OMULUS, Mich. - After watching Texas Governor George W. Bush try to edge him out on two of his favorite subjects - education and the environment - Vice President Al Gore has decided to go back on the attack.
The new campaign game plan, which debuted yesterday, calls for Gore to try to shred Bush's policy proposals and his record in Texas in much the same way he attacked Bill Bradley during the primary. And just as Gore's assault on Bradley steadied his then-shaky candidacy, advisers hope that a vigorous onslaught against Bush will revive what has lately been seen as a lackluster performance on the campaign trail.
At his first news conference of the general election yesterday, Gore began dissecting Bush's pronouncements and his record as he trumpeted the Sierra Club's decision to name Texas the most polluted state in America.
''Governor Bush seems to have the smug assumption that he can get away with calling himself an environmentalist, in spite of the record of what has gone so badly wrong in Texas because of his decision to replace the environmental regulators with representatives of the polluting industries,'' Gore said.
On health care, Bush fared no better in Gore's estimation.
''It's shocking that many families in Texas have to go across the border to Mexico in order to get health care that they are not provided by Governor Bush and his administration in Texas,'' Gore said, noting that Texas has the worst record of all 50 states for providing health care to people without insurance.
And Gore alleged that Bush would undermine the nation's strong economy with his tax cut and spending plans.
''His economic numbers do not add up,'' Gore said. ''In fact, they don't even come close. His proposal to privatize Social Security would lead to a bankrupting of Social Security in the first quarter of this century. You can't have a $2.1 trillion tax scheme without putting our country immediately into deficits again.''
Ari Fleischer, a spokesman for Bush, said it was no surprise that Gore would go on the attack.
''It certainly sounds like the vice president has nothing positive to say about his campaign,'' Fleischer said. ''He sounds intent on running a negative attack campaign and that's unfortunate.''
''Instead of attacking, perhaps the vice president could explain why there are 8 million more Americans who lack health insurance since he took office, why reading scores have stagnated across the country, and why our public schools have failed to improve,'' he said.
Gore, during his Michigan stop, also offered a defense, on the eve of Earth Day, of his reputation as an ardent environmentalist. Speaking in the heartland of the US auto manufacturing industry, he said he believes that it may be possible to eventually phase out the internal combustion engine in favor of more efficient technology.
''We have heard, and in the months ahead I am sure we will hear, every possible scare tactic on this issue,'' Gore said. ''But we will not give in and we will not back down. It is not extreme but mainstream to champion cleaner fuels and energy efficiency.''
As to his shift to a more aggressive strategy, Gore said he won't let Bush continue to portray himself however he wants. ''I think that these things catch up to you over time,'' Gore said.
And the vice president is expected to step up the rhetoric even further on Tuesday during a major address in New York, accusing Bush of taking an ''irresponsible approach'' toward the economy by providing a large tax cut with ''not a penny'' left to protect Social Security and Medicare. Later, Gore is expected to try to deconstruct Bush's claim to have improved the quality of educational in Texas. And he will critique Bush on foreign policy during a speech in Boston on April 30.
''Now that George Bush has taken two steps to the left from the edge of the right-wing cliff as part of his Bob Jones redemption tour, there are some comparisons we can make on his vision and our vision on education, health care, the environment and the economy,'' said Chris Lehane, Gore's spokesman.
Gore's return to the attack mode has been a long time coming.
After winning the New Hampshire primary, the vice president largely dropped off the nation's radar screen as the Republicans duked it out across the country. Then, after locking up the nomination on March 7, Gore seemed to fade once more into the background, almost intentionally keeping his profile low.
At the same time, Bush launched a vigorous effort to upstage Gore on the issues and to moderate his image after a tough primary battle with Senator John McCain. From education to health care to the environment, Bush has spent weeks trying to make Gore's signature issues his own.
Jim Shannon, the former Massachusetts congressman who served as Bradley's state chairman, said he believes Bush is even more vulnerable to Gore's tactics than Bradley was because Bush presides over a state.
''Is it unfair? Absolutely,'' said Shannon, referring to the kind of attacks Gore leveled at Bradley. ''It was unfair and very effective.
''He was able to plant seeds of doubt about somebody who wasn't really well-known by the voters, who was just introducing himself to the voters,'' Shannon said. ''As soon as [Bradley] surfaced with serious proposals, Gore pounced and seriously distorted Bradley's record with the electorate.''
Seven times yesterday, Gore used the word ''responsible' or ''responsibility'' to talk about pollution and the environment.
''Some will always argue that pollution is the inevitable price we pay for our prosperity - that invites and excuses a policy of environmental irresponsibility,'' Gore said, in an implicit dig at Bush during an official White House event on the loading floor of the Alvan Motor Freight company.
In recent days, Gore has preferred to more subtly criticize Bush, sometimes without mentioning the governor's name.
But from here on in, there will be little mistaking the intent and intensity of the vice president's words as the campaign homes in on what the Gore team likes to call ''the mess in Texas.''
