ES MOINES - Leaving the podium and speaking directly to his opponent last night, Vice President Al Gore urged Bill Bradley to elevate their race for the Democratic nomination for president by holding weekly debates on the issues.
''I listened carefully, Bill, to what you had to say, about making this campaign a different kind of experience and lifting up our democracy,'' Gore said. ''I really agree with that. I think we have a chance to do exactly that. But you know, the best way to do that is to have regular debates on the issues.
''Let's have one every week,'' he urged. ''What about it? Let's have one on agriculture right here in Iowa. What about it, Bill. If the answer is yes, stand up and raise your hand. Seriously.''
The dance between Gore and Bradley took place at the annual Jefferson Jackson fund-raiser for the Iowa Democratic party. They met face to face for the first time this year, even shaking hands and wishing each other well before giving dueling speeches to 3,000 hard-core Democrats dining on chicken cordon bleu.
Bradley's talk was low key and professorial in tone, telling tales of his childhood in Missouri, while Gore blew the roof off the Polk County Convention Center as he invoked issues dear to labor, women and teachers.
Bradley said he is trying to run a campaign that honors the voters, and he pointed to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, the home run hitters who waged a race this year and last to break major league records.
''Each pushed the other to be better and better and better and an incredible record was set,'' Bradley said. ''I thought, why can't American politics be like that?
''Why can't it be Democrats pushing Republicans, Republicans pushing Democrats,'' he continued. ''Why can't it be Vice President Al Gore pushing Bill Bradley and Bill Bradley pushing Al Gore so the national interest will benefit?''
Gore, who arrived to the bouncy O'Jays tune ''Love Train,'' picked up on the baseball analogy and applied the pressure for debates with an exuberance not normally seen on the stump. ''You talk about McGwire and Sosa,'' he said. ''If they just stayed in the dugout talking to their own team, they wouldn't hit many home runs.''
Gore analyzed the race for Bradley, telling him that debates would be good for the Democratic Party by drawing in new voters.
''I'm ahead in Iowa, you're ahead in New Hampshire,'' he said. ''I'm ahead in California, you're ahead in New York.''
The back-to-back speeches last night came after a difficult few weeks for Gore. He has watched his poll numbers slip in the Northeast, re-shuffled his campaign team, moved his headquarters to Nashville and re-tooled the presentation of his life and why he wants to be president. He has also stepped up his criticism of Bradley.
During an intense day of campaigning, Gore called Bradley ''a Johnny come lately'' to the concerns of Iowans, questioning the former senator's commitment to working people, farmers and Democratic ideals.
From Fort Dodge to Des Moines, Gore blistered Bradley for voting for Ronald Reagan's budget cuts, placing important social welfare programs in jeopardy. He rapped Bradley for changing his positions on farmer's needs in order to run for president. And he criticized him for leaving the Congress when Democrats lost their majority to Newt Gingrich and his Republicans.
''I never gave up, never turned back and never walked away,'' Gore said last night. And he incited the crowd to chant ''stay and fight'' over and over as he invoked a litany of issues dear to Democrats, including the need for health care, getting guns off the street and preserving Social Security.
Bradley, on the other hand, refused to lash back. Instead, he talked about why he decided to be a Democrat, about big ideas he wants to pursue and about the need for civilized political discourse.
After an hour's walk knocking on doors in Beaverdale and asking people for their support yesterday, Bradley said he did not believe voters would hold his resignation from the Senate or his declaration that ''politics is broken'' against him.
''I think I can talk about the future in a way that's compelling enough. I also have always been a Democrat since I first cast my vote in 1964,'' Bradley said. ''I am simply not going to get into dealing with the darts that are being thrown.''
Although Bradley has resisted Gore's calls to debate, he said the two-man race is good for both candidates. ''I think competition is what America is all about,'' Bradley said. ''It's a real opportunity for whichever one of us emerges from the primary to be stronger because of the competition.''
