EBSTER GROVES, Mo. - Some voters in Webster Groves have a tip for Vice President Al Gore:
Lose the sigh.
They could tell he was frustrated with some of the statements made by Governor George W. Bush of Texas, but did he have to heave out a giant gust of air every other minute?
''Who keeps sighing?'' Patti McCormick, 59, asked early on. ''Is that just me? My God, he sounds like my mother used to.''
It wasn't just McCormick. After a while, everybody noticed it. And after a while, every time Gore sighed, the nine voters in Bob and Judy Casanova's living room sighed, too.
Not that Bush received a passing grade from them, either. Too snide, some of them thought. Enough with the ''fuzzy math.'' A bit mean. And that mouth.
''One makes snide remarks, and the other one sighs,'' said Pam Resnick, a 46-year-old undecided voter. ''I think Bush is fairly snide.''
These are just the kinds of voters that both candidates were hoping to win over last night. Missouri, and Webster Groves, are usually right when it comes to picking presidents.
But based on this roomful of people, neither nominee did himself any big favors last night. There was no clear winner for these voters, although Bush, for whom expectations were low, surprised most of them with what seemed to them a solid performance.
Still, most of these voters decided that, after last night, both candidates had been given something of a bum rap by the media. They thought Gore was a good deal more animated than he'd been made out. And Bush wasn't nearly as incapable of coherent sentences as his media image hitherto suggested.
''When he was discussing education - he must be in his element there - he showed a relatively high degree of cognizant thought,'' McCormick said.
But they also were ready to jump on both candidates when the stereotypes bobbed up. When Bush raised Gore's ''no controlling legal authority'' statement, a few of these voters tsk tsked and added, ''and what about the lullaby thing,'' referring to Gore's remark that his mother sang a union anthem to him as a child, though the song wasn't written until Gore was in his 20s. (Gore later said he was just joking).
When Bush, prone to malapropisms, stumbled over a few words toward the end of the debate, they yelled: ''C'mon, spit it out!''
And then, there was the matter of the governor's storied smirk.
''I don't think he can help it,'' said Pat Kopp, a 49-year-old who said he will vote for Bush because he opposes abortion.
''It's the line of his mouth,'' offered McCormick by way of defense.
A defense of either candidate was remarkable coming from McCormick, 59, who said neither is worth much, and will probably be writing in Senator John McCain of Arizona's name on the ballot Nov. 7.
''I never protested in my life,'' she said after the debate was over. ''People think it's a wasted vote, but you know, I've sat here and listened to both of them, and I feel I'd waste my vote voting for either of them.
''I loved John McCain. I thought he was a breath of fresh air. They offer nothing that was comparable to him. They're just jumping on the bandwagon of electoral reform,'' McCormick said.
Bob Casanova, 59, was just as unimpressed with the two candidates before last night's debate. Leaning toward Bush a few months ago, he'd lately moved away from the governor and was mulling a vote for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. But he thought both candidates conducted themselves well during the debate.
''They were more impressive than I expected, and neither one made the major gaffe,'' he said. All of these voters agreed that there weren't any mistakes on either side. But there was nothing spectacular to separate the two men, either.
''Yeah, I was disappointed,'' said Bill Reyland, a 34-year-old musician. ''There wasn't any conflict.''
But they mostly concentrated on policy, riveted to the candidates' discussion of health care and mystified by the exchanges on Social Security.
A few minutes into the candidates' discussions of lockboxes and surpluses and partial privatization, all but one of these nine voters, which included one certified public accountant, were completely lost.
''He's not gonna separate the money out and put it in a lockbox, is he?'' asked Bob Casanova, the CPA.
''He's gonna put it under his bed,'' Reyland joked.
''He can't put it in a lockbox, can he?'' Casanova wondered.
''That's my understanding,'' said Jim Russell, a 44-year-old counselor.
''Bob, you're the CPA, you explain it,'' McCormick said.
Just then, Gore said: ''My plan is Social Security plus. The governor's plan is Social Security minus.''
''Ah, now I understand!'' said the CPA, who didn't.
