HICAGO - George W. Bush yesterday urged voters to put ''plain-spoken Americans in the White House,'' intending to contrast himself with Vice President Al Gore. Instead, his frankness created an embarrassment, after he uttered a vulgarity that was accidentally broadcast over loudspeakers to a crowd of hundreds.
Climbing onstage to address a Labor Day rally in suburban Naperville, Ill., the Republican presidential nominee spotted a veteran political reporter in the crowd and pointed him out to his running mate, Dick Cheney.
''There's Adam Clymer, major-league asshole from The New York Times,'' Bush said, as he smiled and waved to the cheering crowd. Cheney, also unaware that the microphones were turned on, agreed, saying, ''Oh yeah, he is, big time.''
The comment, which was captured by dozens of video cameras and was mostly audible from the audience, touched off a wave of defensive reactions from the Bush campaign, although aides said it was justified because Clymer has written several stories Bush considers unfair.
The Gore campaign delighted in the remark and immediately chastised Bush. The vice president's spokesman, Chris Lehane, told reporters: ''Last week, Governor Bush broke his promise not to engage in negative personal attacks when he attacked Al Gore'' in a Republican National Committee TV ad questioning the vice president's credibility. ''And now, this week, facing increased pressure, he is not only attacking Al Gore; he's also attacking the press.''
Lehane added: ''What it really reflects is the fact that the dynamics of this campaign have changed, that people are beginning to focus on the issues, and that George W. Bush recognizes that he cannot defend the indefensible - as in his tax cut - or explain the unexplainable - as in why he doesn't have a plan that will help working families.''
Clymer told the Associated Press, ''I'm disappointed in the governor's language.''
Late last night, Bush addressed the issue directly. ''I regret that a private comment I made to the vice presidential candidate made it into the public airwaves,'' he said.
Asked whether he would apologize, he said: ''I was making a comment to ... Cheney. I didn't realize, obviously, the mikes were going to pick it up.''
Earlier, addressing thousands of union laborers at a rally at Point State Park on Pittsburgh's riverfront, the vice president appeared to hint at the faux pas by thanking all those who were helping with his four-state, 27-hour Labor Day campaign ''Workathon.''
He said: ''I want to thank all of the medics. I want to thank the law enforcement officers who are working today on Labor Day. I want to thank the Secret Service and all of those who have made my trip possible. I want to thank the working press corps, who are working on Labor Day.''
It was perhaps damaging for Bush that the incident drew attention away from what was intended to be a serious Labor Day push to stop Gore's recent ascent in the polls.
The Texas governor plans to continue that effort today, as he unveils a prescription drug plan for Medicare, but there was little discussion of such weighty topics yesterday.
Bush instead delivered a strong political criticism of Gore during a 12-minute speech at Naperville North High School.
Stressing a theme that has run throughout the Bush campaign but which has taken even greater prominence in recent weeks, Bush all but accused Gore of being a liar. The governor told the crowd, ''It's time to elect some folks who've got good common sense.
''It's time to elect people who say what they mean and mean what they say when they tell the American people something,'' he said. ''It's time to get rid of all those words like `no controlling legal authority.' We need plain-spoken Americans in the White House.''
The Bush and Gore camps also exchanged blows yesterday over the status of debates.
Bush said Sunday that he would debate Gore three times, starting next week, but Gore rejected the proposal because two of the debates would take place on NBC and CNN, while only one of the debates would be sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates and carried by all broadcasters.
In what he termed an example of ''Washington double-speak,'' referring to Gore, Bush said: ''My opponent said he would debate me any place, any time, anywhere. I said fine, why don't we just show up at NBC with Mr. [Tim] Russert as a moderator? Why don't we just show up at Larry King and discuss our differences?
''Then all of a sudden the words about any time, anywhere don't mean anything,'' Bush continued.
Introducing the vice president at the Pittsburgh rally, the Rev. Jesse Jackson came to Gore's defense.
''There's been a lot of debate about the debates. Bush does not want to debate Al Gore. There's this rising fear factor. You see, he wants to have privatized debates, a private debate with Larry King, a private debate with Tim Russert. We want public debates for the American people,'' Jackson said, drawing a cheer from the crowd.
''Come out of the bushes and let's debate,'' he bellowed.
Labor Day, which comes at the end of the summer vacation season and is the last major holiday before the election, is a traditional landmark in presidential campaigns. Bush had hoped to use the day to elaborate on major policy and personality differences between him and Gore.
Illinois is considered a swing state, and in an Aug. 30 Mason-Dixon poll, the race was a statistical dead heat. Gore was nominally ahead, 46 percent to 41 percent, but the survey had a 5-point margin of error. A Chicago Tribune poll taken before the Democratic convention also showed Gore ahead, 42 to 40.
The Bush and Cheney remarks disparaging the reporter were heard over the loudspeakers at Naperville High. While not everyone heard the statements, the Bush campaign did not try to deny them, but rather explained them with criticism of Clymer's work.
Clymer is a veteran Washington correspondent who appeared in the original campaign chronicle ''Boys on the Bus'' and is the author of a biography of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He has written several articles that displeased the Bush campaign, including one examining health care under Bush.
Bush aides said the remark was intended to be private.
''There's been a series of articles that the governor has felt have been very unfair,'' said Bush's communications director, Karen Hughes.
After the Illinois rally, Bush flew to Michigan to attend a peach festival. Gore wrapped up his campaign swing with a speech at a motor speedway in Louisville, Ky.
Campaigning in Detroit yesterdat, Gore's running mate, Joseph I. Lieberman, said he'll keep pushing for a place for religion in public life, telling union workers the ''the labor movement is built on values that come from faith,'' the Associated Press reported.
Kornblut, traveling with the Bush campaign, reported from Illinois; Johnson, traveling with Gore, reported from Pittsburgh.
