The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

it's both he's really it's been yes

there has been i was

born these beans good evening i'm when i pull in washington welcome to the newshour special presentation of the two thousand presidential debates you now sing a live shot from the university of massachusetts boston campus where in just a few moments vice president al gore and texas governor george w bush will take the stage for the first of three debates all to be moderated by our own jim lehrer thirty five days until the general election and the stakes in tonight's debate are high poll show a dead heat between the two leading candidates only bush and gore were invited tonight among those not on the stage the green party's ralph nader who was turned away from

the auditorium earlier this evening and reform party's patrick buchanan we'll have analysis as well as partisan reaction right after tonight ninety minute encounter joining us are syndicated columnist mark shields and wall street journal columnist all to go republican michael deaver and democrat mark mellman and our panel of historians doris kearns goodwin michael beschloss haynes johnson and richard norton smith and now we're going to go to boston and to jim lehrer it's b good evening from the clark athletic center at the university of massachusetts at boston i'm jim lehrer of the newshour on pbs and i welcome you to the first of three id many debates between the democratic candidate for president vice president al gore and the republican candidate governor george w bush of texas the debates are sponsored by the commission on presidential debates

and they will be conducted within formats and rules agreed to by the commission and the two campaigns the nights we'll have the candidates at podiums no answer to a question can exceed two minutes three bottles are limited to one man but as moderator i had the option to follow up and to expand any particular give and take another three an eye happens but even then no single answer can exceed two minutes the candidates under their rules may not question each other direction and there will be no opening statements but each candidate may have up to two minutes for a closing statement the questions and the subjects were chosen by me oh i told no one when the two campaigns or the commission or anyone else involved what they are there's a small audience in the hall tonight they are not here to participate only to listen i have asked and they have agreed to remain silent for the next ninety minutes except for right now when they will applaud as we welcome two candidates governor bush and vice president gore

the pain and now the first question as determined by the public calling it goes to vice president or vice president or you have a question whether governor bush as the experience to be president of the united states what exactly do you mean what yo ma first of all i would like to thank the sponsors of this debate and the people of austin are hosting the debate i'd like to think i'm the worst for participating and i'd like to say i'm happy to be here

with a temper in our family but i had actually not question governor bush's our experience i have questioned his proposals and here's why i think this is a very important moment for our country we have achieved extraordinary prosperity and in this election america has to make an important choice will we use our prosperity to enrich not just the few but all of our families i believe we have to make the right and responsible choices if i'm a trusted with the presidency here are the choices that i will make our balance the budget every year i will pay down the national debt i will put medicare and social security in a locked box and protect and i will cut taxes for middle class parents i believe it's important to resist the temptation to squander our surplus if we make the right choices we can have prosperity that endures enriches all of our people

if i'm a trusted with the presidency i will help parents and strengthen families because you know if we have prosperity that grows and grows we still won't be successful unless we strengthen families by for example insuring that children can always go to schools that are safe by giving parents the tools to protect their children against colds or pollution i will make sure that we invest in our country and our families and i mean investing in education health care the environment i am middle class tax cuts and retirement security that's my agenda and that's why i think that it's not just a question of experience but one memorable willing to come from different places i come from west texas and the governor governor is the chief executive officer norm set a set agendas and i think you're gonna find very

different reflecting our budgets or that one half of the surplus and dedicated to social security one for the surplus for important projects alice in one quarter of the surplus back people pay the bills i want everybody pays taxes and tax rates an essayist and contrast for my worthy opponent plan which will increase the size of government dramatically his plan is three times larger than private plans proposed plant years ago it's a plan that will have about two hundred new programs as well are expanding programs great twenty thousand new bureaucrats in other words it empowers washington and tonight you're going to hear that my passion and my vision is to empower americans ability to make decisions for themselves and their own lives so i think about your answer then as vice president in your interview recently with the new york times when you said that you question whether not vice president of the government which has

experienced enough to be president you were talking about strict policy it's art yes gian i said that his tax cut plan for example raises the question i love whether it's the right choice for the country let me give you an example of what i mean under a governor bush's tax cut proposal he would spend more money on tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent then all of the new spending that he proposes for education health care prescription drugs and national defense all combine now i think those are the wrong priorities now under under my proposal for every dollar that i proposed spending for things like education and healthcare i will put another dollar in the middle class tax cuts and for every dollar that i stand in those two categories i'll put two dollars toward paying down the national debt i think it's very important to keep the deck

going down and completely eliminated and i also think it's very important to go to the next stage of welfare reform our country has moderates in the senate and his vice president to cut their welfare rolls and we a move millions of people in america and the good jobs but it's not time for the next stage of welfare reform and includes fathers are not only mobs we're going to get a lot of those i want to say that obviously the knight ridder some phony numbers about what i think and what we ought to do the way to know that over the next ten years is to be twenty five trillion dollars revenue it comes and tortures just by spending twenty one trillion and math classes why we have one point three trillion of that back to the people pay the bills surely we can afford five percent of the twenty five billion dollars that are coming to the treasury to the hard working people pay the bills is a difference of

opinion but opponents thinks the government is that the surpluses governments want is that when i think that that is a hard working people a mark of money and i wash your summer that money with you so you've got more money to build and say that enduring for your family to see a difference of a consumer's the government making decisions for you and you're getting more of your money to make decisions for yourself let me just follow up that was one quick question when when you hear vice president gore questioned your experience do you rate it the same way that he's talking about policy differences only guess my papers were actually recognize i'm not in washington i'm from texas and he's got a lot of experience but so i and i'd been the chief executive officer the second biggest at union i've had a proud return to work in both republicans and democrats which is what our nation needs to be somebody who can come up to washington say let us

forget all the politics and all the finger pointing and get some positive things done on medicare and prescription drugs and saucers and jaw taking forceful argument if it does cost less than honorable i know that the governor used the phrase the phony numbers would if you've if you look at the plan and add the numbers up these numbers are correct he spends more money for tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of all this new spending proposals for health care prescription drugs education and national defense all combined i agree that the server was is the american people's money get your money that's why i don't think we should get nearly half of it to the wealthiest one percent of the other ninety nine percent had an awful lot to do with building to serve wasn't our prosperity no question a lot about wealthy people you question is a companion question to the question i asked vice president you have questioned whether vice president gore as demonstrated the leadership

qualities necessary to be president of the united states have said i've said gm i've sat down that eighty years ago the campaign of prescription drugs for seniors and for years ago they campaigned on getting prescription drugs for seniors and other campaigning or get a prescription drugs for seniors it seems like they can't get it done i may blame other folks but it's time to get somebody in washington who is going to work with both republicans and democrats to get some things done when it comes to our seniors and so what i've said is is if there's a missed opportunities a better chance a predecessor former consensus i got a plan on medicare for example just to state planners says women have immediate help for seniors in what i call a media helping him the forty eight billion dollar program but i also want to say to say that if you're happy with medicare the way this fire you can stay in the

program but we're going to be additional choice is just like they give federal employees and their federal employee health plan and employers have a variety of choices which is so should seniors and my point is ban as opposed to politicize an issue like medicare are worth holding up as an issue hoping somebody bites in the drug problem over the head with it for political purposes this year in the year two thousand it's time to say lets get it done once and for all and that's what i had been critical of that the administration for same social security i think there was a great opportunity to bring republicans and democrats together to reform so security system so seniors will never know that those also security they wanted the promise to make but also to get younger workers the option of their choice of being a man or some of their own money in the private sector to make sure there's a social security system around them are the only are young workers at our rallies we noted that when they hear that i don't trust them at their options available manager under certain guidelines some of her own money to get a better rate to return so they don't have a retirement plan the future they begin

another heads and they want a different attitude in washington one minute about what you would get under my plan all seniors will get prescription drugs under medicare gardeners described medicare as a government hmo it's not in the mix when the difference under the medicare prescription drug also why making years that works you go to your own doctor and your doctor she uses your prescription and no age and more insurance company think that can take those choices away from me then you go do your own form you fill a prescription and medicare pays at the cost if you're in a very poor family working a very high cost medicare will pay all the costs twenty five dollars premium and much better benefits than he could possibly find in the private sector now here's the contrast ninety five percent of all seniors would get no help whatsoever under my opponent's plans for the first four or five years now one thing out and seven gm is why is it that the wealthiest one percent get their tax cuts the first

year but ninety five percent of seniors have to wait four to five years before they get a single panicked yes my answer that is the metro mediscare trying to frighten people into the voting booth it's not the way i think this is not my intentions is not my plan i want all seniors at prescription drugs and medicare we need reform medicare have an opportunity to do so that this administration has failed to do it so seniors that i have not only medicare plan were to force internet of prescription drugs lilly paid for but there be a variety of options the current system today as mel watt for a lot of seniors and i really appreciate that the intentions of the current system and as i mentioned if you're happy with the system you can stay in it but there's a lot of procedures that have not in medicare work with the current times is no prescription drug benefits of the drug therapies is not preventing medicines is no vision care we need to have a modern system to help seniors and the idea of supporting a federally controlled hunt thirty two thousand page

document bureaucracy as being a compassionate way for seniors is in the only competitive source of irritation years is just not my vision i believe we ought to give seniors more options i believe we ought to make the system work better but i know this an analyst eric for a different kind of leader to go to washington to say to both republicans and democrats let's come together you get your chance to vice president you've been there for eight years and nothing has been done and my point is is that my plan not only for seniors with options my plan sets aside three point four trillion dollar from medicare over the next ten years my plan also says it's not require a new approach in washington dc if you work for somebody who can work across the partisan divide if you'd like to respond that gmo under my plan i will put medicare in an ironclad long walks and prevent the money from being used for anything other than medicare the governors declined to

endorse that idea even though the republican as well as democratic leaders in congress have endorsed be interested if the same thing would this evening saying that he would put it medicare in a locked box i don't think you will because under his plan if you work out the numbers a hundred billion dollars comes out of medicare just for the wealthiest one percent in the tax cut now here is the difference some people who say the word reform actually means cuts under the governor's plan if you kept the same fee for service that you have now under medicare your premiums would go up by between eighteen and forty seven percent and that's the study of the congressional plan that he's a lot of these bills along by the medicare actuary so i'm just gives one quick example there's a man here tonight to george mccann from milwaukee he's seventy years old it has outlawed torture his wife has more trouble than they have income twenty five thousand dollars a year they can't pay for their prescription drugs and so they're saying they want to go to canada right away in order to get their prescription drugs under my

plan have other calls would be paid right away undercover bush's plan they would get not one penny for forty five years and they would be forced to go into an hmo or to an insurance company and asked them to read what there'd be no limit on the premium for the deductibles or any of the terms and conditions i like i cannot let this go by the old style washington politics were going to scare you in the voting booth under my plan the man gets immediate help with prescription drugs is called immediate helping hands of the squabbling and finger pointing it's immediate help i'm going to say something that understands our lives like this is a lot of the twenty five thousand dollars to your income that makes them ineligible but this is a man who's got great numbers and talks about numbers and begin to think not only did he invent he hadn't been invented yet that it's fuzzy math it's a scary time spirit we were

voting booth undermine tackling it continues to criticize i said a third not the government should take more that no more than a third of anybody's checked but also dropped from fifteen percent to ten percent because by far the vast majority of those people at the bottom end of the economic ladder here a family of four in massachusetts making fifty thousand dollars to get a fifty percent cut in the federal income tax rate it from four thousand to about two thousand of the difference in our plans is that two thousand vote you might be spending the two thousand on your behalf one quick thing nominees are your rules and i'm a bass you we're way over the three man i had no problems with the fact that we wanted to adequate response will move on soriano five minutes on this i mean it's just it's just clear you can go to the website and like if you make more than twenty five thousand dollars a year you don't get a penny of health under the a prescription drug

for five years and then you're forced into medicare i enjoy an hmo or an insurance company plant and there's no limit on the premiums are no deductibles or any of the conditions in the insurance companies say it won't work and they want to be a native of this will move on to serve as a practical matter you want to bring the prescription drugs can say is correct right but for him to stand up there saying make sure the scene usually loud and clear they'd have access to get something done i'm a worker both republicans and democrats to reform the system all seniors will be covered all for seniors or have their prescription drugs by four in the maine town and i have a plan to help for seniors and in the meantime could be one year or two years and the key word there is that all for say now when i'm in all seniors are

covered under bush and my plan in the first year that we get it done the first yield that yours is facing an anonymous nadal incentivize plan gm and for the first four years of the case your bathtub and for the first four years only the poor are covered middleclass seniors like george mccann and his wife are not covered look for five years ago and it was in that they can save a lot of a new question vice president or how would you contrast your approach to preventing future a future oil price and supply problems like we have now the approach oh excellent question and here is the irresistible difference my plan has not only a short term component but also the long term and it focuses not only on increasing the supply which i think we have to do but also on working on the consumption side now be in in the short term we have to to free ourselves from the domination of the the big

oil companies that have the ability to manipulate the price from opec of when they want to raise the price and in the long term we have to give new incentives for the development of domestic resources like the gas in the western gulf like a stripper wells for oil but also renewable sources of energy audit and domestic sources that are cleaner and better economic proposing a plan that will give tax credits and chat tax incentives for the rapid development of new kinds of cars and trucks and buses and factories and boilers and furnaces that don't have as much pollution that don't burn as much energy and that helped us get out on the cutting edge of the new technologies that will create millions of new jobs because when we sell these new products here will then be able to sell them overseas and there's a ravenous demand for them overseas now another big difference is a governor bush is proposing to open up our some of our most precious environmental treasures like bjork national wildlife refuge to the big oil

companies to go in and start a producing while there i think that is the wrong choice you would only give us a few month's worth of oil and the oil would start flowing for many years into the future and i don't think it's a fair price to pay a two to destroy precious parts of america's environment we have to bet on the future and move beyond the current technologies to have a whole new generation of more efficient cleaner energy technologies that was an issue at all about i was a small oil person for wild west texas this is the measure has had no plan and all of a sudden the results of having a plant caught up in america first and foremost know make sure we fully fund why he which is a way to help low income folks because you're in the state for the hype higher fuel bills suddenly we need an active exploration program are the only way to become less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil is to explore it home and you get a more open up a small part of a part of alaska because when that field as online it will

produce a million barrels a day to day we import a million barrels of saddam hussein i would rather than a million come from our own hemisphere our own country as oppose from saddam hussein i wanna build more pipelines to move natural gas throughout this hemisphere i want to develop a coal resources in america and have pulled clean coal technologies we got abundant supplies of energy here in america and we better get after and better start exploring it otherwise would be in deep trouble in the future because of our dependency on foreign sources so if somebody is watching tonight listening to approve you just said is it fair to say ok the differences between vice president gore and george w bush on abortion the fall you are or doing something on the consumption end you're feeling something on a production to clarify and for doing something both on the supply side and production side and on the consumption side and let me say that i found one thing and the governor bush's answer that we certainly agree on and that's the low income heating assistance

program and i commend you for supporting that i work to do it to get four million dollars just a a couple of weeks ago and to establish a permanent home heating oil resort here in the northeast now as for the proposals of that i have worked for for renewables and conservation and efficiency in the new technologies the fact is for the last few years in the congress we face a lot about this they've only they've only approved about ten percent of the agenda the send up there and i think that we need to get serious about this energy prices both in the congress and in the end the white house and if you trust me with a presence that i will tackle this problem and focus on new technologies that will make us less dependent on big oil or farming well of course say that you shouldn't happen for the last seven years and secondly the difference is is that we need to explore at home and the vice president doesn't believe in exploration for example in alaska there's a lot of shouting and gas that we need to be moving out of alaska by

pipeline there's interesting issue up in the northwest as well known is whether not we remove dams to produce hydroelectric energy and against removing dams in the northwest i don't know where the vice president stanford that's a renewable sources of energy we need to keep in line i was in coal country yesterday in west virginia there's an abundant supply of coal in america i know we can do a better job of clean coal technologies a monastic order for two billion dollars to make sure that we have the cleanest cool technologies in the world my interview is is that in the short term we need to get after here in america we need to explore our resources and and we need to develop our reservoirs of domestic production we also need to have a hemispheric energy policy were canada and mexico in the united states come together i brought this up recently with the set they fox in the newly elected president he's a man i note from mexico and i talk about how best to build apps but it the exploration of natural gas in mexico and transport up to the

united states and become less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil this is a major problem facing america the administration did not be aware that it's time for a new administration to do with the energy department deliberately germano i found a couple of other things that we agree on and women don't find that many decisions for wanted to emphasize i strongly support the new investments in clean coal technology and that proposal three just this odd and also domestic exploration yes but not in the environmental treasures of our country we don't have to do that that's the wrong too was another oil company's been itching to do that but it is not the right thing but it's the right thing for the consumers less to tennessee upon for a source of crude is good for consumers and we can do so in an environmentally friendly way toward illness that question of course is no less an insurgent bush if elected president would you try and overturn the fda

approval last week of the abortion pill ru four eighty six our brother can do that i was disappointed in the ruling because i think abortion saw to be more rare in america and i'm worried that that bill will create more abortions because more people have abortions this is a very important topic it's a very sensitive topic of a lot of people disagree on the issues i think that the next president is to just promote cultural life in america it's a life of a look by for the elderly and white for those living all across the country life of the unborn the math that i think a noble goal for this country is at every child born onboard i'll be protected long welcomed life but i know we got to change a lot of minds before we on forget theyre in america what i do believe as we find that common ground on issues like parental notification an american set and i know we need to ban partial birth abortions is the place from my opponent i have strong disagreements that i believe banned partial birth abortion would be a positive step toward

reducing the number of abortions in america this is an issue that the scary carre new attitude we've been battling over abortion for a long period time shirley this nation can come together to promote the value of life surely we can fight off these laws that will encourage doctors to tell our daughters take the lives of our seniors surely we can work together to create a cultural life so some these youngsters who feel like they can take at a neighbor's wife with a gun will understand that that's that that's not the way america is meant to be and surely we can find common ground to reduce the number of abortions in america as to the drug itself a mission as disappointed i hope and i'm i hope the fda took its time to make sure that the american women will be safer uses uses drones well i jumped on the fda to twelve years and i do support that decision on they determined it was medically

safer the women who use this drug now this is indeed a very important issue first of all on the issue or from birth or so called late term abortion i would sign a law banning banning the procedure provided that doctors have the ability to save a woman's life or death active her health is severely at risk and that's not the main issue the main issue is whether or not the roe v wade decision is gonna be overturned i support a woman's right to choose my opponent does not it is important because the next president is going to appoint three maybe even four justices of the supreme court and governor bush has declared to the anti choice groups that he will appoint justices in the mold of the us iliad and clarence thomas who are known for being the most fierce opponents of a woman's right to choose here's the difference he draws a government order a woman to do what it thinks you're do i trust women to make the decisions that affect their lives their destinies and and their bodies and i think a woman's right to choose or be

protected and defended i will go to the supreme court question the moment that lecture understand her position on ru forty six here like the president would you throw coins to the mpaa you will support legislation to overturn this i don't i don't think a particularly overturn that the fda to make this decision for major winter appointments to be a messenger to retire and i think once the decision's made and my nemesis proven to be unsafe would judge a lot you know oh the question you asked if i heard you correctly was would he support legislation that overturned and if i heard the statement the day before yesterday you said you order he said he would order his the fda appointed to review the decision and know that sounds to me up a little bit different and i just think that we owe us one decision that i said i would make sure that there would be safe to use you drop it on the hat on the supreme court question should a

voter so you're pro life just a simpler assume that all judicial appointments you make to the supreme court or any other court federal court won't also be pro life or should assume that have no litmus tests on that issue any other issue voters will know i'll put competent judges on the bench people who will strictly interpret the constitution and will it is the best the right social policy and that's going to be a big year for simply map on it and me i believe that i believe that the judges ought not to take the place of the legislative branch of government that there are appointed for life and that they'll look at the constitution a separately they shouldn't misuse their bench i don't believe in liberal activist judges i believe it's probably the strict constructionist and as the county judges of the point of running for supreme court judges in the state of texas and i would ask the people to check out their qualifications there deliberations good solid men and women who have made good sound judgments on behalf of the people of texas what point we should expect from iran

poses some are lying which to reach a an exactly opposite outcome i don't favor litmus test but i know that that there are ways to assess how a potential justice interprets the constitution and in my view the constitution ought to be an interpreter that as a document that grows with a lot with with our country and our history i and i believe for example that there is a right of privacy in the fourth amendment and when the phrase a strict constructionist is used and when the names of scalia and thomas are used as benchmarks for movie appointed those are those are code words and nobody should mistake this for saying that the governor would appoint people who would overturn roe v wade i'm just it's very clear to me and i would appoint people who have a philosophy that i think would make you quite likely that they would uphold roe v wade is is the right word for overturning roe v wade soundbite of ice for elaborate many dance

tonight i just told you that criteria which of white judges i've had a record of appointing judges in the state of texas says this of the governor gets to name supreme court judges and the nine yards agrees all kinds of things in the my tax plan in a medicare plan and us what the viewers out there to listen when it's a reverse question what what what called phrases you would read by what you said about what kind of people you will appoint us to be very likely that that up old row the way but i do believe it's wrong to using a litmus test what if you know if you look at the history of a year of a lower court judge's ruling as you can get a pretty good idea of how they're going to are pretty questions now what questions are a first impression on an and these questions have been seen many times come up with a new context and so what you know that this is a very important issue because a lot of young

women in this country is ripe for granted and it could be lost it is on the ballot in the selection make no mistake that they work on a jazz is you put on there the put liberal activist judges who use their backs to support the legislature that will give us on this subject no question vice president or a president milosevic of yugoslavia refuses to accept the elections ultimately more is what action if any said the united states take to get another well milosevic has lost the election of his opponent the boston teacher hasn't won the election it's overwhelming milosevic's government refuses to release the vote count there's now a general strike going on other demonstrating i think we should support the people of serbia and the bia yugoslavia as so they call that serbia plus montenegro i am put pressure in every way possible to recognize the

lawful outcome of the election people of serbia have acted very gravely in him kicking this guy out of office now he is trying to not release the votes and then go straight to a so called runoff election without even announcing the results of the first to vote no we've made it clear along with our allies that when milosevic leaves the end serbia will be able to have a more normal relationship with the rest of the world that is a very strong incentive that we have given him to do the right thing they're in mind also milosevic has been invited as a war criminal and he should be held accountable for his actions now we have to take measured steps because the sentiment within serbia is for understandable reasons no law against the united states because their nationalism has lead even if they don't like milosevic they still have some feelings lingering from other nato action there so we have to be an intelligent in the way

we go about but make no mistake that we should do everything we can to see that the will of the serbian people express in this extraordinary election is not and i hope that he'll be out was very short well i'm pleased with the results of the election as as vice president is it's time for the man to go and i'm it means that the united states must have a strong diplomatic and with their friends and they don't swear it's important to make sure our alliances or strong as they possibly can be to keep the pressure on and mr milosevic has been assisting moment for the russians it's definitely does well the wonderful mutt time for the present russia to step into the balkans and convince mr milosevic it's in his best interest and this country's best interest to leave office the russians have a lot of sway in that for the world and we'd like to see the news this way tu tu tu tu encouraged democracy to

take hold so it's encouraging election staff for the man to leave but what if he doesn't leave all the things all the diplomatic efforts all the pressure from all the world and he still doesn't go is this the kind of thing to be specific that us president would consider the use of us military force to getting gone into this particular situation now bear in mind that we have a lot of sanctions in force against serbia right now they end the people of serbia know that they can escape all those sanctions if this guy's that turned out of power now i understand what the governor has said about that asking the russians to be involved in under some circumstances that might be a good idea well being is they have not yet been willing to recognize the costume itself as the lawful winner of the election i'm not sure that it's right for us to invite to the president of russia to the mediators said this the dispute there because so we might not like the result of that comes out of that

they currently favor going forward with a runoff election i think that's the wrong thing i think the governor's instinct is not necessarily bad because we have worked with the russians in a constructive way in kosovo a for example to end the conflict there but what i think we need to be very careful in the present situation before we invite the russians to play that the lead role in the it was fluid use the russians if they didn't agree with her answer her with the vice president i would use force or not wanna because it's not in our national interest to use force in this case it pressure i would use diplomacy there's a death recently with the president who i supported and nine kosovo and this episode for the people in this region to figure out how to take control of their country no question how would you go about its president deciding when it was in the national interest to use us forces general well consider vital national interests and that means whether or not our territory

airport or are territories threaten our people could be harmed or they're not our alliances are defense alliances are threatened when our friends in the middle east or threaten that would be a typist in seriously consider use of force secondly whether or not the mission was clear when i was a clear understanding as to what that with the mission would be a thirty one that we are prepared and trying to win an hour or forces were of high morale and high standing and well equipped and finally whether or not there was an exit strategy i would take that use of force very seriously i would be guarded in my approach i don't think we can be all things to all people in the world i gotta be very careful when we commit our troops the vice president i have a disagreement about the use of troops he believes in nation building i would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders i believe the role of the military is to fight and when war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place

and so i think my i think my my responsibilities seriously and i started making sure we rebuild our military power morality dayton we're having trouble meeting recruiting goals we met the goals this year when the previous years we have not met recruiting goals were so more troops are not well well equipped i believe are over extended into many places and and therefore one rebuild that military power starts with a billion dollar pay raise for the men and women who wear the uniform a billion dollars more than the president recently signed into law to make sure troops are well house and well equipped bonus plans to heat over high skilled folks in the services and a commander in chief who clearly sensed the mission and the mission is to fine when war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place but they wanted first of all i wanna make it clear what our military is the strongest best trained best equipped best lead fighting force in the

world and in the history of the world nobody should have any wisdom our adversaries or potential adversaries i if you trust me with a presence and i will do whatever is necessary in order to make sure our forces stay the strongest in the world in fact in my junior budget proposal i have set aside more than twice as much for this purpose as governor bush has in his proposal now i think we should be reluctant to get involved in some places in a foreign country what if our national security is at stake but if we have allies which we've tried every other course if we're sure military action will succeed and if the calls are proportionate to the benefits we should get involved not just because we can't don't wanna get involved everywhere doesn't mean we should back off anywhere it comes up and i disagree with the fact with a proposal that maybe only when oil supplies are at stake that our national security is at risk i think that that there are

situations like he was near kosovo war there's a genocide where were our national security is at stake there i greeted her militaries the strongest in the world today that's not the question the question is will be the strongest in years to come and a warning signs are real everywhere during the campaign trail i see people who are marching day as his son or daughter may wear the uniform and they tell me about how discouraged their son and are maybe if recent poll was taken almost a thousand enlisted personnel as well as officers over half of whom are going to leave the service when their time of enlisted is out there and the captains are leaving the service there is a problem and as rick warren newcomb energy to rebuild the military power and the other day i was on every flight by colin powell in general norman schwarzkopf who stood by my side and agreed with me they said we can you know the strongest military that if we don't do

something quickly we don't have a clear vision of the military would stop expanding our troops all around the world and nation building missions they would have a serious problem coming down the road and i'm going to prevent that would repeal or military power when the major priorities of my administration was or how should the voters go about the side which one of you is better suited to make the kinds of decisions we wondered whether it was a better whether it's whatever in the military and foreign policy area well if you look at our proposals and then don't look at us as as people and make up their own minds on when i was a young man i volunteered for the army i serve my country in vietnam my father was a senator who strongly opposed the vietnam war i went to college in this great city and most of my peers fell again source as as i did that i went anyway because i knew if i didn't

somebody else in the small town of court since the we'll have to go in my voice i served for eight years in the house of representatives and i serve on the intelligence committee and specializes in looking at arms control us are afraid years in the united states senate and serve on the armed services committee for the last eight years that i've served on the national security council and when that conflict came up in bosnia i saw a genocide in the heart of europe with the most violent war on the continent of europe since world war to look that's where world war one started in the balkans my uncle ut one was a victim of poison gas their millions of americans saw the results of that conflict we have to be willing to make good sound judgments and a salad i know the value of making sure our troops have the latest technologies the governor's proposed skipping the next generation of weapons i think that's the biggest i think we have to stay at the cutting edge of that would you advise the voters to make a decision on this issue will be delicate

how one's have a responsibility in office whether or not it's the same in domestic policies world him to get the capacity to convince people to follow whether or not one makes decisions based upon sound principles ordinary rely upon polls and focus groups on how to decide what the course of action is without too much polling and focus groups going on in washington today many decisions made on its own principles i've been a governor of a big state i won the hallmarks of my mouth my relationship in austin texas is is that i've had the capacity to work with both republicans and democrats i guess important our leadership and he would amaze to build consensus i've shown on an editor's murder for tonight in the audiences one liked his state senators a democrat former state rep has a democrat has won statewide office as a democrat and as a lot of democrats who are we're here in the debate because they want to show their support of shows i know how to lead and that the savannah molested question of bin laden who has

shown the ability to get things done but if i could say we're way over the three and half minutes going to write i think that i think one of the key points in foreign policy and national security policy is the need to re establish the old fashioned principal that politics are stopped at the water's edge when i was in the united states congress i worked with former president reagan to modernize our strategic weaponry and pursue arms control in a responsible way when i was in the united states senate i worked with former president bush your father was one of only a few democrats in the senate to support the persian gulf war think bipartisanship is a national asset and we have to find ways to re establish it in foreign policy national security analyst an ordeal a problem you why haven't they done in seven years and subject to question should the borders of the selection or see this on domestic carrier in the domestic area

as a major choice between competing political the last oh absolutely this is a very important moment in the history of our country what we got the biggest surpluses in all of american history what that the key question that has to be answered in the selection is will we use that prosperity wisely in a way that is all of our people and doesn't go just to the few almost half of all the tax cut this is i said undercover bush's plan go to the wealthiest one percent i think we have to make the right and responsible choices i think we have to invest an education protecting the environment healthcare of prescription drug benefit that goes to all seniors not just to the poor under medicare not relying on at most and insurance companies i think that we have to help parents and strengthen families are dealing with the kind of inappropriate entertainment material that families are just hard to say that their children are exposed to i think we have got to have the welfare reform take him to the next

stage i think that we have got to balance the budget every single year pay down the national debt and in fact under my proposal that the national debt would be completely eliminated by the year twenty twelve i think we need to put medicare and so security in a lot but the governor will not put medicare analog clocks i don't think it should be used as a piggy bank for other programs it needs to be moved out of the budget and protected i'll veto anything that takes money out of so security or medicare or anything other than social security or medicare now what the priorities are just very different targeted a couple of examples for every new dollar that i proposed for spending on health care governor bush stands for re dollars for a tax cut for the wealthiest one percent now for every dollar that i proposed and on education he spends five dollars on a tax cut for the wealthiest one percent those are very clear differences ms preston fuzzy math again

there's differences and the vice president gore's plan is going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since lyndon baines johnson it succeed for more than about a massive government hoax bomb but adding to our summer increasing two hundred new programs programs twenty thousand new bureaucrats imagine how many irs agents is going to take they'll work to figure out his targeted tax cuts for the middle class that excludes fifty million americans there is a huge difference in this campaign he says he's going to give a tax cut fifty million of you will receive it he said in his speech he was make sure the right people get tax relief is not the role of a president to decide right and wrong everybody who pays taxes on it tax relief after my pleasant place the wealthy of the wealthiest americans will pay a higher percentage of taxes then they do today and a chorus of american six million of family seven million people will pay any tax at all it is a huge difference it's inevitably be exploding federal government that was to thank the nearby have

any plan and these parties and liberates working people to be able to make decisions on your own what is a family you haven't heard the governor denied these numbers he's called phoning it's called fuzzy what the fact remains almost thirty percent of his proposed tax cut ghost only to americans that make more than one million dollars for you're more money goes to the thai have a rebuttal is your bachelor's at it if he buys that just tell you what the facts are the facts are after my plan the wealthiest americans pay more taxes and that of the percentage of the whole than they do today certainly for your family for making fifty thousand dollars in massachusetts you get a fifty percent tax cut let me give you one example the stark family in allentown pennsylvania campaign within the other day they met fifty one thousand dollars combined income they pay about three hundred dollars in taxes another thirty five hundred dollars in taxes under my plan again at eighteen hundred dollars of tax relief

under vice president gore flanagan hundred forty five dollars of tax relief and you tell me who stands on the side with the us to start us with us to strike like to get most plan it makes more sense and there's a difference of opinion he would rather spend the struts eighteen hundred dollars and i would run the destruction in her own money no i don't and i'm not gonna work go to the calling names on his facts i'm just going to tell you what the real facts are the analysis of these are not leave out more than half of the tax cuts and if you just have the numbers are still alive he spent more money on a tax cut for the wealthiest one percent that all these new proposals for prescription drugs healthcare education and national defense come by now those are the wrong priorities six hundred and sixty five billion dollars over ten years for the wealthiest one percent not an end as i said almost a thirty percent it goes to americans that makes more than one million dollars per year

every middle class family is eligible for a tax cut under my proposal gives a specific examples i believe that college tuition up to ten thousand dollars a year would be tax deductible so middle class families can choose to send their children the college i believe that all seniors should be able to choose their own doctors and get prescription drugs from their own pharmacists but with a with medicare paying half the bill i believe that parents will have more choices with charter schools and public school choice to send their kids always to a safe school i think we need to make education and number one priority in our country in three teachers like the professionals that they are and that's why i have made it the number one priority in the budget not a tax cut for the wealthy alum to talk about that this is a man who's planning excludes fifty million americans so he doesn't believe that what they would zap mr stanley if you if you itemize your tax return you get no marriage penalty relief he picks and chooses

he decides whether the right people are it's a fundamental difference of thing i want my fellow americans to hear one more time we're gonna spend twenty five trillion dollars to collect twenty five trillion dollars of revenue over the next ten years and we're projected to spend twenty one trillion as surely we can send five percent of it back to you all that paper bills there is a problem and wants a son jim wentland has been dispersed in the plan with all this washington fuzzy math i want you to hear a problem we got in america if you're single mother making twenty two thousand dollars a year and you get to children under this tax code for every additional dollar you make me pay higher marginal rate on that dollar than someone making two hundred thousand dollars a year and that is not right and so my plan drops the rate from fifty percent to ten percent increases the chapter ended from five hundred dollars to a thousand dollars to make the code more fair for everybody not just a few but not just you know a handful everybody pays taxes on to give some relief for having cleared that up we're going to move to education

bush promised dramatically that to change dramatically public education in this country but other public money spent on education only six percent of that is federal money eulogy and one hundred percent of public education with six percent of the money is that possibly what they would make a huge difference by saying if you receive federal money we expect you to show results may give you a story about public and from my gym its bucket again in houston texas it's a it's a charter school run by some people from teacher markham young folks it's a woman does something good for my country would teach the name michel runs a school it's a school full of so called at risk children so it's smelly and forcefully label certain children amazing basically they can't learn is a school a stronger discipline high standards as one of the best schools in houston and here the key ingredients high expectations strong accountability what michael says is that all the rules on us just let us teach and homeless accountable for everywhere

and that's what we do and as a result these young man hispanic voters are some of the best learners and in houston texas that's my vision for public education all america many viewers don't know that la and i send our girls that public school you're dawson has been many of the public schools there are meeting the call but unfortunately a lot of schools are strep and children in schools that will teach you more chances years a role the federal government wants to change has started to reprogram to is to say that if you and what access reading money you can do so because the goals for every single child wandering there must be k through two diagnostic tools teacher training money available for a regatta consolidate federal programs to free districts to free to schools to encourage innovators like michael to let schools reach out beyond the confines of the current structure to recruit teach for teacher and the children type teachers four were saying if you receive federal money measure your grade fourth grade fifth grade six three seventh grade eighth grade and shallots we're not sure learning to read and write

names of tracking the solar be a bonus planet and an additive not he said a continued to subsidize value with the money will go to the barracks of the packages a different public school and that the money to redo the child will go to the bar for their public school or a charter school where victoria our catholic school what i care about is that you're sort of micro fiber you know what they can happen in america with the right kind of leadership look i know we agree on a couple things on education i strongly support new accountability so does governor bush i strongly support local control so does governor bush i'm in favor of testing as a way of measuring performance every school every school district at every state tests that the children are also a proposed a voluntary national tests in the fourth grade and eighth grade and a form of testing that the governor has not endorsed i think that whole new teachers ought to be tested including in the subject teach we've got to recruit a hundred thousand new teachers and i have budgeted for

that we got to reduce the class size so that the student walks in has more one on one time with a teacher will have universal preschool and we ought to make college tuition tax deductible up to two thousand dollars a year it had like the tape which story a letter today as all of sarasota florida i'm here with a group of thirteen people from around the country and who help me prepare and when a great time but two days ago we ate lunch in a restaurant and the guy who served us watch said got me a letter today his name is randy alice the other fifteen year old on internally who's in sarasota high school for science class was supposed to be for twenty four students she is the thirty six students in their classrooms and the picture of the worst in the classroom they can't squeeze another destined for her so he has to stand during class i want the federal government consistent with local control a new accountability to an improvement of our schools the number one priorities ok we will have a gas engine sit down in a classroom where she can wear

it so having heard the two of you borders of just heard the two of you what's that about what's the choice between until he wanted to give us forces the differences there is no new accountability measures the vice president was here he says he's for voluntary testing voluntary testing you must have mandatory testing you must say that if you receive money you must show us whether or not children are learning to read and write and add and subtract that's the difference you may claim you've got mandatory testing but you don't have to write a president and there's a huge difference testing is the cornerstone for me how i know because as the cornerstone of reform in the state of texas republicans and democrats came together and i suppose what can we do to make our public education the best in the country and we've done a long way working together to do so in the cornerstone is to have strong accountability in return for money and in return for flexibility we're going to ask you this show is more than i mean as the post the results on the internet we're encouraged paris to take a look at that and the comparative results of

schools with armstrong charter school movement that i sign the legislation to give start in the state of texas i believe that we find or children trapped in schools that will please we need to free the parents i think we need to expand education savings accounts something vice presidents a vice presidential running mates a force of this big differences of opinion he will you know he would support for local differed from the strings of federal money well first of all i do have a mandatory testing i think the government on to have heard what i say that said clearly the of all they're natural gas is in addition to the mandatory testing that we were florida state's all schools all school districts and students themselves and record teacher testing which goes a step farther than governor bush has been willing to go here are a couple of differences though a jam mr bush is in favor of vouchers which take taxpayer money away from public schools and give them to private schools that are not accountable for how the money is used and don't have to take all applicants now private schools play a great

role in our society all of art show lived on a boat public schools and private schools but i dont think private schools should have the right to take taxpayer money away from public schools at a time or when clearly alice is standing in that classroom want to be another example i went to a school in dade county florida where the facilities are so overcrowded the children have to eat lunch and shirts with the first shift for lunch starting at nine thirty in the morning look this is a funding crisis all around the country there are fewer parents of school aged children in the book as a percentage of the voting population and there's a large generation of students ever were in an information age when learning is more important never ninety percent of our kids go to public schools we have to make it the number one priority modernize their schools reduced class size rid of recruit new teachers give every child a chance to learn with one on one time in a quality high quality safe school if it's a failing school shut it down and reopened it under a new principal with the turnaround team of

specialists the way governor jim hunt does in north carolina here's another difference the governor if it's a failing school we believe the children that for three years and three give a little bit of money to the parents a down payment on a down payment for private school tuition or entertain that that would be a runoff for them to go out and go to a private sector you're up first of all muslim governs that the state seniors the mentality and they make the status on that make his debut there all i'm saying is if you spend money show us results and test every year which you do not been the vice president you do not test every year you could say you do and the cameras but you don't wish you'd change your plan you know the stations secondly and you need to test every year because as we determine whether natural or progressive excellence secondly one of the things that we've got to be careful about and politics is throwing money at a system that has not yet been reform more money is needed and i spend more money with step one is to make sure we reform the system

and the system in place that leaves no child behind a stark this is about as the best known war ii if your candidate a budget here about twelve which here and start asking the question what you know and if you don't know what you're supposed to know will make sure you do early forties to light the questions that we've been talking about a specific issue has often said but in the final analysis about ninety percent of being the president of the united states is dealing with the unexpected not re issues that came up in the campaign vice president gore can you point to a decision and action you have taken that illustrate your ability to handle the unexpected the crisis under fire itself we're not the action in kosovo was dragging on and we were searching for a solution to the problem our country oh it had defeated the adversary on the battlefield without a single american life being lost in combat but the the

dictator milosevic was the hanging on our i invited a former prime minister of russia ought to my house and took a rescue and asking him to get personally are involved along with the the head of the film are to go to belgrade and to take out a set of proposals from the united states that would constitute basically a surrender a by serbian blocked it it was a calculated risk that that pay off now all i could probably give you some other examples of decisions over the last twenty four years i i have been in in public service for twenty four years and throughout all that time the people i have for ford had been the middle class families and i have been willing to stand up to powerful interests like the big insurance companies the drug companies the ag mosley well companies

that they have good people and they played constructive role sometimes and sometimes they get too much power i mean i cast my lot with the people even when it means that you have to stand up to some powerful interests who are trying to turn the idea that the policies in the laws to their advantage that serve you can see an end in this campaign the big drug companies support of governor bush's prescription drug proposal they oppose mind because they don't want to get medicare involved because they're afraid that medicare will negotiate lower prices for seniors who currently pay the highest prices of all bush won a senate debate hollywood that trial lawyers or with the question was about a murder says one of them was about well i am you know as governor otter mother yet to deal with is catastrophe

i remember the fires of sweat parker county texas i remember the floods that swept our state a memorable and ana del rio texas i've got to pay the administration a compliment james lee witt a famous don't really good job of working with governors during times of crisis but that's the time we are tested not only on it's time to test you met was time to test your heart when you see people whose lives have been turned upside down it broke my heart to go to the flood seemed del rio were felons family just got completely uprooted your thing i know to do is to get aid as quickly as possible which we did with the state and federal help and margarine a man and his family and cry with them but that's what governors do governors are oftentimes found frontline of catastrophic situations no question there can be all kinds of crises there could be a crisis for instance in the financial or the stock market could take a

tumble there could be a failure of a major financial institution what is your general attitude toward government intervention and such events well it depends obviously but what i would do first and foremost as i would get in touch with the federal reserve chairman alan greenspan to find out all the facts and all the circumstances i would have my secretary treasury be in touch with a financial centers not only here but at home i would make sure that the key members of congress were called in to discuss the gravity of the situation and i would come up with a game plan to deal with that as with governors and they're doing we end up being problem solvers we come up with practical common sense solutions for for prom so we're confronted with an in this case in case the financial crisis i would gather all the facts before i made the decision as to what the government on are ought not to do

first i wanted to complement the governor on his response to those fires and floods in texas i i company james lee witt down to texas when those fires broke out art and simo has been a major flagship project of our reinventing government efforts and i create worse extremely well now only international financial crises that come up my friend bob rubin former secretary of treasury is here is a very close advisor to me and a great friend in all respects i have had a chance to work with him and alan greenspan and others on the crisis following the collapse of the mexican peso when the asian financial crisis raises the risk of a worldwide recession that could affect our economy and starting and now of course the bureau's it's about value has been propping up what seems to be under control but it started for me in the last eight years when i had the honor of casting the tie breaking vote that year the old economic plan here and haul and put into

place a new economic plan that has helped us to make some progress twenty two million new jobs and the greatest prosperity are what is not good enough and my attitude is you ain't seen nothin yet we need to do more and better so go you agree there is the basic difference here on on on intervene intervene and federal government intervening and what might be seen by others to be a private financial crisis is that that's another reason that there's a differences of what the economy is now the economy has meant more for the or when folks then the gory when folks have meant for the economy and that most the economic growth that has taken place has result of ingenuity and hard work and often are shia and as the role of government to curse that but in terms of the response to the question of all can i come in on that human see you know i think that the american people deserve credit for the great economy that we have and it's their ingenuity i i agree with that which you know there were

more than three or you're still another and ingenuity eight years ago the differences we've got a new policy and instead of concentrating on tax cuts mostly for the wealthy we want i want tax cuts for the middle class families and i want to continue the prosperity and make sure that it enriches not just the few well all of our families what we have gone from the biggest deficits to the biggest losses we've gone from a triple dip recession during the previous twelve years to a tripling of the stock market instead of high unemployment we've got the lowest african american and most likely on to one of race ever in history art and twenty two million new jobs but it's not good enough to many people have been left behind we have got to do much more in the key is job training education investments in health care education the environment retirement security and then suddenly we have got to preserve so security and i am totally opposed

to too diverting one out of every six dollars away from so security trust fund as the governor has proposed and of the stock market i want new incentives for savings and investment for the young couples who are working or so they can save and invest on their own on top of social security not at the expense of so security as the governor proposes to want one was closer still waiting for that nineteen ninety two middle class tax cut i remember vice presidents and it does give us a chance to get up there were major your tax cuts did happen late in high seventies say it again since they've had their chance to deliver attacks fifty secondly the surest way to buses economy is to increase the role and the size of the federal government the senate budget committee did a study of the vice president's expenditures that the projected it could he conceivably bust the budget by nine hundred billion dollars i'm at the get to raise your taxes by nine hundred

billion or more to so security surplus for nine hundred billion this is a plan that has been increased the bureaucracy about twenty thousand people is targeted tax cut is so detailed so much my practice the record numerous irs agents always something to simplify the code to be fair the continued prosperity by sharing some of the surplus with the people who pay the bills protect leave those at the bottom end of the economic ladder but if i could respond to him and what he's calling is not the senate budget committee it is a partisan press release by the republicans on the senate but really it's not worth the government the taxpayer paid paper that it's printed on now as for twenty thousand new bureaucrats as you call you know the size of the federal government will go down in a court ministration in the reinventing government program you just look at the numbers it has three hundred thousand people smaller today than it was eight years ago now but the fact is you

don't have a hard time convincing folks that we were a whole lot better off eight years ago and we are today but that's not the question the question is will we leave iraq four years from now then we are today and as for the surest way to threaten our prosperity having a year a one point nine trillion dollar tax cut almost half of which goes to the well anna one trillion dollar social security privatization proposal is torture as a way to put our our budget into deficit raise interest rates i can't let them and continue with fuzzy math it's one point three trillion that a vice president has to go to everybody who pays taxes on the only one these kinds of presidents is it you get to actually a new doll i'm not to be picky to that what if there is everybody who pays taxes or to get relief to a new question of social security all that you have social security reform plans and we could spend the rest of the evening into three other even talking about them in the dilemma that law

many experts including federal reserve chairman greenspan or say that it will be impossible for either of you a cent to keep the system viable on its own during a coming baby boomer baby boomer retirement onslaught without either reducing benefits or increasing taxes you disagree i disagree because if we can keep our prosperity going if we can continue balancing the budget and paying down the debt in the strong economy it keeps generating surpluses and here's what i would do here is my plan i will keep social security an alarm box and that plays down the national debt and eighty interest savings i would put right back in the social security that extends the life of social security for fifty five years now

i think that it's very important to understand that cutting benefits under social security means that that the people like there were different skinner from the more hours here would really have a much harder time because there are millions of seniors who are live in almost hand to mouth and you talked about cutting benefits i don't go along with i am opposed to is i'm also opposed to a plan that devotes one out of every six dollars away from the social security trust fund you know so security is a trust fund that pays the checks this year with the money gets paid into social security this year the governor wants to do for one out of every six dollars off in the stock market which means that he would remain a trillion dollars out of the sows gary trust fund over the world in this generation over the next ten years and so security under that approach would go mike raup with me and this

generation is leading advisor on this plan actually said that would be ok because they're so security trust fund could start borrowing it would bar what to three trillion dollars now so security is never done that and i don't think it should do that i think it should stay a lock box and i'll tell you this i will veto anything that takes money out of social security for privatization or anything else other than social security what was interesting that when the tremendous has been about a may have on my plan which means even want you know that what you do is load the bio use for future generations he was no real assets and so security system the revenues exceed expenses the social security to the year twenty fifteen which means all retirees they get the promises made supposedly a movie was to scare the voting booth a vote for him here midland clear a promise made will be a promise kept and you bet we won allow younger workers to take some of their own money see there's a difference of opinion the vice president thinks it's the government's money they are on

taxes your money in europe but it proves safe investments of that one trillion over the next ten years rose to be three trillion the money stays within the social security system it's a part of it it's a part of the social security system at planets in the outer solar security it's your money it's a party retirement benefits it's a fundamental difference between what we believe i want you to have your own asset that you can call your own i want you to have an asset that you can pass on from one generation to the next i want to get a better rate of return for your own money then the paltry two percent of the cars so security trust this day summit a gray sedan nestea i thought missed an opportunity to say there's a third way and that is to get a better rate to return on the sole security money's coming and there's two point three trillion dollars of surplus that we can use to make sure younger workers have a sow security plan in the future if we're smart if we trust workers if we understand the power of the compound rate of interest here's the difference

if i get a new incentive for younger workers to save their own money and invest their own money but not at the expense of social security on top of so secure my plan is social security plus the governor's plan is social security minus your future benefits would be cut by the amount that's diverted into the stock market and if you make bad investments that's too bad but even before then the problem that's because the money contributed to social security does your ears and entitlement that's it works and the money is used to pay the benefits for seniors the sheer it you cut the amount going in one out of every six dollars then you have to cut the value of each check about one out of every six dollars unless you come up with the money from somewhere else i would like to know from the governor and over moscow's fancy ask each other questions but i'd be interested in knowing

does that trillion dollars to come from the trust fund or does it come from the rest of the budget now there's enough money to pay seniors today in the current affairs so security the train comes from the search plus surpluses more money more money than they did the day what your plan is its massive security plus a sole security plus huge debt is what is really future generations with tremendous i used this time to have a leader that not been put off your tomorrow we should do today it's time to have some bite to step up and say look less like younger workers take some of their own money and under certain guidelines invested and the private markets that would be the safest a federal investment yields four percent that's twice the amount of rain to return her so security firms that there's a fundamental difference of ten year younger worker after your work here is my call this is a trusted you know what the issue is changing because seniors now understand that the promise made will be a promise kept but younger workers now understand we better have

a government to trust them and that's exactly what i'm going to do it if it was a big issue that we do another round on where a lot of the time was just isn't just briefly went when fdr's that was so security that involve ious they call it the full faith and credit of the united states if you don't have trust in that i do and that if you take out all the surplus in the trust fund that means the trust fund goes bankrupt in this generation within twenty years though it got hit with this is a this is a government that thinks at two percent rate of return on your money is satisfactory it's not this is a government that says younger workers can't possibly have their own assets what we need to think differently about the issues need to make sure our seniors get the promise made of but what i would tell you if we don't trust younger workers and their son their own money with a sole security surplus at the rogue one trailer three trillion it's going to be impossible to bridge the gap without when mr lord wild are causing huge payroll

taxes or major benefit reductions the question that other issues of character that distinguish you vice president gore welcome man loves his wife and i appreciate that a lot and i love my the man of the family a lot and i appreciate it as i love my family i think to disperse me about the vice president was uttering those famous words no controlling legal authority i felt like that there needed to be a better sense of responsibility of what was going on in the white house i believe that i'm i believe a poem move as sign the buck stops here from the oval office test the buck stops here on the lincoln bedroom and that's not good for the country it's not right we need to have a new law about how we conduct ourselves and officers huge trust see it all the time when people come up to me and say i am i

want to let me down again and we can be better than the best ministration has done its time for a fresh start staffer new staff for a fresh start after season of cynicism and so i don't know the man well but i've been disappointed about how he in his administration has conducted the fund raising fares don't want a buddhist temple in a clammy i was in the fundraisers is not my view of responsibility as rachel what i will attack our country's problems not attack each other awards spend my time making this country even better than it is not trying to make you out to be a bad person you may want to focus on scandals i want to focus on results as i said a couple months ago i stand here as my own man and i wanted to see me for who i really hand up to and i've been married for thirty years we became grandparents a year and a half ago we got four children i have devoted twenty

four years of my life to public service and i've said this before house say it again if you trust me with the president's i may not be the most exciting politicians but i will work hard for you every day i will fight for middle class families and working men and women and i will never let you down so that all are you saying when you mentioned they are the fundraising scandals so this fund raising charges involved vice president always aim of abortion take from that it's relevant to the selection got factored in women make their decision in the voting booth no better job for me what it is you know i think that people need to be held responsible for this for the ashes they take in life and i think that goes well i think i think that's part of the need for a cultural changes save each of us need to be responsible for we do and people in the highest office of the land must be responsible for decisions they make in life and i am

and that's the way i conducted myself as governor of texas and as a welcomed out myself as president united states should have a portion of burn your vote are you saying all this is aroma or like i think the american people should take into account who we are as individuals what our experiences what our positions on the issues are what our proposals are i am asking you again to see me for who i really am i'm offering you my own vision my own experience my own proposals and it's the only one of them is this this current their campaign financing system has not reflected credit on anybody in either party and that's one of the reasons i've said before not pledge here tonight if i'm president the very first bill that joe lieberman and i will send to the united states congress is the mccain feingold campaign finance reform bill and the reasons that important is that all of the other issues whether prescription drugs for all seniors that are opposed by the drug companies or the patient's bill of rights to take the decisions away from the hmo wasn't given to that

doctors and nurses opposed by the hmo insurance covers all of these other proposals are going to be a lot easier to get pass for the american people if we limit the influence of special interest money and give democracy back to the american people and i wish governor bush would join me this evening in in endorsing the mccain feingold campaign finance reform bill and push it up the man has no credibility on the issue as a marathon ever in the new york times where he said he co sponsored the mccain feingold campaign fund the fund raising bill he won in the senate with the senator feingold and so what you need to know about me is a mobile the law might have an attorney general that enforces the law that if the time for out the tougher campaign funding reform is after the election is manifest that made the special interests are outspending me and and i am not going to lay down arms in the middle of a campaign for somebody who's got no credibility on the issue of senator mccain said in a new and so it

was really a recent case in in august and that which wanted its president nine states in january and only belong forty nine state senate in the pie out the united states senate until campaign finance reforms passed inclusive an old soft money for small wood to support that effort by him or would you sign a bill that has finally passed it included well i would support an effort to ban corporate soft money and labor unions so my songs there was dues check off a campaign on this ever since the primaries i believe it is the consensus closed down the internet as to who's given a home i think we need a foreign force to last night when he didn't have an attorney general it's as if a lot of broken will enforce the law be strict about it the farm about it look calm government was you have to attack my character and credibility and i am not going to going to respond and i think we ought to focus on the problems and not attack each other and and one of the serious problems for me where is that

our system of government is being undermined by too much influence coming from special interest money we have to get on him was john mccain i have learned from experience and it's not a new position for may twenty four years ago i supported full public financing of all federal elections and anybody who thinks i'm just saying will be the first fill us in the congress i want to know care passionately about this and i will fight until it becomes law a lot people here would use it useful for full public financing of congressional actions i'm absolutely adamantly opposed to that i don't want the government financing congressional actions so if a sale that wonderful moment this agreement that we have to stop there and we want to go now to your closing statements governor bush's first year like a champ like the universe in massachusetts this ross president thank you and good lively exchange obviously we had his differences of opinion

mine is i want our people and our own was also on to go to washington to get some positive things done they require despair spirit of cooperation for the ability of the republican president to reach out across the partisan divide and to say to democrats must come together to do what's right for america and my record as governor of texas and b how i conduct myself fortunate turn your vote to raise the united states are finally get something done on medicare or make your prescription drugs are available for all seniors and our seniors have additional choices when it comes to choosing their health care plans what finally get something done on social security i wanna make sure that sears had promised may will be a promise kept that i want younger workers of them and some of their own money somewhere on payroll taxes in the and the private sector under certain guidelines to get a better rate of return on your money or rebuild our military to keep the peace or have a strong hand when it comes to when

it comes to the united states and world affairs i wanna try to put our troops in all places at all times i wanna be the world's policeman a wannabe the world peacemaker and the military of time around military that's well equipped white anti ballistic missile systems protect ourselves and our allies rogue nation that may try to hold us hostage or blackmail a friend alice dewine make sure education system for feels is hope and promise that a strong record of working with democrats and republicans in texas to make sure no child is left behind i understand the limited role of the federal government but it can be a constructive role when it comes to reform by insisting that there be strong accountability systems are my chances are there are your voting or your confidence i'm asking for your vote i don't want to be on my team for those of you work and fight mr mark for those of you making up your mind i'd be honored to have your support but in oregon that's a lot of like everybody who wants to listen tonight because this is indeed a crucial time in

american history we were at a fork in the road we have this incredible prosperity but a lot of people have been left behind and we have a very important decision that they will we use the prosperity to enrich all of our families and not just the few one important way of looking at this is to ask who are you going to fight for throughout my career in public service i have fought for the working men and women of this country middle class families why because you are the ones who have the hardest time paying taxes the hardest time making ends meet you're the ones who are making car payments and mortgage payments and doing right by your kids and a lot of times they're powerful forces arrayed against me and make no mistake about it they do have undue influence in washington dc and it makes a difference if you have a president who will fight for you i know one thing about position of president it's the only position on our constitution that's filled by an individual who was given the responsibility to fight not just

for one state or one district or a well connected or wealthy what to fight for all of the people including especially those who most need somebody who will stand up and take on whatever powerful forces might stand in the way there's a woman named winifred skinner hear tonight from while i mentioned her earlier she's a seventy nine years old she has social security and the iconic cover benefits or support any proposal that would she gets a small pension but in order to pay for her prescription drug benefits she has to go out seven days a week several hours a day they cannot chance she came all the way from iowa in a winnebago with her school in order to attend here tonight and i want to tell her i am going to fight for a prescription drug benefit for all seniors and i'm going to fight for the people of this country for prosperity that benefits all and we will continue this dialogue next week on october eleventh

at wake forest university in winston salem north carolina the format that will be more informal more conversational with two candidates a vivid they were with him at the third will be october seventeenth at washington university in st louis and now we'll follow a town hall type format also ahead the day after tomorrow on october first there's the ninety minute debate between the democratic candidate for vice president senator joe lieberman on the republican candidate former secretary of defense dick cheney it will be held at center college and then the kentucky moderator will be bernard shaw cnn thank you governor bush vice president gore and when the pie when i'd pull in washington you can walk in the first presidential debate between vice president al gore and governor george w bush see the gentleman on the stage now they're about to be greeted by their families is laura bush in the debate rather than present in the

vice president's daughter is the soft flesh of their big help of wife and daughters were not christian and sarah at south florida <unk> some analysis of reactions to the night's encounter with your children should go to partisans than just an art historian panel first shields syndicated columnist mark shields and wall street journal columnist politico work we understood that we heard towards the left to say there were huge differences between advantage here that night there were differences that i thought they felt about me the great repetition it was enlightening co op i think it was for a lot of voters who haven't heard the speeches and i think you got a real distinction and seventy shoots vertically on the philosophical point of

the things that the george w bush that distinction between the two candidates and there was no question about your routine tasks to try to cast doubt on the minds of voters on george bush's agenda and medicare so security taxes it has it has a habit of linkedin of walking under phrases and repeating them over a weird wealthiest one percent i'd like i stopped counting at a church and a lock box and and end to raise money from the public schools that sort of thing bush did well was he made it i thought he looked presidential power he looked confident other role a couple of times where i play defensive seem to get rattled and then that probably helps him as a challenger mark it didn't george w bush do what he had to do tonight i'm not sure if we get really does take a little it's actually paul said and i don't think they'll go with the only person who returned a pet phrases if i heard fuzzy math one more time for

our house now adopted as some sort of a little while house animal the year to me i thought bush did say more comfortable in himself or poised and at the same time he's seen whatever that at certain times it for a surprisingly was far more income and in more comfortable on foreign policy and national defense they seemed to be and in domestic issues which were just as paul weston with where he is said had this advantage in the polls in a sort of touted his as knowing so much more and i thought i had vip tickets if anything that was missing in this debate was any sense of spontaneity are you obligated to each of them given the chance and returned to what had been his campaign basic pitch high and shtick all they also seeing both sides tentative about poking each other sore spot spot your study bush's very tentative about talk about al gore's character an al gore only in the

slightest most subtle way they represent the eight years ago when his father was president yet it's clear that they believe the voters don't want that kind of thing i think but i think that because characters such an undercurrent in this race and that is an issue that has helped by a large governor bush that's that's worried yet he missed an opportunity he really didn't drive that point home when it was when it was offered to about their particular in leaking character and credibility to the ability to get things done in washington doesn't elsewhere he really didn't do that tonight and i think he missed an opportunity to really get me to answer the justice that will get right back to little while let's go now to race war as were some partisan reaction besides the day and we get that question from republican media strategist michael deaver and democratic pollster and strategist mark mellman michael deaver let's start with you we're in tomorrow morning's edition of the daily deaver what's the headline on page one well i think the yeah george bush obviously had the most to gain and i think he did gain the night he was relaxed he'd he did have some

inner city he had a command of the facts tonight he stayed on his things over over and over again was taken back fourteen point i think george bush in the morning till now what would have been i think really is bush had a big burden to make any failed to meet it and the reality is if you look at the national polls court as a consistent sly pickens has an edge in the key battleground states that it is even bigger george bush had a burden tonight a change in a significant way that dynamic a selection to objects in a new way of thinking about this election that just didn't happen it from my perspective or look knowledgeable a bush looked uncertain or look in command a bush was often rattled or was factual or by contrast i think that a bush often treated to vegas urgent but what bush had a burden tonight a change of america this election he didn't do that and it's a huge missed opportunity well you know i saw callers today that depiction of

people there watched as paul didn't know the position you were in these candidates on hong kong on anything and i think that they did and so i think there is a big plus for george bush they have a chance to see him they have seen no more over and over and over again and they hurl operate in the night was the first time they really been able to measure of george bush on where solutions but i think that's a plus do you think that that is a performance that really makes its impacting overall impression over the arc of the hour and a half or weapons were there some particular exchanges where the governor presented both high contrast and maybe got the better of the exchange well i think that one of the things that you're really looking for tonight is impression the impression to me was george bush knows what he's talking he had the facts and figures his fingertips and he wasn't about to be tripped up by go that

was the impression at what people bring the guys debate what they bring in to it i guarantee facts and figures and george bush i heard some retreat to veg nostrums but i think that the fundamental devastating fact that policy ago referred to a moment ago this notion that the bush tax cuts is more money to the wealthiest one percent of americans than invest in education environment health care prescription drugs that devastating fact in my judgment speaks volumes about george bush's priorities and i think the fact that people got to see and hear that and i did not hear george bush refused that i think people walk away looking at did george bush's positions on the issues and say he doesn't really reflect my priorities he doesn't really reflect my views are my values not directly refuted but to neutralize it with his own and there's another thing i get the sense that people may not be tuning in any more of these big hits i mean if we have to hear this advantage lecturing from court for another three nights and there

was almost a talking down that came through in the gore lectures not just to what he was saying to to george bush the ones saying the american people there's historical smarty pants impression when i when i heard somebody knew what he was talking about somebody was well schooled in the issues well schooled in the facts and really understood them i think al gore look at this as a job interview with the american people tonight you want to impress the american people with his knowledge of the issues with his knowledge of the facts with his positions on the issues with his values i think he did that quite well there were many points of agreement between the two how those work in the in the confines of the debate both the governor saying of the vice president in ivory and the vice president say on the government side on that particular mission american people like they think they'd like to see that and i think that one of the things that bush kept harping on about the fact that he had the experience to work in a bipartisan way i think that's

very that resonates well with american people and i think each time they they agreed with each of the american people sort of alongside relief degree at the early analysis that there was a little bit maybe not punch pulling but they step back from taking really big swings at last and that's actually what i think the american people want to see the differences on the issues but they don't want to do was to combat they don't want these guys are ripping each other apart but for them on their television screens but i think each of them where it was trying to be very careful about that and when you say you agree with your opponent michael hundred percent i think people did breathe a sigh of relief and said they really really are decent gaza after all not the kind of nasty politicians that we're so used to thinking about what you have been a coach michael deaver too much detail too little about right ari talking about frozen and george bush both of them were live yeah i must say i find it now after a wild gore and i don't think it's bipartisanship and there's just something about

his recitation of that that is off putting after a while i was frankly i listen to george bush for a long time i thought it was very good the best i've seen a fun and relaxed he was a natural he was trying to identify with these kind of people i thought it was good michael deaver mark mellman thank you both now we turn to some of our other news are regulars enter margaret warner and with me are presidential historians doris kearns goodwin and michael beschloss and journalist another haynes johnson joining them tonight is richard norton smith a presidential historian and biographer art hanes how does this debate stack up in terms of revealing debates is that one of the more revealing moment is so much expectation this wasn't alone circus it was a little like a butterfly sting like a big no one is lined a point of

stealing cars i was a serious debate real fundamental issues and i was interested in my interest in solemnly identify with his people the question is at what the next about the other side or with complaints is the women aren't sure his supreme court or shin education all these other issues i think neither one the old comfortable if you've got into it was just going to be a loser he was you're talking about the two different constituencies here michael you had predicted that there would be a moment the moments that would be revealing that would give people maybe two people mike deaver were talking about that haven't paid any attention some insight into these men and you've seen the only one that really can also about exchange at the end about a character when jim asked that question about the candidates character and george bush made the point that i would usher in a period where people take responsibility for their actions and al gore came back i sang as he did in his campaign and his convention

speech i'm my own man but the interesting thing is these guys both came into my wanting to be pulsing talks forty years after the debate between kennedy nixon which were very substantive we had almost the same thing if you were a martian came into night you know very much what the differences were between the two parties in chorus case he wanted to stay on message did for ninety minutes feels it helps him in bush's case wanted to demonstrate that you're serious also want to make the point and for small government is for the government and also hasn't delivered over seventy percent are essence what you wanted was a debate that didn't didn't turn on a gaffe or some horrible mistake but really had issues engage and philosophies engaged at that come through the night it didn't i feel relieved to the extent that i didn't want it and done by somebody wondering which i don't think is good for the whole country no gap like florence was given tonight you don't want it to turn simply an image and whether one person is sweating are not

as it turned out in nineteen sixty i think both men looked strong they looked relaxed they looked confident the only problem i thought or had was he was great when he was on the screen when he was off screen it was somewhat off putting to have him halfway there signing and shrugging and moving around not sure he realized that he was half on the screen so much of that time and i think they both show the certain knowledge i don't know if it was any home run on the other hand where somebody just knocked it out of the park know one liners that we're going to remember but possibly that's because you were allowed any applause lines if there's no applause exactly like let's say you were this martian that we've heard that the undecided voter and you just for the first time what do you think really came through the essence of each of these well i think we were denied that al gore knows a lot of that i think we also were in the george bush those enough i think we were a lot about the contrasting philosophies alone neither man probably would identify himself as being deeply philosophical i think tonight will be remembered as

much for what did not happen and i agree with all my columns for the better i mean every four years candidates and their handlers live in bread of what i call the cliff it's that one terrible moment when someone screwed up our core gets off a great one liner and it's repeated over and over again and it distorts the rest of the ninety minutes and we didn't have that tonight i think i also read mike deaver i think one of the interesting things that bush did very well they think they're on to something that people in a bipartisan way a dissatisfied with the political culture in washington as a very skillful way of implicitly running against the clinton years without making it a quote character issue he kept saying i'm from texas and not the washington crowd of washington math and fuzzy math example one thing that that was the only time working now on the ball when bush did make a few a lot of calculating invented the

calculator there's a few days in northern know the comedy clips that was just there and clearly bore was much more problematic not respond well so it separate for a fully we did not hear the name of bill clinton president for two terms president over al gore the second president has to be impeached also the president presided over the best economy in history it's amazing to go through ninety minutes fighter dies each one of these men had to do was had to lay to rest thought that he wasn't ready for the presidency and boarded ago the credibility issue briefly i mean do you think each man did we had to do probably so i mean i think at least mr bush was able to make his first impression on a lot of people as one who was a serious person and perhaps had worked hard on the debate and had knowledge in his head and didn't somehow wander as we wander blunder as we worried that it might and i think on the other hand for showed a very serious side of himself and a

conviction about the issues when he dealt with something like prescription drugs it was almost a ronald reagan home run in a sense he said you go to your own doctor hugo year old pharmacy and and the medicare is going to pay for that explained it in every day terms that much better than the little story began about the woman with the poodle i hate those stories so that the banks that's the way you have to communicate and he communicated with passion and that's what the credibility issue had to be back out of believe that he believed and what he believed and i think we did so i think in some ways baseball serve themselves well ok and what a comet later this week ikea plant now some final thoughts and backed a syndicated columnist mark shields and wall street journal columnist policy go paul ii walked into this debate expectations were sky high for both guys especially for don't want to be blessed with his expectations met and anyway what i think he he he did show that he could go toe toe with core and if there were any doubts in the minds of voters that he could do that are i think you put those to rest there were not many leaves worst moments frankly were times when he made those so try to give those one liners he

should give that up because he was on was searching for dry to pull him out of his hat so they looked force about what he was doing on the issues he looked competent he looked he looked like he could control the debate and go ahead with the votes to go ahead and with a vice president so i think in that sense it looked like he's up to the job and it was one of the test see happening mark that they do like that little story the post ari left me quite cold and i couldn't agree more with that with doris and to return and our says analogy about hitting home runs i find both of them whoa huge question about crisis that bush's answer was totally and i love hugging somebody and i didn't think i thought that was a natural fit gordon talk about us vice president i am and he didn't and also in government intervention in spite of that they've got a question of george bush's philosophy i don't think either one of gave advance that was particularly interesting to fresh air or are appealing i just have to say you know bill clinton

was an agent and it was the big winner today any bill clinton who were these two guys were in six months from now it will be shaken to say you know unless they get to market so you know uses news footage and knowledge people eat anything that mark's daily apple may be a lesson in the next day we think this leads us to the next to the barracks well i think you know i didn't have smaller audiences no question about it for the for the future debates but this was the big one the bush had to pass a test and i think i think you will see more the same than the bush what one thing a bushel we'll try to do next time that he didn't do as well this time is to make the case for change i think i am more forcefully that he did tonight on on the economy and some other issues about that mark i think that i think we will see upping the ante in the next one i think the day al gore has to come back

i think that did george bush did meet that threshold tonight and i think that what a boy has to do that no point to the nsa this is as george bush made the case about the seven years of mri this deadlock in and said newt gingrich's name once so i'm going to leave it there on that an interesting observation will see online everyone and again tomorrow evening on the news are will also be here thursday evening to bring a complete coverage of the vice presidential debate in danville kentucky and when i pull thanks for being with us and good night modern practices some of those that are this

program was also made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you thank you ms bier yes nice head fb