ORTLAND, Ore. - Repeating the words ''recession'' and ''stagnation'' nearly a dozen times in an hour, George W. Bush yesterday tried to blunt the political impact of the booming national economy by warning of a mounting education crisis that his opponent had failed to fix.
Bush, encouraged by poll numbers that show him again running even with Vice President Al Gore, sought to close the gender gap that has separated them, focusing on an issue that traditionally plays well with women. But in doing so, the Texas governor walked a fine ideological line, between holding the federal government accountable for public education failures, and saying that educational policy should be dictated mainly at the local level.
Bush blamed Gore for not taking a more active role in closing the ''achievement gap'' between rich and poor children in public schools, and pledged to improve standards in ''every public school in America'' if elected president.
''Our education recession has been long and deep and destructive,'' Bush said. ''Ending it will be a national challenge and my most urgent priority.''
Yet Bush also embraced a more traditional Republican line, saying that as president he would not expect the government to manage expensive problems such as teacher shortages or crowded classrooms.
Instead, Bush pointed to his home state as an example of what can be accomplished with proper leadership at the local level, saying that test scores for minority students in Texas have risen in recent years. The Gore campaign immediately disputed the claim, but it did not stop Bush from accomplishing his mission of yesterday morning: discussing, without distraction, an issue he has made central to his campaign.
''Across this country entrepreneurs and small businesses are creating jobs in record numbers,'' Bush told a select crowd gathered in Bethany Elementary School in Beaverton, a suburb of Portland. ''And yet there are some warning signs.''
''The most significant warning sign is the achievement gap in our public schools between rich and poor, Anglo and minority,'' he said. ''There is an education recession in America that threatens our future.''
The federal government provides about 7 percent of all public school funding.
Bush's new ''education recession'' catch phrase, imprinted on glossy new pamphlets distributed at his campaign stop, is one the Republican nominee plans to repeat in the Democratic stronghold of California today and tomorrow, and again as he moves into Midwestern swing states later in the week.
He is scheduled to travel to a total of five states this week, taking some time off on Wednesday in Austin, Texas, to practice for next week's presidential debate in Boston. Bush is also planning to hold another mock debate this weekend, with Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, playing the part of Gore.
Yesterday, though, the focus appeared to be on simply getting out a consistent message, continuing his recovery from slipping poll numbers and verbal gaffes. Although he met with a local newspaper editorial board in Oregon, Bush continued a new policy of selective silence with the media, declining to hold an open news conference with reporters.
The centerpiece of the Bush education plan is accountability - a requirement he says the Clinton administration has ignored.
Bush's proposal, which would cost $47.6 billion over 10 years, would require schools that receive federal funding for poor students to administer state-determined tests to see whether they are improving each year. If schools don't improve after three years, the federal funding would be redirected to parents, who could spend it on sending their children to private schools.
But parents would receive a voucher worth only about $1,500 - thousands less than the cost of most private schools. A Bush education adviser, B. Alexander Kress, conceded the federal money would not fully cover the cost of sending a child to private school. Instead, the Bush proposal is designed primarily to send a warning to failing urban schools: Either improve, or risk losing federal funds.
Other key elements of the Bush plan include creating more charter schools, increasing federal funding on teachers, and moving Head Start, the federally funded program for health and social services, into the Department of Education. Bush would not carry out the Clinton plan to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes, instead leaving that to each state.
Gore has outlined a $115 billion, 10-year plan to continue the existing Clinton education agenda, as well as increase teacher salaries and benefits. At the center of the vice president's plan is a $50 billion proposal to make sure every 4-year-old has access to preschool.
Gore aides pounced on the Bush proposal, saying that, despite its relatively small size, the Texas governor had no mechanism to pay for it and still offer his $1.3 trillion tax cut. The Democrats also quarreled with Bush's account of his success in Texas.
''You don't need to look beyond the borders of Texas to see the governor has failed when it comes to education,'' Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said.
