Gore Links Bush With Deficit-Spending Era

Gore Links Bush With Deficit-Spending Era

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday , April 25, 2000

NEW YORK, April 25; Looking to sharpen the focus of his presidential campaign, Vice President Gore today zeroed
in on the economy, making the case that a vote for Republican George W. Bush is a return to the "irresponsible,"
deficit-spending era of his father, the former president.

"After emerging from the Bush-Quayle deficits and recessions, should we really risk a George W. Bush deficit and a George
W. Bush recession?" Gore asked a breakfast gathering of more than 1,000 businesspeople and educators.

Today's speech, billed as a major economic address, was more a repackaged version of the central Gore pitch. "If you believe that America has to do the right thing, then I ask for your support," he said.

If elected, Gore promised to keep a balanced budget, tackle the national debt, set aside extra money for Social Security and
Medicare and enact tax cuts aimed at college tuition, worker retraining and research investment.

"It's going to take toughness, leadership and experience," he said, reminding the audience he cast the tie-breaking vote for
President Clinton's 1993 economic stimulus package. "A series of bad decisions in one budget could place it beyond our reach for a decade."

But much of Gore's argument is centered on an aggressive critique of Bush's economic proposals and the potential ramifications of large tax cuts.

"I believe George W. Bush's entire economic agenda is built on a foundation of irresponsibility and risk," Gore said in a subdued tone that masked that the harshness of the attack.

"Just as we fell prey to the politics of illusion during the decade of amazing deficits," he said to members of the Association for a Better New York, "now we have to avoid the politics of illusion in the decade of amazing surpluses."

After joining Clinton for a $2.2 million fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee last night, Gore now heads to
Boston to continue the money hunt. He will be in the Northeast much of this week, talking about health care and education.