AST LANSING, Mich. - As George W. Bush prepared for what aides called a ''positive'' final week of campaigning, the Gore-Lieberman team tried to recover the magic of the Democrats' 1992 bus trips by launching a ''Great Lakes Prosperity Tour'' through Michigan.
Al Gore told a crowd in Macomb County that ''prosperity is on the ballot,'' hailing the Clinton administration's record in balancing the budget, reducing the national debt, and creating jobs, while Joseph I. Lieberman questioned whether Bush was prepared for the job of president.
''George Bush is not ready to be president,'' the Connecticut senator said. ''Maybe someday, but not now.''
The decision by the Democratic campaign to contrast Bush's six years as governor with Gore's 24 years as US representative, US senator, and vice president was played out in several venues.
In an appearance yesterday morning on ABC's ''This Week,'' Lieberman said that ''a lot of people around the world'' depend on the US president. ''I guess I'd say this: Based on Governor Bush's experience, his record in Texas - which is not good on environment, health care, education - and based on his plans for the country, which I'm confident would take us into debt and cripple our economy, I don't think George Bush is ready to be president.''
In response, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer denounced Gore for ''one of the most negative finishes in presidential politics.... He has authorized his surrogates to take this campaign to new lows.''
Before splitting up to conduct separate bus trips around Michigan, Gore and Lieberman appeared together at a midday rally before hundreds of supporters in Macomb County, a Detroit suburb that has taken on a political reputation as a center of ''Reagan Democrats.'' Since Ronald Reagan won an impressive majority in the Democratic, white, working-class area in 1980, campaigns have targeted Macomb County, and political scientists have put its results under scrutiny.
Many members of the Macomb County audience that cheered the Democrats yesterday wore jackets identifying themselves as members of labor unions. Though organized labor has thrown its weight behind the Democratic campaign in the state, Gore aides say the Michigan race is the closest in the nation. They said that local surveys indicate Gore is slightly behind in Macomb County.
In 1992, Bill Clinton and Gore began their post-convention campaign with a bus tour that meandered through the industrial Midwest for nearly a week, drawing huge crowds and establishing a climate that helped set up their victory in Michigan and elsewhere that fall. Clinton carried the state again in 1996, but this year it is one of the most unpredictable battlegrounds in the nation.
While in Michigan, where a referendum involving school vouchers is on the ballot, Gore took a swipe at Bush's proposal to provide vouchers. The Bush plan, he said, would drain money from public schools. ''Every state would be forced to finance vouchers out of its budget whether they wanted to or not.''
Gore followed up his Macomb County event with a late afternoon rally in East Lansing, where he reiterated his ''prosperity'' message. Bush, he said, ''would squander our surplus on a tax break for the wealthiest Americans.''
The Democratic ticket is scheduled to resume the bus tour today in Wisconsin, another pivotal state where the race is close.
Meanwhile, Bush aides said the governor plans to finish his campaign by underscoring his ''positive'' approach, in contrast to Gore's ''bitter and divisive'' tone.
Bush, who makes frequent personal jabs at Gore, but in a lighthearted tone, will carry his message of ''bringing America together'' to states once considered safely Gore's, starting with a trip today to California - a state he accused Gore of taking for granted.
Most political analysts still expect Gore to win the Democratic stronghold. But Fleischer said the Bush camp still had reason to believe the governor, who has been to California nine times since the GOP primary, still could take the state. ''If he didn't, why is Al Gore going there this week?'' he said. Gore is traveling to California tomorrow to appear on ''The Tonight Show'' and make campaign appearances.
Bush's schedule, which yesterday included only a satellite-relayed speech from his home in Texas, indicated a growing confidence in the Republican ranks that he has secured an edge over the vice president. Although the polls have swung unpredictably for months, new tracking polls gave Bush a wider margin than before. And, with the election just around the corner, some Republicans said they could not envision the pendulum swinging back in the other direction yet again.
Although Bush officials mocked Gore's return to California as a sign of desperation, Bush himself goaded Gore yesterday for not having been to the state more.
In his address to Hispanic supporters in Los Angeles, Bush said, ''Vice President Gore has been taking California for granted and hasn't even been there since way back in September.... Well, you're looking at one candidate who has never lost sight of the importance of California.''
