Bush, Gore Battle for Votes

Focusing on Florida less than a week before Election Day, Al Gore urged senior citizens to ``save Social Security'' by electing him president, drawing fire Wednesday from a Republican general who said ``we're in a war right now'' to convince voters that George Bush would protect and improve the retirement program. The presidential candidates were campaigning in one another's political backyards - Gore hoping to spring an upset in GOP-leaning Florida, Bush in Minnesota where he hoped Ralph Nader might help him win a state that usually goes Democratic. ``I have a Social Security reform that gives people a stake in the future,'' Bush said in Minneapolis. While proposing to allow investments in the stock market, the Texas governor said Gore offered only ``an old and tired approach'' on Social Security and other issues. Former Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf said the Republican ticket was fighting ``a war'' to combat the Democratic criticism that the Bush plan would leave Social Security vulnerable to market shifts. Bush in Minnesota and Gore in Florida - the topsy-turvy travel strategies underscored how untraditional and unpredictable this presidential race has become: Bush is pressing Gore in no fewer than six Democratic states, while fighting for his political life in the state governed by his brother Jeb.