Gore, Bradley meet in first debate of Democratic presidential race

Ron Fournier

Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999 | 9:15 a.m.

HANOVER, N.H. - In the first debate of the Democratic presidential race, Al Gore sought to stem his decline in the polls by attacking rival Bill Bradley's health care and spending plans. Bradley said today that he wouldn't waste his time "making negative attacks."

Campaigning this morning in Nashua, Bradley said Wednesday night's debate gave both candidates an opportunity to express their views, and that he felt good about it.

"People want a positive vision from the person who will be their next president," he said. "You save your strength for the positive vision. You don't waste all that simply making negative attacks."

The closest that Bradley came in lashing out at the debate was in response to the vice president's criticism of his health care plan.

"The numbers have to add up," said Gore, who was folksy and playful at the audience while jabbing at Bradley.

Bradley said they did. "We each have our own experts," the former New Jersey senator replied. "I dispute the cost figure that Al has used."

It was an audience member who pressed Gore about President Clinton's personal behavior. Gore said he shared the public's disappointment and anger over the Monica Lewinsky affair and sought to provide "as much continuity and stability" as possible during the impeachment crisis.

"He's my friend," Gore said of Clinton.

Another crowd member probed a soft spot of Bradley's, asking about Gore's criticism of his Senate retirement in 1996 after Republicans had taken control of Congress.

"The things I wanted to do I couldn't do in the Senate," Bradley said, referring to stops at Stanford, in the private sector and at Notre Dame. In a gentle dig at Gore, who has been in government continuously since 1976, Bradley said that by leaving office he had been able to "encounter people where they live their lives."

Gore and Bradley sat on stools or strolled the stage in a Dartmouth College auditorium for the 60-minute debate co-sponsored by CNN and WMUR-TV. The first primary election ballots of the 2000 campaign will be cast in New Hampshire on Feb. 1, and polls show Bradley with a slight lead, having overcome Gore's enormous early advantage.

Five Republican presidential candidates - absent front-runner George W. Bush - meet for their second debate tonight at the same site. Bush, a two-term Texas governor, does not plan to debate them until a Dec. 2 meeting in Manchester, N.H.

In the Democratic standoff, Gore sought to take the offensive 15 minutes before the television cameras were switched on. On stage for introductions, Gore turned to the audience and said: "Why don't you start asking some question while we're waiting?"

So they did.

And after the debate ended, Gore hung around for 90 minutes, taking questions while Bradley was long gone.

In other highlights:

-The two rivals pledged support for an overhaul of campaign finance laws to reduce the role of money in politics.

-Gore said his biggest mistake was "my choice of words when I claimed to have taken the lead in the Congress for inventing the Internet" - a comment that has earned him ridicule from Republicans and stand-up comics alike.

-Bradley spoke emphatically about his support for gay rights. "I support gays being able to serve openly in the military. If gays can serve openly in the White House, in Congress, in the courts, in the Treasury Department ... why can't they serve in the military?" he asked.

When Gore got a similar question, he said Bradley's answer had been eloquent, then followed by saying he supports legal protection for same-sex domestic partnerships, but "not the same sacrament, not the same name," as marriage.

The debate rules weren't designed for the two men to address one another directly. Gore, however, found ways to press Bradley - particularly on his proposal to provide universal health care coverage.

Gore cited a study - which Bradley disputed - claiming the ex-senator's plan would cost $1.2 trillion. "That's more than the entire surplus over the next 10 years," the vice president said.

He conceded that Bradley's plan would give health insurance to "a few more people" than his own plan, but he said the price was too high. "You're going to shred the social safety net," Gore said. "I think the cost is way excessive."

He said his more limited approach would cost $146 billion over 10 years, while providing insurance for all children. Bradley said the next president should not settle for less than full coverage for all Americans.

"It's a big problem," he said, "and it needs a big solution."

The topic illustrates the difference between Gore and Bradley on a host of issues. The vice president says he is offering practical, affordable solutions to the nation's ills. Bradley is setting higher, more expensive goals on everything from poverty to racial strife.

The dynamic puts Bradley to the left of Gore on many issues, though the vice president is the favorite among party regulars - many of whom are considered liberal.