ALTIMORE - A fired-up Al Gore preached to the converted yesterday, bringing a gathering of cheering African-American voters to their feet numerous times as he pledged to fight racial profiling, to back affirmative action, and to improve educational and job opportunities for black Americans.
''Talk doesn't cost much. Taking a stand when it matters requires courage,'' the vice president told the delegates to the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. ''I don't want to work with those who make excuses for the way things are, instead of striving for the way they're supposed to be.''
The warm response was in marked contrast to the reception that Gore's presidential opponent, Texas Governor George W. Bush, got when he addressed the NAACP convention on Monday. While Bush was greeted with polite applause, delegates here complained that he was heavy on generalities and light on specific proposals.
''Bush didn't even shake our hands. He just got on and got off,'' said Erma Madden, an NAACP representative from Allegheny, Pa. ''He was just talking about what was wrong. He didn't say anything about what he was going to do.''
Gore never mentioned his opponent by name, but it was clear to the crowd that the likely Democratic nominee was talking about Bush when he criticized unnamed politicians.
''I am a member of the NAACP. It's good to be home,'' Gore said, drawing sustained applause. ''I have come here not just in an election year, but every year. I have walked with you. I have stood with you.''
The Bush campaign dismissed Gore's claims of accomplishments for African-Americans, saying the Clinton-Gore administration had not done enough to improve educational performance for minority children.
''Al Gore should explain why his administration broke its promise to close the achievement gap,'' said a Bush spokesman, Ari Fleischer.
Gore promised to fight for a higher minimum wage and to expand ''empowerment zones'' meant to bring prosperity to financially lagging communities. He talked about addressing the AIDS crisis in Africa - a continent, he said, that he has visited more often than Asia.
The vice president denounced those who oppose affirmative action and hate crimes legislation and those who refused to take a stand in the controversy over whether South Carolina should fly the Confederate flag over its capitol.
''I just happened to see some of your convention on Monday,'' Gore said, drawing a chuckle from the crowd. ''You know from your history that talk is cheap. It's deeds that matter.
''I'm not just asking you to read my lips,'' Gore said, echoing the phrase used by Bush's father, former President George Bush. ''I'm asking you to read my heart.''
Opinion polls consistently show Gore well ahead of Bush in support among African-Americans. The challenge Gore faces is to get African-American voters to turn out at the polls.
''Like any presidential candidate, he needs to have a large, energized black turnout,'' said Earl Black, a Southern politics expert at Rice University. ''And by Election Day, I have no doubt he will.''
But while there is ''no question'' that Gore will command 90 percent of the African-American vote, Black said, ''the question is whether it will be 90 percent of a small vote, or 90 percent of a large vote.
Gore still does not have the appeal for African-Americans that President Clinton has, and some of Gore's support among black voters stems from the popularity of the president, several NAACP members said privately yesterday. Clinton is scheduled to address the convention today.
But Gore is winning over more African-Americans on his own, some members said.
''Bill Clinton does it the best I've seen, and I'm 65 years old,'' said Lonnie Strickland, a Detroit member. But Gore ''can still do the same thing Clinton is doing, and better,'' he said.
Gore is likely to lose most of the deep South to Bush, regardless of the black vote, Black predicted. African-American voter turnout will be much more critical to Gore in Northern and Midwestern states like Illinois and Michigan, where the contests are likely to be closer, he said.
Bush's true strategy may not be to win over black voters, but to woo white moderates who want to believe the Republican Party is more open to African-Americans and other minorities, suggested Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP.
To centrist voters, ''the message was, `See? I'm like you,''' Mfume said. ''It was a tactical move.''
NAACP leadership and members insisted yesterday that they were open to hearing what Bush had to say, although Gore was clearly the favored son in this week's rhetorical faceoff.
When Bush spoke on Monday, ''it was obvious to everyone in the crowd that he was uncomfortable,'' said Christina McCarthy, of Hempstead, N.Y. ''And we made a conscious effort to make him feel comfortable.''
And while the NAACP is officially nonpartisan, the leadership's preference for Gore was obvious.
Speaking of Bush, Mfume said: ''Instead of hitting a home run, he hit a single. But the bases were loaded for the vice president. Al Gore is pretty much a family member.''
