ASHINGTON - Criticized by George W. Bush for engaging in a ''consistent pattern of exaggeration,'' Al Gore denied yesterday that he has a problem with embellishing the truth and said Republicans are resorting to personal attacks and ''abandoning the issues.''
Gore's veracity returned as an issue following last week's debate in Boston. There, Gore said he traveled with a top federal disaster official to Texas in 1998 to observe fire damage and also noted how a Florida high school student was forced to stand because of classroom overcrowding.
Gore later said he made a ''mistake'' about traveling with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt to Texas. But he stood by his story of a Sarasota High School student, who was later given a desk. Gore said it was wrong that 36 students were ''crammed'' into a room for built for 24.
Campaigning in Florida, Bush vowed to use his next debate with Gore on Wednesday to go after the vice president for distortions of Bush's agenda.
''I think the man is prone to exaggeration. I think it appeared that way during the debate,'' Bush said. ''What I'm going to have to do is make sure he doesn't consistently exaggerate my numbers and my plans.''
When asked by reporters in a conference call yesterday if he had a tendency to embellish facts and his resume, Gore responded, ''No I do not.''
Gore said he ''will respond to whatever comes up'' in the next debate but would not make personal attacks on Bush.
''Well I think it's obvious what's going on with'' the embellishment issue, Gore said. ''It's an ad hominem personal attack because they're abandoning the issues.''
A poll released by Reuters/MSNBC showed Gore leading Bush, 45 percent to 41 percent among likely voters. Since this poll began nine days ago, Gore's lead has been as large as 6 points, and the fluctuations are probably statistically insignificant given the 3-point margin of error. A Newsweek poll yesterday showed Gore leading Bush 44 percent to 43 percent, well within the 4-point margin of error. The week before, the two were in a statistical tie.
