By Mary Leonard, Globe Staff, 10/05/2000

Governor George W. Bush of Texas drew a big, enthusiastic crowd in West Chester, Pa., yesterday, but some local reviews of his performance in Tuesday night's presidential debate weren't nearly so upbeat.

"My impression was that [Vice President Al] Gore was positive and passionate about the issues I care about," said Janet McNally, a single mother who works in West Chester and struggles to make ends meet with one full-time and two part-time jobs. "Bush made it clear he is for the rich, and for the rich getting richer." McNally was one of several undecided female voters interviewed by a Globe reporter last week in this strongly Republican, middle-class county not far from Philadelphia. Yesterday, in the wake of watching the televised, 90-minute debate in Boston, the same women were asked whether they had now made up their minds.

No, said McNally. Despite her concerns about Bush - he isn't much of an orator, and she believes it when Gore says that Bush's tax-cut proposals would benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans - she said she needs to hear more details from each candidate and calculate whether their economic plans add up before she makes up her mind.

Pollsters say women hold the key in this very close race because they represent 65 percent to 75 percent of undecided voters. Gore has maintained a substantial gender gap - he holds a 10- to 20-point lead among female voters who have decided, but Bush also has tried to garner their vote by calling himself a compassionate conservative on issues such as health care and education.

"I also didn't hear enough about education; I thought that was Bush's big issue," said McNally, who is looking forward to next week's presidential debate in Winston-Salem, N.C. "In fact, the whole debate was geared to senior citizens and missed the mark for younger voters."

Annesia Mashman, who lives in nearby Honey Brook and has two-school-age children, said what caught her attention was Gore's story about a Sarasota, Fla., girl who had to stand during her high school science class because her classroom was too crowded and she didn't have a desk. Mashman said classes are doubling up in the school her children attend because of overcrowding.

"I'm leaning to Gore now," said Mashman, remarking that the vice president's timetable for providing seniors with coverage for prescription drugs was "more realistic" than Bush's.

The West Chester women shared a negative impression of Bush's delivery and demeanor during the debate. Mashman said he seemed shy and had a hard time expressing himself. Janet Mitchell, a clerk in the Chester County courthouse, thought Bush was too "standoffish, meek, and mild." Sandra Burkett Nicka, who writes children's books, said she was disappointed because she expected both Gore and Bush to be more aggressive debators.

"They looked like figures in a wax museum; until they began to relax a little, I couldn't tell if they were real or not," said Nicka, who lives in West Grove.

Nicka said she liked what Bush had to say about improving public education, but she thought that, in general, he could have given more complex answers and been armed with better rejoinders to Gore's attacks on his tax-cut plan. "Saying Gore was 'fuzzy' didn't sound very presidential to me," Nicka said.

She said she was upset when her mother called and praised Bush for finishing the debate without a major mistake. "Is this our highest expectation, that the man who will possibly be the next president didn't faint or throw up?" Nicka said.

Nicka, a Republican, said she still hasn't decided whom to vote for.

Janet Mitchell, also a Republican, said the debate all but moved her into the Gore column. She scored the candidates' answers to each question, and the vice president "definitely won." She agreed with his proposals for testing teachers and giving tax credits for college tuition. Like Bush, Mitchell is not keen on the abortion-inducing pill RU-486, but she shares Gore's view that a woman has a right to choose an abortion.

Her biggest concern, however, is Bush's idea for allowing young Americans to invest part of their Social Security funds. "I want the money to stay in the Social Security fund and be protected," Mitchell said.

"Bush says, 'trust young people.' My daughters are 24 and 22, and I wouldn't trust them to make good investments."

Lynn DePorter, a customer-service officer at First National Bank in West Chester, said she watched the debate and found Bush "well-versed and well-rehearsed," but she did not appreciate his "little dig" that "Gore not only invented the Internet, he invented the calculator."

She said she likes Gore and thought that commentators were making too much yesterday of the vice president's sighs during the debate.

"It didn't bother me," DePorter said. "I could understand Gore's frustration with the answers Bush was giving."