The Republican ticket of George Bush and Dan Quayle snickered in unison yesterday at Gov. Michael Dukakis' late-campaign declaration of liberalism in the race for the White House. Dukakis was running as heir to a great Democratic tradition of "caring government" as he struggled to gain ground.

With eight days left until Election Day, and some polls indicating a race closer than earlier surveys suggested, Bush shored up support in Kentucky and Missouri while Dukakis rallied California supporters and said, "I'm fired up."

Bush recalled that Dukakis had "jumped all over me for using the `L' word" in their last debate in Los Angeles. "Well, speaking of my opponent, yesterday, miracle of miracles, headlines read all about it, he's using the liberal label again," the Republican nominee said in Louisville, Ky., today.

Bush also brushed off Dukakis' invitation for a third debate, saying the real debate should be between the old and new Dukakis. Quayle said he was glad the Massachusetts governor had resolved his political "identity crisis."

Dukakis invoked the names of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy, saying those Democrats stood for "caring government and caring political leadership. That's the kind of president I want to be."

At his first stop of the day, Dukakis did not repeat the "I am a liberal" statement he made Sunday after dodging the label for months. But he later cloaked himself in the "liberal tradition of great presidents" as he made his way through California, and said Bush doesn't understand "the tradition of being on the side of working families."

New polls agreed Bush was the leader nationwide, but differed on the size of his advantage. A Harris survey taken Friday through Sunday made it 52 percent to 45 percent for the Republicans.

A Times Mirror-Gallup survey concluded last Wednesday and released during the day gave Bush a national lead of 52 percent to 41 percent.

Democrats said their own private surveys showed late gains for their side, but Bush advisers said their man was leading in virtually all the large states that Dukakis would need to carry to forge an upset.

A state poll of California gave Bush a seven-point margin while another in Missouri rated him a 14-point leader.

At stops from Bakersfield to Stockton on Sunday, Dukakis told voters, "We need a president in the tradition, yes, the liberal tradition of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy."

Dukakis dropped the "L" word--as Bush and President Reagan regularly call it--during his appearances today but still referred to the heritage of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.

In San Jose, Dukakis said Bush has been "on the wrong side of every issue," singling out issues of importance especially to women, such as pay equity, parental leave and health insurance.

In a slap at Bush's long resume of appointed posts, Dukakis also said, "You can't inherit the White House, you have to earn the right to be president of the United States."

Questioned by reporters about his decision to embrace the label he has shunned for months, Dukakis said he comes from the liberal tradition of "presidents who were on the side of average Americans, presidents who helped to build middle class America."

"Harry Truman was a liberal who believed in balancing budgets and that's the tradition I come from," the Massachusetts governor said.

Though the Dukakis campaign sought to characterize California, with its 47 electoral votes, as a tossup based on their internal polling, a new ABC News poll put Bush ahead, 51 percent to 44 percent. The poll of 510 likely voters was conducted Saturday and Sunday.

Bush stumped in Philadelphia's suburbs on Sunday and briefly manned the phones at his campaign headquarters in Montgomery County.