Analysis:
Effective use of debates to gain voters
The Vice
president Al Gore and the Governor G.W Bush are both in a rivalry to be the
President of the United States. The conventional wisdom held that in their first
presidential debate which was held on Oct.4th , Mr. Gore showed voters a warm
and fuzzy side while Mr. Bush should seize a tough, commanding tone. But neither
candidate could resist reverting to type: Mr. Gore is the man who loves to show
off how much he knows; Mr. Bush is the man who would rather sidestep the bogs of
detailed policy to get to the meadows of emotional pronouncements.
Voters
who had been paying attention to the election probably did not get to know the
candidates any better. But people paying attention for the first time got to
know them perfectly well.
After the first debate Mr.Gore¡¯s campaign
spokesman, Christopher Lehane, said Mr. Bush had made at least four
misstatements:
- That as president he would not be able to overturn the
decision by the Food and Drug Administration to legalize the abortion pill; in
the past he has said if he was president, he would have the government review
it.
- That Mr. Gore had outspent him in the presidential campaign. ¡° bush
has spent $93 million, we spent $46 million.
- That the Strunk family from
Allentown, Pa., would benefit under his prescription drug plan.
- His
response when Mr. Gore asked where he would find the trillion dollars to
privatize Social Security: ¡° The trillion dollars comes from the suplus.¡±
In their Last and Final debate, Vice President Al Gore cited
accomplishments throughout his public career as evidence that he is a champion
of working Americans, while Gov. George W. Bush cast himself as a leader from
outside Washington with a record of uniting Republicans and Democrats.
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