Who won the final debate?

By Jennifer C. Braceras, 10/18/2000

HE REAL Al Gore is back. Shamed into embarrassment by his abrasive performance in debate number one, Gore appeared emasculated in the second go-round in Winston-Salem. But, last night, in the third and final presidential debate, the overbearing and bombastic Al Gore was once again on display.

For the first half hour, Gore came off as a playground bully, even approaching Bush as if he wanted to square-off for a fight. He repeatedly interrupted both his opponent and the moderator.

This was a do-or-die night for Gore. He needed to draw sharp ideological distinctions between himself and Governor George W. Bush. But his approach was irksome and Gore grew tiresome in his rant that ''we have a huge difference between us.''

Bush, by contrast, was plain-spoken and humble. He prefaced many of his answers with the phrase, ''should I be fortunate enough to earn your vote.''

After making gains in recent weeks, Bush went into a prevent-defense. As a result, he may not have been aggressive enough and missed several opportunities to attack Gore - on Hollywood, ethics, and credibility.

And he fumbled a softball question on diversity, which should have played to the strengths of a man who surrounds himself with advisers such as Colin Powell, hails from the diverse state of Texas where he received a significant minority vote, and has close Latino relatives. Nevertheless, his honest demeanor compensated for his lost chances.

Some real policy differences did emerge between the candidates - on health care, taxes, and education - but it is unlikely that these will determine the outcome of the election.

It will likely be decided not so much on policy differences but on the basis of which candidate the voters would rather welcome into their living rooms each evening for the next four years. If that is the test, George Bush will surely win.

Jennifer C. Braceras is an attorney and research fellow at Harvard Law School. Her column appears regularly in the Globe.