AU CLAIRE, Wis. - George W. Bush and Al Gore each claimed victory yesterday in their third and final presidential debate, with the Texas governor receiving a champion's belt from his staff and the vice president's aides proudly asking to rebroadcast the St. Louis meeting at the campaign's expense.
''I think Al Gore had a very good night and advanced his agenda,'' said Gore adviser Ron Klain, who conceded the Commission on Presidential Debates previously had prohibited repeat broadcasts of its face-offs.
The maneuvering came amid renewed conflict between the two presidential contenders, as the closest election in 40 years moved toward its climax.
Visiting Wisconsin, the Republican nominee railed against Gore as a big government spender, an image dovetailing with his insider-outsider view of the contest.
''I thought last night it was one of the most telling moments in the debate when my opponent looked America in the eye and said he is absolutely against big government,'' Bush said to his audience of 200 at the Chippewa Valley Airport, and again in a stiflingly hot hangar at the E.O. Johnson Co.
''Now there's a man who is prone to exaggerations,'' Bush said, chuckling. ''He wants to grow the size of the federal government. He believes in Washington, we believe in people. He's of the government, he's for the government, he loves Washington, D.C.''
During an appearance on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, Bush told the conservative commentator that Gore was ''one of the biggest spenders to come down the pike.''
Across the Mississippi River in Iowa, Gore seized on a statement from Tuesday's debate at Washington University in St. Louis.
Bush wants to ''privatize'' Social Security by letting younger workers invest up to 16 percent of their payroll taxes in the stock market. Startup costs have been estimated at $1 trillion, because the government would remain obligated to pay benefits to existing retirees even as young workers who support the trust fund begin redirecting their payroll taxes to investment accounts.
During the debate, Bush admitted the $1 trillion startup cost would come from surplus money in the Social Security trust fund. Previously, he had dodged such questions, promising to preserve the entire $2.3 trillion surplus for retiree benefits.
As an alternative, Gore told an audience in Des Moines about his plan to preserve the surplus while promoting savings through a tax incentive program. For example, workers making $30,000 to $60,000 annually could save $1,000 a year and have the entire amount matched by the government. Those making more or less would receive larger or smaller subsidies.
''It's hard for working people to build up savings, but with that kind of incentive, it'll be an offer most people can't refuse,'' the Democratic nominee told the group gathered at the Polk Convention Center.
Focusing on Bush's investment plan, which Gore has previously labeled ''risky,'' the vice president turned to Winifred Skinner, a local woman who recently gained national attention after revealing she collects cans daily to pay for her prescription drugs.
''You ready to go on the Internet and be a day-trader, Winnie?'' Gore asked Skinner. She replied, ''What's that?''
Leaving Missouri, Bush's staff presented him with a gift: a home-made blue championship belt with a boxer-styled gold buckle reading, ''Presidential Debate Champ 2000.''
''From an objective group of people,'' the governor joked, holding up the belt.
Bush's staffers had clearly decided the governor got the better of Gore, with his chief spokeswoman, Karen Hughes, saying: ''If I suggested to you 14 days ago that after four debates Governor Bush and Secretary (Dick) Cheney would be in this position, you would have thought the spin was set too high.''
Meanwhile, Gore campaign chairman William Daley sent a letter to the debate commission, seeking to rebroadcast the 90-minute debate in its entirety in battleground states before Election Day. He said the target audience would be ''those who were not able to view the last debate, and for those voters who are still undecided.''
The commission had no immediate reaction, although aides told the Associated Press permission was unlikely without approval from the Bush campaign. The Bush campaign declined to comment, saying that they had not been contacted by the debate commission.
Klain also revealed some of the campaign tactics the vice president will employ before Election Day.
Under the theme ''Big Choices: Prosperity for All,'' Gore will deliver four speeches beginning today highlighting his economic, business, and philosophical priorities. Starting Monday, the vice president will also begin each day by visiting families and workplaces to highlight the ''kitchen-table issues'' at stake in the election.
A shirt-sleeved Gore closed out the day with a rally before about 7,000 people in a plaza in front of the University of Michigan at Flint. The college-age audience, warmed up by the rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, was enthusiastic.
In an energetic speech, Gore outlined his view of the choice before voters: ''If you want a lot of gobbledygook that makes it seem like there's going to be some change but at the end of the day the drug companies get what they want, then the other guy's the one you want to support.
''But if you want somebody who's going to fight for you and get results for you, to help your families, that's why I'm in the race,'' the vice president said.
Gore is scheduled to appear today on television on ''Live with Regis'' and ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' before speaking at the annual Al Smith Dinner in New York City.
Abraham, traveling with Bush, reported from Wisconsin; Johnson, traveling with Gore, reported from Des Moines.
