REPUBLICAN DEBATE WHO: Gary Bauer, George W. Bush, Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes, John McCain. WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 7-8:30 p.m. EST. WHERE: WMUR studio, Manchester, N.H. MODERATOR: CNN's Judy Woodruff and WMUR's Tom Griffith. SPONSORS: WMUR-TV and CNN. MORE COVERAGE Bush, McCain spar on taxes, education Truth Squad: Having it two ways in GOP debate Keyes criticized for falling into mosh pit Candidates detail views of government-funded 'Net access Causes vie to be heard on street Crowds, cars create chaos in town Excerpts from the debate Democratic debate

With Republicans debating first in a New Hampshire primary double-header Wednesday night, some familiar hyperbole crept into the rhetoric, supplemented by new overreaching. Democrats Al Gore and Bill Bradley also were meeting later in the night in their final debate before Tuesday's presidential primaries.

McCain, a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war, defended an ad that touts his military background in making the claim that "There's only one man running for president who knows the military and understands the world."

Under questioning, the Arizona senator said he was not being unfair and did not believe someone without military experience is unqualified to be president. "It's not a handicap," he protested. "It's not at all."

Then he immediately asserted, "This is the first administration with a president of the United States and a secretary of defense and a secretary of state that have never spent one minute wearing the uniform of the armed services." He said that "won't happen on my watch."

Whether it's a handicap or not, McCain voted to confirm those very cabinet members in 1997, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Bush and Forbes tangled over taxes and education in Texas, and the governor yet again took credit for a 1997 tax cut that the Legislature actually came up with after rejecting his own.

Forbes made Texas schools sound like a failure under Bush, in the face of evidence that the record is at least mixed. Among Forbes' complaints: "Minority scores have gone down."

The National Urban League released a grading report on the presidential candidates' positions on education this month that gave Bush and McCain the highest scores among Republicans.

Bush actually was praised for raising standardized test scores among minority school children and criticized for backing school vouchers -- something Forbes also supports. Bush and McCain scored 7 out of a possible 15, while Forbes got 2.