Excerpts from Wednesday's debate in Durham, N.H., between Democratic presidential candidates Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley, as transcribed by Federal Document Clearing House.

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE Here are the particulars of tonight's Democratic presidential candidates debate. PARTICIPANTS: Vice President Al Gore, former Sen. Bill Bradley TIME: 7 p.m. PLACE: Johnson Theatren Paul Creative Arts Center, the University of New Hampshire MODERATOR: Peter Jennings, ABC News SPONSORS: New England Cable News, Manchester Union Leader, New Hampshire Public Television. MORE COVERAGE Bradley, Gore turn up heat in debate To many voters, personalities clear but policies aren't Press freed of campaign staff Bradley plays Clinton card against vice president Truth Squad: A mangled health plan in Democratic debate Excerpts of the debate UMass Boston to host fall presidential debate

On Gore's behavior during President Clinton's impeachment:

BRADLEY: I think that that was a very trying time for the country. I'm glad it's over. The vice president I think was vice president, which means that he was not critical of the president.

I personally believe that any time a public official, a president, lies, he undermines his own authority and squanders the people's trust. I said that from the beginning of this. It's a sad period of our history, and I'm glad it's over.

GORE: As an American who was serving as vice president, I was critical of the president. As an American, I also defended the office of the presidency against an effort by partisan Republicans in the House and Senate to deliver a thoroughly disproportionate penalty for a serious and reprehensible personal mistake on the part of the president.

He should not have been removed from office for that offense. In fighting against their effort to remove him from office and undo the act of the American people in twice electing him, I think I was serving the public interest well.

On discussions of religion in political campaigns:

GORE: I strongly support the separation of church and state. I strongly support the First Amendment, the establishment clause. I oppose, for example, the teaching of creationism in the public schools, I think that violates that provision of our Constitution.

.... Do you think that a public official who is asked whether or not he is a believer has an obligation to dodge the question and not answer the question? I think that we should be free and open about what our beliefs are. But that's my decision.

I respect Senator Bradley's decision to handle that question differently. And I think that all of us should answer it for ourselves.

BRADLEY: In 1978, I was running for the Senate. I was running against a Republican. And in the general election campaign he converted to Catholicism, and New Jersey is a highly Catholic state.

I had a lot of people come to me in my circle and say you should go after this. And I said stay away from that as far as you can. A person's religious faith belongs to them.

This is not a new decision on my part, not to discuss religion in the middle of a political campaign. This is a decision that I've held throughout my public life because I think religious faith is the deepest, most personal, most intimate belief system that any individual has.

On China and Russia policy under the Clinton-Gore administration:

GORE: Well, I think that in spite of the problems there have been some successes. Russia just has a new president committed to reform, in spite of the brutal war in Chechnya, in spite of the corruption they have, the uneven rule of law and the other problems. They have a free press. Not as free as ours, but it's certainly an improvement over what they had. They have free elections.

In China, I think that we need to demand the respect for human rights and religious freedom. But bringing China into the community of nations, fostering peace between China and Taiwan, and engaging them in a way that furthers our values, I think that's in our interest.

BRADLEY: I look at our relations with Russia over the last eight years and I think we've had a missed opportunity. They came; they wanted to know what to do. I think that we have not pushed hard enough for a reduction in strategic nuclear weapons, destruction of nuclear stockpiles. I believe that we sent IMF money to Russia, knowing that corruption was rampant.

We need to be very clear about condemning the war in Chechnya, which is, I think, politically irresponsible and morally reckless.

On campaign finance reform and possible 1996 fund raising abuses:

GORE: Well, I think that the Democratic National Committee in the 1996 campaign pressed the limits. Although there were no legal violations, it was wrong. And I think that the phone calls that I made were a mistake. I think that we need campaign finance reform, because almost everybody who has been involved in this process has run up against the kind of problems that it causes. I think that ultimately we're going to have to have a system of full public financing.

And the single-most effective immediate reform we could cause is for the both of us to agree to eliminate the majority of the money that goes for these 30-second, 60-second TV-radio ads and just debate twice a week. And I'm willing to do that only in New Hampshire if Bill thinks that is a disadvantage to him nationally.

BRADLEY: Well, let me tell you. If you are not known by as many people in the country as Al is -- I'm not known by as many people -- my only opportunity to get known is through a 30-second television commercial, which, quite frankly, if you know what you believe, is really not a problem.

John McCain and I stood on a place in Claremont not so long ago and said that if we were the nominees of our party, we would not take soft money in this election. We need public financing of elections. We spend $900 million a year promoting democracy abroad. For about the same amount of money we could take -- we could take the special interests out of democracy.

On a shift in power "from Washington to Wall Street":

GORE: Well, I think that it's -- I think that it's a natural development in a country that's free. And we represent the virtues of freedom in the world. I believe that it's incumbent upon national policymakers who try to make the right decisions to understand the interaction of public policy and what happens in the markets.

One of the biggest issues in this campaign is whether or not we will have a president with the experience to keep our prosperity going, and avoid a kind of economic blueprint that either blows the whole surplus on a risky tax scheme or blows the whole surplus on an unwise plan and doesn't leave room for investing in the future in the kind of investments that have helped to contribute to this prosperity.

BRADLEY: There's no question that we are moving to a new world. It is driven by technological change and globalization. Our productivity in this country has increased 2.75 percent over the next -- over the last two years. That's a percent more than any previous time in the last 10 to 15 years.

That means we have more money. Now some of that money goes to people who've made investments.

But the challenge for leadership in this country is to take what is a national problem and convert it into a public issue and then engage the idealism of the American people in support of that public issue. And this time in our country's history, at this time of unprecedented prosperity, the challenge is to take this unprecedented prosperity and turn it to the benefit of those who have been left behind.

GORE: You know, some -- sometimes it seems a little -- Bill gets a little out of sorts just talking -- when I talk about the substance of the policy. I certainly do not want to talk about him as a person, especially not in a critical way. I respect Bill, I really do. I'm not just saying that as a ploy. I think he's a genuinely good person.

Q: Do you agree with him?

BRADLEY: I agree with what he said, yes, I think I'm a generally good person.

On gun control:

BRADLEY: Al, I have proposed registration and licensing of all handguns, all 65 million handguns in America. President Clinton has said he is for that. We're in the midst of this tremendous rash of gun violence in America. Thirteen children are killed every day on the streets of this country, that's a Columbine every day. Eight-hundred-thousand kids took a gun to school at least once last year.

Registration and licensing is what we do for automobiles. Why can't we do it for handguns in America and why don't you support it?

GORE: Well, I do support licensing of the purchase of all new handguns.

BRADLEY: New handguns.

GORE: And what the president said was that, yes, he supports that idea but it doesn't have a prayer of ever becoming law and it's much more sensible to try to get the maximum gun control that we possibly can.

Let me tell you, I know about fighting for gun control. I helped to pass the toughest new gun control measure in a generation. I cast the tie-breaking vote to take on the NRA and close the gun show loophole. It took a hard fight to pass the Brady bill and make it the Brady law, to establish the three day waiting period.

I want to go farther and completely ban Saturday Night Specials and junk guns and assault weapons, and have what's called super tracing so that when a gun is used in any kind of crime, it can be immediately traced.