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Sunday Morning News

Debates Loom Large in Campaign 2000

Aired October 1, 2000 - 9:05 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: On to presidential politics. The candidates are spending the week preparing for round one of the debates, now set for Tuesday in Boston.

George W. Bush is rehearsing at his Texas ranch, and Al Gore is getting ready in Sarasota, Florida, where we find CNN's Jonathan Karl. Hi, Jonathan.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Well, the vice president is here for three days of intense preparation for the upcoming debates. Before arrival here, he spoke with reporters aboard Air Force Two last night about exactly what he hopes to get out of these debates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I see it less as a contest or a competition than as a chance to speak directly to the American people about my beliefs and values and the agenda that I think makes the most sense for our country, and ask them directly for their support and endorsement of that agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Gore kicked things off upon arrival in Sarasota last night with an airport rally. But shortly after that, he got right to work, huddling with his aides at the Marine -- at the Mote (ph) Marine Laboratory. It's the site where he practiced for the 1996 vice presidential debate against Jack Kemp.

Last night there were no practice sessions, merely going over briefing books, getting ready for the next two days. But over the next two days, he will be engaged in practice debates. Standing in for George W. Bush will be Paul Begala, the former aide to President Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, George W. Bush is huddling with his aides at his ranch outside Crawford, Texas. He is engaging in practice debates. On that side, standing in for Vice President Gore, is New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg.

Now, both the Bush camps and the Gore camps are downplaying expectations for these upcoming debates. They're both talking about the great debating skills of their opponents, setting the stage for beating the expectations. But both sides are dedicating a lot of time to preparing for these debates, and they're both talking about how important they are.

Because as we go into these debates, every major national poll shows the race a statistical tie, shaping up for what could be the closest presidential campaign, closest election since 1960.

Now, with that, the people that are all these -- the candidates are going after are the undecided voters. There's estimated to be only about 10 percent of the electorate still undecided. And these polls have barely budged over the past week. Aides to both sides say the reason for that is any voter still undecided here now is unlikely to make up their mind until after watching the debates -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jonathan Karl, live from Sarasota, thanks.

Just two days to go until America gets a closeup look at the two main presidential contenders, George W. Bush and Al Gore, in the first of three debates. Two political experts join us from Washington to size up the candidates' strength and weaknesses. They are Democratic strategist Mark Siegel and Republican consultant Alex Castellanos.

Good morning, gentlemen.

MARK SIEGEL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Morning.

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Morning.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about how important these dates -- debates are. Mark, you want to begin?

SIEGEL: Well, it looks like the -- these debates may be determinative in 1980. The debate between Reagan and Carter was certainly a key to the election, in 1960 it was key. So maybe we skip every 20 years.

We have 8.5 to 10 million Americans who will probably vote who have not yet made up their mind, 75 percent of them are women. They're obviously looking for more information. And on Tuesday night, they're going to get that information. And we may see a real change by Wednesday morning.

PHILLIPS: Alex, what do you think Gore's biggest challenge is going to be?

CASTELLANOS: I think Gore's biggest challenge is, he has -- there'll be a lot of issues discussed in the debate, no question. But these debates are really very personal, and you get to know the people. And for Gore, he has a tendency to exaggerate, to go a little too far with the truth. A lot of Bill Clinton has rubbed on Al Gore the past eight years.

So what we're going to see is, is, can he restrain himself there? You know, Clinton, we have to give him credit, he's just the Baryshnikov (ph) of spin. When he fabricates, he gets away with it. Gore's a little clunkier. He's kind of Clinton in work boots. He just doesn't have the same grace. He has this certain Homer Simpson quality to him that you can almost see the gears turning.

Now, he dealt with that very effectively at the Democratic convention. It was good, genuine fake sincerity there. We'll just have to see if he can do it again.

SIEGEL: I never like to underestimate the intelligence of the American people. The reason that we have these 10 million people undecided is that they need more information. On Tuesday night, they're going to be looking for information. They're going to be looking for candidates' positions on the issues, and very, very specifically so.

We're dealing with two people who are intelligent. The expectations game is kind of silly. The Republicans would suggest that their candidate is very weak and a weak debater. He certainly isn't that. The two of them will stand side by side, present their issues to the American people, and the American people will make their choice.

And it'll be very specific contrast in two visions for the future, and two platforms for America.

PHILLIPS: Now, Mark, you mention more information, you talk about specifics. However, both candidates have been criticized as being very reactive, and instead of really talking about how they feel and getting down to issues, they've sort of responded to the polls.

SIEGEL: Well, I don't think that's the case, certainly in terms of the Gore campaign. But you will see in the opening statements from both Governor Bush and Vice President Gore, you'll see what the two campaigns believe are the key resonating messages.

In the opening and closing statements, there is some degree of control. Other than that, they're responding to what I -- we all believe will be fair and objective questions from Jim Lehrer.

CASTELLANOS: And you -- this campaign, I think Mark and I would both agree that I can't remember a campaign that's had more discussion about issues than this campaign. You know, right now we're talking about, is America in an education recession, how to get out of it. We're talking about prosperity, how do we preserve it? Is it with the big spending that Gore's proposing? Is it with tax cuts that Governor Bush is proposing?

So there's a lot of substance in this race. But it's also a very personal moment. This is the Super Bowl, where America does tune in. So we'll have to see how the candidates hold up.

PHILLIPS: All right, gentlemen, we have time for one more question. We have to address this. The AP is now saying that the FBI has launched a full criminal investigation into this videotape issue, the tape I'm talking about with Bush's debate preps in the hands of the Gore camp. Do you want to respond? SIEGEL: Well, neither of us know the situation. The real interesting point would be, who sent it and why? And if it was an attempt to set up the Gore campaign, that obviously would be something that we would call a dirty trick. If it was an attempt to actually give information to the Gore campaign, that would be a very serious leak from inside the Bush campaign.

In any case, it could affect the outcome.

PHILLIPS: Alex, final words?

CASTELLANOS: Well, I know Mark McKinnon, he's a Democrat, I'm a Republican, but I've known him for years. He's solid as a rock. And I'd bet my life on him. What I'd like to know is, the Gore people have been having e-mails and contacts. They know, they've been getting information from the campaign. They dismissed someone. Sure would be nice if Al Gore would let us know who it is.

PHILLIPS: Alex Castellanos, Republican consultant, and Mark Siegel, Democratic strategist. Thank you, gentlemen.

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