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Change Your Life! |
Battle of ‘Bushism’ and ‘wooden upper lip’ began |
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October 5, 2000
BOSTON (AP) - George W. Bush challenged Al Gore's character and credibility in a debate offensive that the vice president countered by saying he wanted to focus on the country's problems. "People are tired of politicians attacking one another," Gore added Wednesday. But both contestants tried it both ways, dueling on issues and also on personal performance and qualifications Tuesday in the first of three debates that could prove crucial in their virtually even match for the White House. "Being on the stage with a man who has had the reputation as a very strong debater, and being able to hold my own, was a positive development for the campaign," Bush said in a television interview Wednesday. Gore, speaking live on the same show, rejected Bush's repeated accusation that he was using "fuzzy math" to denounce the Texas governor's tax plan. He urged voters to "add up the numbers for themselves." They were taking the fight to battleground states on Wednesday, Gore in Ohio and Bush in Pennsylvania. After their running mates debate Thursday in Kentucky, Bush and Gore meet again Oct. 11, followed by a third debate Oct. 17 in St. Louis. Their first 90-minute confrontation set lines that may be drawn even more harshly when they meet again. In three out of four quick network public opinion polls, Gore was rated the better debater. In a CBS News poll, 56 percent said he'd done better, 42 percent said Bush. A CNN-USAToday-Gallup survey made it Gore, 48-41, and NBC's poll said Gore, 46-36. An ABC poll rated them about even. In a group of five high school and college debate coaches assembled by The Associated Press, four picked Gore and one picked Bush. Bush hardened the tone in the closing minutes when moderator Jim Lehrer asked about character. Bush said he was discouraged by the vice president's conduct and comments about Democratic fund raising for the 1996 campaign, then targeted President Bill Clinton without using his name, or mentioning his scandal and impeachment. "I felt there needed to be a better sense of responsibility of what was going on in the White House," he said. "I believe they've moved the sign the buck stops here from the Oval Office desk to the buck stops here at the Lincoln Bedroom. "We need to have a new look about how we conduct ourselves in office," he said. "I think we ought to attack our country's problems, not attack each other," Gore responded. "I want to spend my time making this country better than it is, not making you out to be a bad person. "You may want to focus on scandal," the vice president said. "I want to focus on results."
Running mate Joseph Lieberman defended Gore. "At moments of desperation, Governor Bush turns back and attacks President Clinton and his name is not on the ballot," Lieberman told CNN after the debate. Clinton, in Miami, praised Gore's performance. But he also said Bush might gain a bounce in the nearly deadlocked public opinion polls in the next few days, although he said it would fade when the campaign refocuses on issues. Gore delivered his own post-debate assessment at a midnight rally at a Boston hotel. "This election is not about me, it's not about George W. Bush," he said. "It's really about you. It's about the next generation." Bush addressed supporters at a South Boston skating rink. "Man, am I glad I came to Boston," he said. He came with the goal of showing presidential stature and his Republican cheerleaders said he had succeeded. He avoided the kind of verbal stumbles that have sometimes been a problem. Gore, the more seasoned debater, hammered at his chosen issues but avoided the attack tactics he has used against other rivals, because they are risky in a campaign year in which negative tactics have tended to backfire. Bush took his character offensive despite that risk, after more than an hour of fencing about policy issues. They argued about Medicare and prescription drug benefits for the elderly, disputed formulas for the future of Social Security, and clashed over taxes. They sharply debated abortion, Bush repeating that he was disappointed at the U.S. approval of an abortion pill, but saying he wouldn't have presidential power to reverse it. Gore supported the ruling, saying Bush appointees to the Supreme Court would threaten abortion rights, and that he'd guard them. "I trust women to make the decisions that affect their lives, their destinies and their bodies," he said. Overall, the tax issue seemed to be Gore's chosen message; he began with the assertion that Bush's proposed cut would spend more money on reductions "for the wealthiest 1 percent" of Americans than for his proposals on education, health care, drug benefits and national defense combined. Bush countered that Gore favors tax breaks only for specific purposes, to be chosen, he said, by big government. He said 50 million taxpayers wouldn't get any cut from Gore, while everyone would be covered by his plan for dlrs1.3 trillion in tax cuts, largely in lower income tax rates, over the next 10 years. "This man's been disparaging my plan with all this Washington, fuzzy math," Bush said. Thousands of demonstrators for assorted causes protested nearby. Some protested the exclusion of minor party candidates Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan and Harry Browne. Nader, of the Green Party, showed up with an audience ticket, given him by a student, but was barred entry by an official of the Commission on Presidential Debates. |
