Debate: No Knockout

Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush battled toe to toe and fact to fact Tuesday night in a spirited 90-minute debate. There were no big surprises. There were no major stumbles. Both candidates came across pretty much as we have become accustomed to them. Vice President Gore was intensely prepared and had 10 facts at hand for every question. Texas Gov. Bush was better tanned, more relaxed and more willing to use a spot of humor, however flat-footed.

Bush had the advantage of lower expectations as set by the running jokes about his malapropisms; mainly, Bush had to show the nation he could properly put one word in front of the other. He did that. But he was on the defensive much of the night. Advantage, veteran debater Gore. This more formal format favored his orientation for detail, even as those details no doubt overwhelmed voters just now coming to the issues of the presidential race.

Gore tended to run overtime with his number-filled proposals and frequently had to be cut off by moderator Jim Lehrer. Several times, Bush became exasperated with Gore’s repeated attacks on his tax cut plan. Bush relied on a retort that became shopworn: “fuzzy math.”

The major message from Gore was that Bush’s tax program would give billions in savings to the “wealthiest 1%” of Americans--Gore’s most overused pitch of the evening, although his assertion is correct. Both pandered shamelessly to seniors, each attempting to outdo the other on how fast and how cheaply he could get prescription drugs to those on Medicare.

Bush succeeded in portraying himself as the outsider who would go to Washington and get Republicans and Democrats to work together for solutions that have eluded the Clinton-Gore administration. Bush later hurt his bipartisan appeals by digging at the Gore fund-raising scandals in a way that voters may have seen as a personal attack on the vice president.

Gore’s worst response was on the question about dealing with the unexpected. He wound up giving an anecdote about Yugoslavia and using his influence to get help from officials of Russia and Finland. Not exactly an involving story that will move most Americans. Bush’s more visual anecdote about dealing with Texas catastrophes surely connected better. His plain speaking helped him.

In the end, it was very close and not the decisive debate that some pundits had hoped for. Gore got the edge as a forceful presidential debater. But Bush didn’t trip over himself, and for many just tuning in to the race, that’s a plus for his campaign. If the race is based on this debate, it remains a squeaker.