ORTLAND, Ore. - Al Gore yesterday focused on his plan to shore up Medicare, staying on familiar Democratic turf by keeping the spotlight on health-care issues.
Meanwhile, George W. Bush continued a two-week education push with a campaign swing through New Hampshire, where he outlined a $6.7 billion proposal to help students pay for college.
But the GOP presidential contender also had to devote some time to other issues, repeating his pledge to release a detailed prescription-drug policy soon and defending his position on the presidential debates. Bush has not yet decided in which debates he will participate.
In Atlanta yesterday, GOP vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney criticized President Clinton - and, by extension, the vice president - saying that the US military, made strong in the 1980s by GOP-led defense spending, is now low on morale, weapons and soldiers because of ''eight years of neglect and misplaced priorities.''
The Associated Press reported that Cheney, the former defense secretary, said troops that were victorious in the Persian Gulf War have been hurt by spending cuts that have gone ''far beyond any careful weighing of the national interest.''
For Gore, there was little deviation from his message. After arriving here Tuesday, the vice president held a late-night rally at a downtown intersection, then participated in a town hall meeting yesterday to discuss Medicare. He appeared energized by the topic, and even showed a few hints of spontaneous humor, despite a noisy band of Ralph Nader protesters who followed him everywhere.
''Medicare is a lifeline for millions of seniors and their families,'' Gore told the group at Portland State University, describing in exhaustive detail his proposal to strengthen the federal insurance program for seniors through 2030. ''You ought to know what both sides are proposing to do to preserve it, and make it stronger.''
Gore has not mentioned Bush by name in days; but in a dig yesterday, vice presidential candidate Joseph I. Lieberman raised the specter of Bush's opponent during the Republican primaries.
''Our opponents have not proposed to spend a single additional dime for Medicare,'' Gore said. ''Actually, that quote comes from ...''
''John McCain,'' Lieberman interjected, drawing laughter.
''I'm just trying to keep this nonpartisan here,'' Gore said.
Campaigning on opposite coasts, Bush and Gore hit states they are increasingly confident they can win - Gore in Oregon, Bush in New Hampshire, before flying off to Pennsylvania and Ohio. Gore and Lieberman then flew to Seattle, where they will campaign today before returning to Washington, D.C., tonight.
Gore responded to Cheney's speech while en route from Portland to Seattle, pointing out recent budget boosts.
''We have the strongest military in the world, and we reversed the decline of the Bush-Quayle years,'' Gore told reporters on the plane.
Gore has kept his aim on health care all week, highlighting a different pillar of his program each day. Yesterday's topic was Medicare; Gore again pledged to spend $339 billion over 10 years to expand Medicare to cover the growing senior population, and to use additional money to restore funding for specific programs such as teaching hospitals and rehabilitative care.
Bush has also emphasized shoring up Medicare, praising a commission that proposed, among other things, increasing the amount seniors would pay as a premium and raising the eligibility age from 65 to 67 (although Bush has said he does not support that last provision).
Bush has also said he would sign into law a proposal by Senators John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, and Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, to reshape Medicare. And the Texas governor has pledged to create a prescription-drug component to Medicare, saying he will release details of that program next Tuesday.
But Gore has hammered Bush repeatedly for not laying out more specifics already, and yesterday questioned how the Texas governor would pay for his ideas.
At the same time, Gore responded to a battery of negative ads that criticizes his opposition to the 1998 Medicare Commission. Gore said he would not support raising the age requirement or the premiums.
Bush unveiled a number of education initiatives before a crowd of 750 at Winnacunnet High School auditorium in Hampton, N.H. Among the proposals was raising the maximum amount of the Pell Grant award from $3,300 to $5,100 for freshmen and covering a portion of states' costs for scholarships to students who do advanced course work before entering college.
''These are some of the ways to make sure that the education fulfills the promise of tomorrow,'' Bush said.
But Bush also weighed in on health care. One day after Gore aides attacked Texas's record on the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, Bush said he had made progress as governor in getting children insured under the program, which is designed for children of families whose income is too high for Medicaid but who cannot afford private insurance.
Anne E. Kornblut reported from Oregon; Glen Johnson reported from New Hampshire.
