red King is 73, still working, and, in his red-with-blue-polka-dots blazer, a most wanted man in this political season.
''I don't know who I'll vote for,'' he said. ''I'll be watching the debate closely.''
But ask the Newton resident what will drive his vote, and King does not equivocate: ''The corporate greed of the drug companies.''
In dozens of interviews with seniors yesterday as they gathered for a town hall forum in Dorchester, most said they were leaning toward Al Gore. A few expressed support for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. There were no George W. Bush supporters apparent among them, though some, like King, remain undecided.
But almost unanimously, the first and most vehement opinion they expressed was not about a candidate but about prescription drugs: They cost too much and should be covered under senior health plans, was the battle cry.
Both Bush and Gore have heeded this call with detailed plans. The vice president would dramatically boost Medicare spending, in order to provide a prescription drug benefit to all seniors. Bush would rely more on the private market, with health insurance companies competing for seniors' dollars by offering a spectrum of drug plans.
Elderly voters like King have placed prescription drugs at the center of this election. In tonight's presidential debate, the issue is all but certain to surface. Polling data released yesterday shows seniors will be watching and listening closely: the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) found that 77 percent of US seniors plan to watch the debate.
And, the poll found, this huge and influential voting group has prescription drugs on its mind. It was one of the highest-ranking issues in a part of the poll in which respondents are asked what's on their mind. In past election years, the perennial issues of Medicare and Social Security dominated, as did general topics like education and family values, but rarely does an issue as narrow as prescription drugs top the list, said AARP officials.
In interviews yesterday, it took little prompting to get seniors started on the issue.
Charles M. Flynn, 74, a retired postal worker from Springfield, said the high cost of drugs is at the top of his list. Though he said he was leaning toward Gore, he said he would listen to the GOP nominee. ''Bush has got to speak intelligently and know what he's talking about,'' said Flynn.
Ronald Stinnette, 70, of Boston knows the issue better than most: As a staffer for Senator Hubert Humphrey, Democrat of Minnesota, Stinnette helped draft the Medicare law that gives all seniors health coverage today.
''We left prescription drugs out, because we wanted to get it through Congress,'' he said. ''We had to keep the benefit as limited as we could, because the Republicans thought it was all socialized medicine, which they thought was communist.''
Prescription drugs are an increasingly important part of health care, not only for fighting serious illnesses but for keeping chronic old-age conditions in check. Almost 400 new pharmaceuticals were released in 1999 alone. But their prices are steadily increasing, the main cause for rising overall health care costs.
But with so many conditions now treatable by medication, seniors have become increasingly reliant on prescription drugs. Yet Medicare does not cover any drugs, in an era in which as most working people are accustomed to drug benefits under their health plans.
