ASHINGTON - The resolution of the debate about presidential debates has left the Gore and Bush campaigns with the sudden realization that they have little more than two weeks to prepare for their first meeting, which both campaigns agree could be a seminal moment in this year's presidential race.
While publicly downplaying expectations, aides to George W. Bush have been working since May to prepare the governor of Texas for what will now be three debates with Vice President Al Gore.
The Gore campaign, meanwhile, is casting about for a replacement for former US Representative Tom Downey of New York. He was to have played Bush in Gore's practice sessions until he bowed out last week after receiving a mysterious package containing some of Bush's debate preparation materials.
The governor is being helped by US Senator Judd Gregg, the New Hampshire Republican. He serves as a stand-in for Gore in practice sessions, not so much because his quiet, cerebral manner matches the Democratic nominee, but because Gregg can mimic his detailed knowledge of national political issues.
In addition to being a former New Hampshire governor and congressman, the two-term senator is chairman of the Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a panel that deals with the finances and technical underpinnings of many social programs.
''One of the things they want from Judd is somebody who can press issues to prepare Bush so he can be specific and respond,'' said a Republican familiar with the preparation process. ''One thing you know is that Gore knows the minutiae, and Gregg, from his work in the Senate, is on an equal footing.''
Several of the debate sessions have been videotaped, the proof of which surfaced on Wednesday when Downey received a package with an Austin, Texas, postmark bearing a tape of one practice session and some of Bush's preparation materials.
Downey surrendered the materials to the FBI, which has launched an investigation. He also abandoned Gore's campaign to prevent questions of fairness, dealing it something of a setback just as Bush and Gore aides agreed Thursday on three presidential debates and one vice presidential meeting, all organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Gore and Bush's first meeting is scheduled for Oct. 3 at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. If history is a guide, the first debate will have the highest viewership, hence the greatest chance to make an impression on undecided voters.
Among the possible replacements for Downey, a Gore aide said, are Robert B. Barnett, a Washington environmental lawyer who portrayed Bush's father, the former president, for other campaigns, and former US representative Dennis E. Eckart of Ohio, who played the role of Dan Quayle as Gore prepared to debate the sitting vice president in 1992.
The aide said the vice president has yet to delve deeply into his debate preparations. Bruce Reed, a former Gore speechwriter and President Clinton's domestic policy adviser, is taking a sabbatical from the White House to prepare Gore.
''I suspect the plan will be like it was for the primaries: He'll have a meeting with his advisers, we'll go over the issues, and we'll set aside three or four days to focus leading up to the debate,'' the Gore aide said.
Democratic pollster Peter Hart, speaking with reporters Friday in Washington, said the face-to-face meetings have the potential to highlight the best and worst of the two presidential candidates.
Bush, glib on the stump, sometimes fumbles with names and numbers. By contrast, Gore is comfortable with details, but he sometimes comes off as emotionless.
Bush ''is great outside the ring, in a gym pounding the workout bag. But put him inside the ring, and he has not proven he is very good,'' Hart said. ''Gore is terrible out in the gym, his footwork is slow, but put him inside the ring and he does just fine.''
Bush aides, trying to strike a balance between sounding confident about the governor's preparedness and keeping expectations exceedingly low, are purposely vague about their plans.
''He has a very busy schedule,'' said the Bush communications director, Karen Hughes. Asked whether she knew when Bush would practice, she said, ''I really don't at this point.''
The governor is locked into 11 days of campaigning in battleground states through the end of the month. He plans to review his debate material on weekends and probably will keep a lighter schedule in the days leading up to the UMass debate, an aide said.
The campaign is also doing nothing publicly to alter the perception that Bush is a weak public speaker. Raising the topic Thursday night just after the commission agreement, Bush sought to diminish the importance of the debates altogether.
''By the way, we agreed on three debates,'' Bush said at a San Diego fund-raiser. ''And I can't wait. I know the man is a great debater - a great debater. But what America wants is a leader.''
The governor is expected to participate in one or two more mock debates against Gregg. The senator has flown to Texas several times, practicing with Bush in Austin within the last month. He has also visited Bush at his ranch in nearby Crawford, staging mock debates on weekends.
''He is very knowledgeable about Vice President Gore's proposals,'' Hughes said of Gregg. ''He has prepared very thoroughly, so he is very capable of sounding very much like Vice President Gore. I think he gives a very accurate and very aggressive representation of Vice President Gore.''
Perhaps more important, Hughes said Bush undergoes almost daily training: news conferences.
''One of the things we laugh about is, one of the best debate preparations is daily grilling from reporters,'' the spokeswoman said.
Kornblut, traveling with Bush, reported from California; Johnson reported from Washington.
