BUSH TOUTS BETTER DRUG ENFORCEMENT CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- George W. Bush used America's heartland as a stage yesterday to propose a five-year $2.7 billion plan to create a "drug-free society," vowing beefed-up enforcement along the nation's borders and more cooperation with Mexico. "Unfortunately, in the last seven and a half years, fighting drug abuse has ceased to be a national priority," the Republican presidential nominee told a crowd of supporters at a community center in Cedar Rapids. "Drug policy has been pursued without urgency, without energy and without success." In Florida, Democratic nominee Al Gore charged that Bush would bankrupt Social Security "in a single generation." The tough rhetoric flew as the campaign intensified following presidential and vice-presidential debates this week. A new Time-CNN poll found that more people think Bush is trustworthy enough to be president than Gore. The vice president, however, got better grades in the first presidential debate and was seen as right on most of the issues, and as more experienced to handle the job. Overall, the poll had the race in a virtual dead heat. On the stump, Bush characterized President Clinton's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, as a man working on the problem "almost alone" within the administration, a notion McCaffrey dismissed as "nonsense." The Texas governor laid out his anti-drug plan, including $25 million to support nonprofit organizations working with a Parents Drug Corps to get the message across to children not to abuse drugs. Bush also proposed spending $350 million over five years that would double grants for community coalitions. And he proposed to increase federal funding to drug treatment centers by $1 billion. The drug plan capped a week in which Bush has hit repeatedly on the theme that government can help parents instill character in their children. Fighting drug abuse is a major part of that effort, Bush said. "The job of opposing drugs belongs to every family," he said. "But there are some things that only the federal government can do. Only the federal government can attack the supply of drugs -- a commodity that destabilizes whole governments and crosses all borders." Meanwhile in Orlando, Fla., Gore reunited with running mate Sen. Joseph Lieberman to push their plans to bolster Social Security, Medicare and create incentives for Americans to save more. "Here is the difference," said Gore, appealing to the state's older voters. "We give you a generous incentive to save and invest, not at the expense of Social Security but on top of Social Security." Speaking to about 3,000 cheering supporters at a bayside rally, Gore promised "a secure and dignified retirement" and criticized Bush's proposal to allow workers to invest a portion of their Social Security money privately. "That would cause the bankruptcy of Social Security in a single generation," Gore said. As if to underscore the political importance of Florida, Bush flew into the state late yesterday. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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