Campaign Trail Ahead Narrow for Bush, Gore

— -- Locked in a tight race, presidential contenders George W. Bush and Al Gore know every step they take will be crucial for the remainder of the campaign.

By Carter YangABCNEWS.COMSept. 4— As Labor Day ushers in the fall campaign, Al Gore and George W. Bush know that what they say and do over the next 64 days will decide the presidential election.

With the public focusing more on the contest and the ranks of undecided voters slowly dwindling, the candidates’ remaining time on the campaign trail is crucial. Every success will be amplified, each misstep glaring.

Tight Race After Conventions

The latest polls show a tight race, with the vice president having seized a narrow edge over his Republican rival, erasing Bush’s onetime double-digit lead.

Gore will continue with the populist rhetoric that helped him consolidate his support among the Democratic Party’s liberal base, casting the election as a choice between “the people” and “the powerful” — a strategy derided by Republicans as “class warfare.”

Having effectively reintroduced himself to the voting public as a man outside President Clinton’s shadow, Gore’s task now is to maintain his post-convention momentum, keeping his core supporters on board, while reaching out to moderate swing voters who will decide the election.

Bush, who had grown comfortable as the front-runner in the race, was thrown off-balance by his opponent’s post-convention surge in the polls. He strayed off-message, conceding that he hadn’t effectively explained the details of his tax cut plan — the centerpiece of his campaign — to the public. The Gore camp sought to exploit the stumble, pressing him for specifics on a prescription drug plan.

The Texas governor’s challenge is to recapture the aura of inevitability his campaign had taken on after the GOP convention and put his opponent back on the defensive.

Republicans coalesced around Bush early in the process, freeing him up to campaign as a “different kind of Republican” and make inroads into traditionally Democratic voting groups, such as women and minorities. He must also continue that effort if he is to be victorious in November.