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Both presidential camps see gentler debate

By Mike Glover, Associated Press, 10/11/00

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C, -- The presidential campaigns looked for a gentler debate Wednesday night in the second confrontation between Al Gore and George W. Bush, with voters tiring of attacks and a deadlocked campaign leaving little room for error.

Off camera, supporters were ready to focus on any flubs or flaws.

The format for the North Carolina debate was different from the formal setting of the first, with the rivals seated at a table this time with moderator Jim Lehrer rather than standing at lecterns.

This was the arrangement that Texas Gov. Bush had favored, and the Republican's spokeswoman, Karen Hughes, said it would "lend itself to a more thoughtful exchange."

Gore, the Democratic vice president, said, "I think sitting at the table will automatically produce a little bit different tone in the debate."

Both candidates said they would avoid negative personal comments, but they also said they would draw clear distinctions on issues.

Bush flew into North Carolina Tuesday night, and concentrated on getting a good night's sleep after preparing for the debate at his Texas ranch. Gore was arriving from Florida after rehearsing with top aides.

Neither candidate planned public appearances before the 9 p.m. EDT debate, showing up only for sound checks at Wake Forest University's Wait Chapel.

Gore has been arguing that Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cut proposal would benefit mainly the wealthy, an assertion that Bush rejects. Bush contends that Gore would blow the budget surplus on big new spending programs, which Gore likewise rejects.

New polls showed just how close the race is.

A Mason-Dixon poll out Wednesday had the contest in North Carolina, the state playing host to the debate, at 47-43 in favor of Bush with a 4-point margin of error. But Gore was up 46-38 in a New Hampshire poll of likely voters where Bush had been slightly ahead. Bush had a 47-40 edge in Arizona among likely voters in a state that has been competitive.

Nationally, polls showed the race very tight, generally with Bush up by a few points, within the margin of sampling error.

A blizzard of snap polls and focus groups were gauging the impact of the second campaign debate, but it probably will be days before the real impact becomes clear. In the first debate, instant polls showed Gore rated higher, but Bush has gained in surveys since then.

Both men, after days of practice, were armed with one-liners and zingers for possible use. But both sides said they wouldn't be the first to fire, aware of polling that suggests voters are being turned away by nasty comments.

Still, both sides had surrogates ready to weigh in with criticism even as the debate was under way.

Bush backers have been denouncing Gore for what they describe as distortions in the first campaign debate, while the Gore camp has been saying Bush was incapable of defending his proposals.

Bush has occasionally jangled his rhetoric on the campaign trail, and Gore backers were hoping for a misstep Wednesday night. Gore has occasionally missed the mark when relating experiences, and the Bush forces were eager to jump on any new mistakes, too.

Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan said the sponsoring bipartisan debate commission had unfairly excluded him and other third-party candidates.

"They're not just denying me the right to be heard. They're denying the American people the right to hear me," Buchanan said after a speech at Campbell University in North Carolina.

For the top two candidates, the expectations game was in full swing in the days before their debate at the same site where Bush's father met Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988.

"This is the format the governor says he's most comfortable in," said Gore aide Chris Lehane. "He'll have high expectations to meet."

Hughes, noting Democratic criticism of Bush, said, "If you listen to them ... he can barely put a sentence together."

The two will meet in a final campaign debate Tuesday, with the election likely hanging on voter perception of how the two perform in the debate series.