l Gore's advisers say tonight's debate against George W. Bush is the ''big stage'' on which he can communicate directly with American voters just five weeks before Election Day. And, despite the huge stakes, the vice president says he approaches the session with outward calm.
Preparation
Thanks to the creativity of a Nashville staff member, the campaign took a notoriously quiet time, the slow days before a debate, and turned it into a media bonanza.
Gore set up camp in Florida, a battleground state, invited 13 ''real people'' from other battleground states to critique him in mock debates, and was able to get some much-needed relaxation by walking the beach along the Gulf of Mexico. If anything, Gore has added to his image as a seasoned, tough-minded debater.
History
Gore is known as a fierce debater who can overwhelm an opponent with a flurry of facts and figures. He is also disciplined, taking every opportunity to return to his central theme.
One Gore trademark is his debate opening. Typically, he tries to disarm an opponent with some ''deal,'' as in 1996 when he said to Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, a former NFL quarterback: ''I'd like to start by offering you a deal, Jack. If you won't use any football stories, I won't tell any of my warm and fuzzy stories about chlorofluorocarbon abatement.''
Lines of attack
Gore says he plans to focus on his plans and proposals, but expect him to attack Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cut proposal and to label the Texas governor and his running mate, Dick Cheney, the former head of an energy services company, as supporters of ''Big Oil.''
You can also bank on hearing this line attacking Bush's priorities: ''The other side's plan gives more in tax cuts to the wealthiest 1 percent - $665 billion of the surplus - than all the new money that they would invest in education, health care, prescription drugs, and national defense - combined.''
Points of vulnerability
Bush likes to say that many of Gore's campaign themes echo those from the 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, since he and President Clinton lacked the mandate to get them enacted.
Gore is also vulnerable to charges of exaggeration, and Bush often tells audiences, ''This is a man who will say and do anything to get elected.''
Best case
Gore eschews his bookish reputation, as he did for his speech at the Democratic National Convention, and holds an accessible dialogue with an audience that may reach 100 million.
Worst case
Gore succumbs to his reputation for attack, while Bush comes across strong on his core themes and projects his personal charm and humor.
Where to from here
After the debate, Gore will attend a rally with Massachusetts Democrats at the Park Plaza Hotel and Towers. Tomorrow he flies off to Youngstown, Ohio, and Grand Rapids, Mich.
