ACO, Texas - George W. Bush, less than a week after rejecting two out of three proposed 90-minute debates in favor of shorter television talk show face-offs, agreed yesterday to renegotiate the debate schedule as it became clear he and Vice President Gore were at an impasse on the issue.
Gore had said he would debate Bush ''anytime, anywhere,'' as long as his opponent agreed to three 90-minute debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Those debates, the standard for the last three election cycles, are traditionally broadcast on all three major television networks.
Bush proposed bypassing the first two commission debates in favor of 60-minute appearances on CNN and NBC. When Gore declined, Bush accused him of breaking his word, touching off a round of attacks that culminated in a negative ad questioning Gore's credibility on the matter.
By yesterday, however, as concerns about the direction of the Bush campaign mounted in Republican circles, the Texas governor backed away from his original stance. Without conceding they had miscalculated in assuming they could cast Gore as a hypocrite, Bush campaign officials said they were no longer committed to their original plan.
Bush has already agreed to one commission debate, but rejected two others, the first of which was scheduled to occur at the University of Massachusetts at Boston on Oct. 3. Despite his sudden change of heart, the Boston event remains unlikely, given Bush's lack of interest in visiting Massachusetts and his view that the site, because it is adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Library, has partisan associations.
Still, Bush's willingness to compromise left both sides hopeful.
''I'm sure we will come to a comfortable and satisfying compromise, and the debate on the debates will be a nonissue shortly,'' said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who campaigned with Bush yesterday.
