Nominees try note of compassion

By Mary Leonard, Globe Staff, 10/4/2000

hey're smart, serious, civil, and very, very sensitive.

It was no accident that Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush, in their first face-to-face encounter, vied for the moral high ground, the loftier rhetoric, the more measured tone.

Women make up 65 to 75 percent of the undecided vote in this very close election, and last night's encounter was a way for the candidates to woo them, both through demeanor and issues.

So, up until the final moments of the 90-minute debate, the exchanges were as polite as a tea dance. The two men articulated policy differences galore, and challenged each other's numbers and assumptions, but neither would concede that he had less compassion or the smaller heart.

Asked to recall a crisis in leadership, Bush spoke of how he went to the rescue of flood victims in Texas, put his arms around them, and cried.

Gore sprinkled his answers with references to his loving family and anecdotes about real people he cares for, the elderly who need help paying for prescription drugs, and the children who cannot get ahead in school because their classes are too large.

Polls show that women voters do not like political confrontation and bickering. Gore, who was pugnacious in his primary-season debates with former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, strived to be cordial, almost friendly last night. Often, he noted there were parts of Bush's proposals and plans that he could agree with. While he occasionally gestured with his hands, his body language did not scream out: Aggressive!

For his part, Bush substituted a little smile for the smirk that had won him demerits in GOP debates. He kept wisecracking to a minimum and did not commit the kind of verbal gaffes that sometimes characterize his speech.

Both were well rehearsed; for voters who like specifics - and polls say women especially do - it was a rhetorical feast.

The formality of the debate format - both men stood relatively still behind podiums at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, answering serious questions posed by moderator Jim Lehrer for set periods - made the encounter seem less than spontaneous and almost never funny. Both men were earnest, if not terribly friendly. (At the end, the candidates, who were dressed similarly in dark suits, white shirts, and red ties, shook hands briefly before moving to opposite sides of the stage, where they embraced their wives and kissed them.

In their appeals to women voters, both candidates stressed how they would make sure government would care for older Americans by preserving Social Security and Medicare and providing plans for paying seniors' prescription drugs. Bush suggested Gore was trying to ''scare'' voters into believing he would harm the social safety net, something that he, a compassionate conservative, promised not to do.

In what appeared to be his most direct appeal to undecided women voters, Bush said the president did not have the authority to reverse the federal Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion-inducing drug RU-486. The position is sure to enrage many Republicans, who have been wary about Bush's commitment to outlawing abortion.

Bush said the issue for him on RU-486 was whether the pill had been proven safe for women. Bush called his opposition to abortion an attempt to ''promote a culture of life'' and said he would not use an antiabortion litmus test for Supreme Court nominations.

Gore said women should regard him as the true supporter of abortion rights, adding that the Supreme Court judges he nominated would uphold the Roe v. Wade decision.

It was not until an hour into the debate that Bush mentioned education, one of his signature issues and one that his advisers say is a strong suit with women. When Lehrer raised the issue, Bush said he would encourage charter schools, more reading programs in the Head Start program, and accountability in federal programs in public schools. ''What I care about is children,'' Bush said.

Karl Rove, Bush's chief strategist, said the governor revealed something viewers may not have known - that Bush's twin daughters attended public high school.

Gore would not concede that Bush would be better for working families and struggling parents.

''We won't be successful until we strengthen families by ensuring them that children can always go to schools that are safe,'' Gore said. ''By giving parents the tools to protect their children from cultural pollution, I will make sure that we invest in our country and our families.''