RVING, Texas - Campaigning in George W. Bush's backyard, Al Gore yesterday slammed the Texas governor, saying his tax cut plan would threaten the nation's economy, the solvency of Social Security, and ''raises the serious question, does Governor Bush have the experience to be president?''
As an audience made up primarily of senior citizens answered ''no,'' Gore told them, ''A proposal like that makes you wonder.''
Gore came to a senior center here to raise an issue that plays well with older voters: Social Security.
As Gore stumped for votes in Bush country, Bush was in Gore land, picking up the endorsement of US Senator Fred Thompson, a Republican from Tennessee and a leading voice on campaign finance reform.
Bush traveled from Austin to Plant City, Fla., where he campaigned with his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, at a strawberry festival and assailed Gore for using campaign finance as his main issue. ''When I saw the headline, I wasn't sure if it was an April fool's edition or not in the paper,'' Bush said.
''I think the fellow must think America has been asleep or something during the last seven years of this administration,'' Bush went on, adding, ''After all, it was not that long ago that he went to a Buddhist temple to raise money.''
Thompson's endorsement came as Gore and Bush battled over independent voters who supported the aborted candidacies of John McCain and Bill Bradley, in part because of their positions on campaign finance reform.
On Saturday, Gore appeared with Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, a champion of campaign finance reform, in an attempt to boost his credentials as a reformer.
Yesterday, as Bush was en route to Knoxville, Gore was blaming Bush's ''secretly financed, sneaky attack ads'' for defeating McCain, referring to Texas contributors who spent $2.5 million on negative ads against the Arizona senator. He said that if ''all the people put pressure on Governor Bush,'' he might agree to the vice president's offer to suspend television advertisements in exchange for twice weekly debates. ''I think that he'll be freer to see this risky tax scheme for what it really is, something the American people do not want.''
On his first visit to Texas since Bradley withdrew from the race, Gore, accompanied by Olympic track star Carl Lewis and US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, also reached out to black and Hispanic voters in Houston.
At a Baptist church just outside Houston, Gore got a respectful but unusually low-key reception from thousands of congregrants.
''We've created new jobs, but we have not reached the promised land,'' he said. ''We may have left Egypt, but don't tell me we have arrived in Caanan. We have a long way to go.''
Afterward, he sat down for Mexican food and greeted Latino leaders at the Spanish Flowers Restaurant.
Later in the day, Gore flew to Florida, where the Gore campaign is buoyed by what it says is a shot at handing Bush an embarrassing defeat.
The Clinton-Gore ticket narrowly lost Florida in 1992, but came back in 1996 to win it. Gore strategists are encouraged by public polls that show Gore within striking distance of Bush in Florida.
Texas and Florida will hold primary elections tomorrow, along with Tennessee, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Anne Kornblut of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
