EDITORIAL BUSH FOR PRESIDENT.

THIS election year has been an odd one. Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush won their party's primaries early and have been campaigning for months. Both have issued detailed papers on spending plans, tax cuts, protecting Social Security, tinkering with Medicare, improving education.

Yet neither, according to the polls, has electrified the public, leaving the race very close.

Make no mistake about it, this election is an important one, with many critical issues unresolved because of gridlock in the nation's capital - Social Security, Medicare, tax rates, the deficit, to name a few. The public has remained content because of the economic boom, but there are troubling signs that the economy is slowing down and leaner times could be right around the corner.

Internationally, the Middle East teeters between hope and despair and escalating tensions foreshadow a potential crisis, the situations in Eastern Europe and the Far East are delicate, and the preparedness of the military is suspect.

Most voters apparently think Gore is smarter and more informed on the issues. They like his experience but are turned off by his personality. He often comes across as irritating and a know-it-all who talks down to friends and opponents alike and plays loose with facts.

Many people like Bush personally, but worry about his lack of depth and experience. At times, he has seemed ill-prepared.

While neither has connected with voters in a way that excites the imagination, both have unique strengths that would serve the country well. Bush seems to be a consensus builder, someone who can and has reached across party lines and tapped Democrats to help win support for programs in Texas.

That kind of quality is needed in Washington to help heal the divisiveness created by years of partisan warfare.

The substantive differences between the two men are profound.

Bush believes in less government and more local control. Gore thinks the federal government has the answer for almost every problem.

As the country enters a new era, it needs more than a caretaker president. It needs a leader people will respect, someone who will restore honor to the office and who will make integrity a hallmark of his administration.

Gore talks the talk, but he hasn't always walked the walk.

His dissembling defense of his White House fund-raising activities was a revealing moment in how the man handles tough situations. Like his mentor, President Clinton, Gore has ducked and dodged instead of accepting responsibility and apologizing for his lapses.

Gore's tendency to dither when he should be decisive, to take credit for actions, innovations and programs that are not his own, all shed light on his character. He's not a bad man, but is he the best man?

Bush proved in the debates that he has common sense, underlying confidence in his ability to govern and faith in the American people and their resourcefulness.

One of his major strengths is his understanding and conviction that America's schools are cheating the poor and creating deep racial divides instead of giving every child, regardless of race, color or national origin, the tools to succeed in life.

Bush is not as experienced in foreign affairs as Gore. But he has shown on the campaign trail that he learns fast, that he surrounds himself with experienced men and women, and to borrow a phrase from someone else, that he is his own man.

It seems that the country is ready for and would benefit from a change - a fresh face for a new century.

The Daily News endorses Republican George W. Bush for president and recommends voting for him on Nov. 7.