According to press commentary, the presidential election of 2000 was decided in the so-called Battle of Florida. How accurate is this...

I think that referring to the 2000 Presidential Election in the United States as "the battle for Florida" is accurate.  However, further analysis reveals that campaign strategy was very important in determining the results of the election.

Indeed, the 2000 Presidential Election in the United States hinged on the electoral votes in the state of Florida.  Without the state of Florida, the electoral count for Governor Bush was 246 and for Vice President Gore was 255.  Both candidates were short of the needed 270 electoral votes to win the Presidency.   With its 25 electoral votes, the state of Florida did in fact decide the Presidential election. 

However, when we expand the analysis, we see that campaign strategy played a very important role in determining the Presidential Election.  Governor Bush and his advisors envisioned an electoral map that was fundamentally different than previously seen.  Their electoral strategy focused on ensuring that the political message would be that Governor Bush was more "in touch" with the experiences of the "average American." This was seen in how the campaign ensured that Governor Bush often met with voters in "unscripted settings," and emphasized bringing back "dignity and honor."  The Bush Campaign sought to link Vice President Gore with an "out of touch administration."  As a result, the campaign focused on capturing states with small electoral vote counts, getting their message out to these previously neglected areas.  Such a strategy was contrary to conventional wisdom.  

States such as Missouri, Virginia, and Colorado became the central focus of the Bush campaign. States like Kentucky and the Vice- President's home state of Tennessee occupied central importance to their strategy to the 270 votes.  This flew in the face of conventional strategy which emphasized that "big states," or states with large electoral votes, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Illinois, were essential to winning the Presidency.

The strategy to redraw the political map was critical in ensuring the Governor's victory.  In reconfiguring the electoral map, the Bush team recognized that they needed to win just a few "big states."  The Bush campaign focused on Ohio, Texas, which was the governor's home state, and Florida, whose governor was Jeb Bush, the brother of the Republican nominee.  It was a shrewd strategy, and one that caught the Gore campaign by surprise.  The Vice President's team did not place strong emphasis in winning a state like Tennessee, while Governor Bush's did. The result was that the Vice President lost his home state by less than four percent. Had Vice President Gore won his home state of Tennessee, that swing of 11 electoral votes would have secured the election for the Vice- President.  Thus, while Florida was decisive, electoral strategy played a very important role in the Presidential Election of 2000.