WASHINGTON - The fiber optic cable has been laid, the hotel rooms reserved, the Secret Service was in yesterday for a security check, but it won't be until today at the earliest when Boston officials know whether they will play host to a presidential debate.
Aides to Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore were set to meet at noon at an undisclosed Washington location with representatives of the Commission on Presidential Debates in an effort to settle the details of their fall face-offs.
Heading into the meeting, the prospects for the planned Oct. 3 debate at the University of Massachusetts at Boston did not look good. Bush was balking at a debate held next to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, with all its Democratic folklore, while Gore was weighing tradeoffs in his effort to get Bush to agree to formal debates instead of the talk-show sitdowns he suggested two weeks ago.
The Texas governor was also said to be insisting the candidates sit rather than stand at podiums, have unlimited time to answer questions, and finish each debate before 10 p.m., about a half-hour after he normally goes to bed, according to one Gore adviser.
''They're going in there to discuss all the variables that will produce a free-flowing discussion of the issues,'' said Bush spokesman Ken Lisaius. ''Our parameter is that whatever we come out with makes sure it is thoughtful and thorough and allows the American people to see the vice president and the governor debate the issues.''
John Scardino, a commission spokesman, was equally optimistic and sought to allay any concerns felt by Bostonians.
''I don't see why they should feel any more nervous than any other site. We are moving ahead with all sites, and a lot has been invested in all these sites in terms of time and infrastructure. It would be very difficult to change any of that,'' Scardino said.
The meeting is set to take place amid a surreal atmosphere.
First, Bush came to the table after insisting he would meet his Democratic rival only three times, once with CNN's Larry King, one with NBC's Tim Russert, and once at a commission debate scheduled for Washington University in St. Louis. But he agreed last Friday to send his campaign chairman, Don Evans, his campaign manager, Joe Allbaugh, and his convention organizer, Andrew Card, to today's meeting with Gore's team, Labor Secretary Alexis Herman and the former chairman of the Federal National Mortgage Association, James Johnson.
In one bizarre development, the man who was to have portrayed Bush in Gore's debate preparations, former US Representative Tom Downey of New York, said yesterday he had received an unsolicited package during the morning that looked like Bush's own debate preparation materials.
Within an hour Downey gave it to his attorney, who passed it on to the FBI, while Gore's campaign chairman, William Daley, called Evans to notify him about the package. Gore spokesman Mark Fabiani said Downey, who briefly reviewed the materials, would no longer participate in Gore's preparations. The Bush team was seeking to verify their authenticity.
The scene resembled an incident in which some of President Carter's debate documents from 1980 were later found in the files of then-challenger Ronald Reagan. The FBI investigated at that time, but the appearance was never fully explained.
Officials at UMass and the JFK Library said yesterday that preparations were continuing for the Boston debate, which would be held at the university, located just across Columbia Point from the presidential library. The Secret Service toured the site yesterday. Organizers have also booked dozens of hotel rooms and laid fiber optic cable for the traditional news outlets and the Internet reporters now so prominent on the campaign trail.
Globe reporter David Abel contributed to this report from Boston.
