LINT, Mich. - Al Gore punched in for a 27-hour Labor Day campaign shift yesterday, hoping that his round-the-clock, four-state swing would show unity with laborers, differentiate his work habits from George W. Bush, and maintain his momentum as the general-election campaign begins in earnest.
Traveling with running mate Joseph I. Lieberman, the vice president set out on a 2,900-mile, daylong sprint to four key electoral states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, and Kentucky.
After meeting with construction workers in Philadelphia, the pair met with late-shift hospital employees in Flint, and then headed to see early-shift bakery workers and firefighters in Tampa. Gore was then scheduled for an afternoon parade and labor speech in Pittsburgh, followed by a speech tonight at a motor speedway in Louisville, Ky.
Lieberman was to attend Detroit's annual Labor Day festivities before heading off to a Toledo Mud Hens baseball game tonight in Ohio.
''We're doing it to honor your work and to focus on Labor Day what we ought to be focusing on, and that is the families who are paying the bills, making ends meet, and paying the home mortgages,'' a khaki-clad Gore told about 125 workers who sat on piles of plasterboard and joint compound at a hotel construction site overlooking the Delaware River.
He said the difference between him and Bush is that ''we're for the people, and he's for the powerful.''
Later, here in the Midwest, the vice president made a pitch for a patient's bill of rights before a group of doctors and nurses dressed in scrubs at the Hurley Medical Center.
''Along with you, we are sick and tired of having the medical decisions made by doctors and nurses and health care professionals overruled by bean counters behind a computer terminal working for an HMO,'' he said to cheers.
The workers appreciated the attention and novel campaign tactic.
''All the fellas on this job, we're workers,'' said Ray Della Vella, a union electrician from Philadelphia. ''We respect other workers. By the vice president staying up all night, it shows he's one of us.''
In addition to igniting the fall campaign, Gore's campaign marathon forced a response from Bush. The Republican presidential contender, who recently has been campaigning three days a week, scotched plans for a long weekend at his ranch and instead campaigned in Arkansas and Louisiana on Friday. Last night, he flew to Chicago to prepare for campaign appearances today in Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, a schedule change made after the campaign learned of Gore's trip.
This morning, Bush plans to participate in a parade in Naperville, Ill., before heading to a peach festival in Romeo, Mich. He then plans to hold campaign events in Pennsylvania and Indiana, for a total of four days of campaigning.
Governor George E. Pataki of New York, a Bush supporter, issued a statement ridiculing Gore's trip.
''This weekend, Vice President Gore will spend 24 hours trying to make up for seven years of squandered opportunities,'' Pataki said. ''In the last seven years, Al Gore has failed to take advantage of bipartisan opportunities to help working families on key issues like health care, prescription drugs, education, and tax fairness.''
Gore has gained in national and state polls since last month's Democratic National Convention, but an Ohio poll suggests that Bush still leads in a key Midwestern battleground. Bush had 49 percent and Gore 43 percent in a Columbus Dispatch poll, which also showed 2 percent support for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. The Ohio mail poll had a margin of error of 2 points.
Meanwhile, a new Gannett poll in New Jersey showed Gore leading Bush 39 percent to 32 percent. The New Jersey poll had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
The marathon had a festive air as Gore arrived in Philadelphia. Campaign aides gave reporters caps from the ''Survivor'' television series, as well as a T-shirt showing their nonstop route, and a bag of toiletries. They dubbed the swing ''Al and Joe's Hard Day's Night Tour.''
Tomorrow, Gore and Lieberman plan to return to a normal schedule and promote a comprehensive economic plan. They were scheduled to spend the bulk of the week in the Midwest, with Gore also visiting Louisiana on Thursday.
During a conference call with reporters yesterday, Lieberman responded to criticism that he has invoked religion too much on the campaign trail.
''I'm going to try not to talk too much about religion,'' the senator said. He added that he believes in ''the separation of church and state,'' but also that ''faith has played a very important role'' in the nation's history.
Material from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
