Portland, Ore. ? President Bush traded one refrain for another Friday, saying he is “getting the job done” on the economy and more. Not so, said Sen. John Kerry, criticizing administration tax cuts as insensitive to the middle class as he ended a 22-state tour.

“Don’t for an instant be shy about using the word sensitive,” the Democratic presidential nominee told one questioner, referring to criticism a day earlier from Vice President Dick Cheney.

“If you don’t speak you mind, you shouldn’t be the president of the United States. And I intend to speak my mind,” Kerry said.

In their latest campaign convergence, Bush and Kerry were both in Oregon, a state that has drawn $5.5 million in television advertising from the two candidates combined thus far even though it has only seven electoral votes. Bush lost the state to Al Gore by 7,000 votes in 2000.

The two men spoke a few miles apart on slightly different schedules. Close enough, though, so that all four local network affiliates briefly aired live, split-screen coverage of the president and his Democratic rival at dueling appearances.

The president blended local politics with national concerns as he labored to move the state into his re-election column.

“I like to remind people, in the nation’s capital a lot of them can talk a good game. I like to be the person known as somebody getting the job done,” he said. Later, announcing that the administration will support a plan to dredge the Columbia River shipping channel, he said, “It’s getting the job done.”

Aides said the phrase was a replacement for another one hastily jettisoned. “We’ve turned the corner and we’re not turning back” was a staple of the president’s campaign speeches for several days this month, but it drew ridicule from Kerry and skepticism from some voters.

Bush also accused Kerry of backing plans that will require higher taxes. “Here’s a fellow who has made $2.2 trillion in new promises, and we still have September and October to go,” said the president. “When you start running up those tax rates on individuals, the people who start paying are small businesses.”

Emily Tiger Lemons, 7, of Medford, Ore., reaches out to shake Sen. John Kerry's hand as the Democratic presidential nominee wades into the crowd after his speech in Central Point, Ore.

Kerry denies the charge. He says his plan would roll back the Bush-era tax cuts on the top 2 percent of all income earners and use the money for health care, education and other programs.

Standing before enormous shipping cranes, Bush announced the administration will request funds to begin deepening 104 miles of the Columbia River channel from the Pacific Ocean to Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash.

“What I’m telling you is we’re committed to keeping the Columbia River open for navigation and trade, and we’re committed to keeping America’s great ports open for business,” he said.

Kerry drew a huge crowd in Portland. The subject of sensitivity arose when Kerry was told by one person in his audience that most people in prison are black or Hispanic. “How do we change that figure to make this country more sensitive — I don’t want to use the word sensitive because Bush has screwed that word up — but more aware of the problem?” he was asked.

“Don’t for an instant be shy about using the word sensitive,” Kerry said.