T. LOUIS - Much was made of the seating before this debate began. Were the candidates comfortable sitting on the stools, they were asked in the days leading up to last night's event? Why yes, they both replied. They were well-acquainted with the contraptions. Liked them, even.
But minutes into last night's debate, neither candidate had much use for said stools. It was clear they couldn't hold George W. Bush and Al Gore for more than a few seconds.
Instead, the two candidates danced around the floor like two boxers in a ring.
Gore, who had gotten back in touch with his combative side, started it, springing up to walk toward James N. Hanklin, the undecided voter who was picked to ask the night's first question, about HMOs and a patients' bill of rights. Bush, not one to be outdone on such fronts, quickly followed suit.
But when Gore jumped up and seemed to move toward Bush in the middle of the Texas governor's answer supporting a patients' bill of rights, Bush seemed taken aback, shooting the vice president a surprised look.
Gore maintained the offensive for a while - and without the sighs he employed so frequently in their first debate. At times, Bush shifted his weight from foot to foot, and drained two glasses of water early into the proceedings.
In the first two debates, the cameras dwelt mostly on the speaker, cutting away to the other's reactions only occasionally. In this theater-in-the-round arrangement, both candidates were on camera most of the time. So Gore's near-lunge was as clearly visible as his sighs in the first debate were audible. When Gore criticized Bush's voucher plan, the camera captured the governor's surprise, his glass of water frozen half-way to his mouth. And they caught Bush raising his eyebrows and giving a huge smile to someone in the audience while Gore was saying, ''This is not about Governor Bush, it's not about me - it's about you.''
Bush's shrugs and raised eyebrows gave away far more about how he felt than Gore's body language did. The vice president stood stock-still when Bush spoke, or perched himself like a statue on the edge of his stool, his dark jacket buttoned.
For his closing remarks, Gore stepped right up to the camera, speaking directly about the promises he said he had kept, and indirectly taking a dig at Bush by saying that he had not engaged in a ''pursuit of personal wealth.'' After he had finished, Gore stared into the camera a second before sitting down.
Bush stayed seated, one foot up on the frame of his chair, hands clasped at his lap, regular-guy style. ''For those of you for me, thanks for your help,'' Bush said. ''For those of you for my opponent, please only vote once.''
