George W. Bush is spending today at home in Texas, while Al Gore embarks on a campaign blitz through the key battleground of Michigan.
Bush's only plans for the day were to attend church services and speak via satellite to Hispanic supporters in Los Angeles. Gore has a dizzying day ahead: After flying into Detroit last night, he planned to speak at two black churches, meet with Arab-American leaders, hold two public rallies, and appear with singer Jon Bon Jovi before taping several TV interviews.
The contrast in schedules was striking, but not atypical for either candidate, and indicative of the way each has handled the race overall. While the vice president has portrayed himself as a fighter energized by round-the-clock problem-solving, the Texas governor has cast himself as steady and family-oriented, dismissing his opponent's style as partisan and unpredictable.
Yet with the race so close, Bush's decision to spend two consecutive nights at home risked yielding Gore an inch of momentum. It also suggested that, even though opinion polls have swung back and forth, Bush is feeling a certain level of confidence.
At the same time, Gore, now trailing slightly in several national polls, risked appearing desperate. And in a health-care speech yesterday in Pennsylvania, Gore remained on the attack, accusing Bush of jeopardizing the nation's health-care system by supporting Republican measures in Congress.
Both candidates visited tossup states yesterday after a week of heavy campaigning. Bush, speaking at a chilly outdoor stadium in central Wisconsin, repeated his pledges to fix Medicare and Social Security and to provide a $1.3 trillion tax cut. He also urged supporters to find ''open-minded Democrats and disillusioned independents'' to bring to the polls Nov. 7.
The Texas governor continued his mocking of Gore, saying ''he's so confident about his abilities, he claimed he invented the Internet.''
''But if he was so smart, how come all the Internet addresses start with `W?' Not only one `W,' but three `W's?'' Bush asked, drawing loud applause from the thousands gathered at the Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.
In a gesture reminiscent of Nixon's trademark ''V'' wave for victory, Bush raised three fingers to make a ''W'' shape.
With him campaigning was Dick Cheney, his running mate, who expressed confidence in winning Wisconsin and its 11 electoral votes. ''I think Wisconsin is one of those states that trended Democratic in recent years, so for us to be running even or ahead here is a real plus,'' Cheney said.
Bush, who has not held a press conference since mid-September, declined to field questions from reporters. But he did welcome Cheney publicly as he disembarked from the plane, shouting, ''Hey, Mr. Vice President!''
In his speech in Wilkes Barre, Pa., Gore focused more narrowly on policy, in particular a bill that passed the US House last week that would restore billions of dollars to health-care providers. Clinton has promised to veto the bill, which includes $240 billion in tax cuts, and Gore yesterday assailed it for favoring health maintenance organizations over hospitals and nursing homes and for failing to include a patients' bill of rights.
''This so-called reform bill that they pushed through gives HMOs $34 billion more in taxpayer money but doesn't have a dime's worth of patient protection.... Instead of giving more choices to families, it gives more choices to HMO bureaucrats,'' he said, chastising Bush for supporting the GOP majority.
Gore returned home to Washington yesterday afternoon to see his son, Albert III, play in a high school football game. By dinner time, he was back in the air, flying to Minneapolis for a rally before bouncing over to Detroit for the night.
In a press conference yesterday, Gore aides said the campaign is launching a major publicity effort, including a $15 million advertising buy from the Democratic National Committee this week and a huge ''get out the vote'' initiative.
Several ads will focus on Bush's record as governor of Texas, particularly in the areas of health care and the environment, the aides said. One ad in Ohio - a state where Bush has been ahead, but which the Gore campaign believes is becoming more competitive - shows the state of Ohio morphing into Texas, suggesting that Ohio would suffer from Bush's approach.
Bush, meanwhile, headed home to Austin by mid-afternoon yesterday after staging an enthusiastic rally in Columbia, Mo. He hits the campaign trail again tomorrow in California, where polls suggest Gore's lead has narrowed considerably. From there, Bush will take a swing through Oregon and Washington, two other states that have leaned Democratic in recent elections but appear to be in play this year. He is scheduled to fly to Iowa by midweek.
Given this week's schedule, a Bush aide defended the governor's day at home, noting that the governor ''typically spends Sundays focusing on faith and family.'' Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said it is ''similar to what Senator Lieberman does,'' referring to the Democratic vice presidential candidate, an orthodox Jew who does not work Saturdays in observance of Sabbath.
Susan Milligan of the Globe Staff contributed from Washington, D.C., to this report.
