The gloves come off in first debate

Alex Coolman

Like sweaty spectators at a boxing match, Newport-Mesa residents are

gearing up for the slugfest of tonight’s first presidential debate.

Some political watchers are eager. Others are worried. And some are

angry that nobody but Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore gets

to step in the ring.

All of them will be tuning in to see what, if anything, the candidates

have to offer.

Tom Fuentes, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, says he’s

optimistic about Bush’s chances in the debate, arguing that the candidate

hasn’t yet had a chance to show voters his real self.

“The media has been a filter up to this point, not allowing the

candidates’ humanity to shine through,” Fuentes said. “It’s a moment of

opportunity to demythologize the screen the media has so far created.”

Across the ring, Jeanne Costales, chairperson of the Orange County

Democrats, emphasized Gore’s stances on issues that she feels people here

care about: education and prescription drug plans.

Bush’s “warm” personality has left Costales cold.

“As a woman, I’d just like to slap his face. He has that smart-alecky

thing that just drives me crazy.”

If Bush is smart-alecky, it’s Gore who is expected to make the bigger

show of barbed intelligence in this debate.

Mark Petracca, chairman of UC Irvine’s political science department,

pointed out that Gore’s famously brainy approach to debates could work

against him. Just one good line from Bush, he argued, could be enough to

tip the balance.

“What each guy has to avoid doing is saying anything that gives the

other guy an opportunity to use a one-liner that becomes tomorrow’s

headline,” Petracca said.

Given that the candidates have to worry about sound-bite politics,

Petracca said, he isn’t overly optimistic about seeing a highly

intellectual debate.

“The Bush handlers have done a great job of lowering the bar” of

people’s expectations, he said. “George W. just has to make sure he

doesn’t drool on himself. He can drool, and he can drool on the podium,

but he can’t drool on himself.”

Other political watchers argued that the very structure of the

two-party debate is to blame for its likely lack of depth.

“What the American people are going to hear,” said Doug Scribner, vice

chairman of the Libertarian Party of Orange County, “is the same two

ideas with slightly different rhetoric.”

Scribner pointed out, for example, that America’s policy on drugs,

which Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne argues is a

disaster, will probably not be discussed at all because third-party

candidates are excluded from the debate.

But David Nolan, United States Libertarian Party founder and a

candidate for the 47th Congressional District seat held by Rep.

Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), said he thinks third parties are

rising in the public’s awareness -- due at least in part to the

availability of information on the Internet.

“I think this is the last presidential election in which the two major

parties will be able to successfully pretend that there are no other

alternatives,” he said.

FYI

The debate, which will be aired on each of the major television

networks, begins at 6 p.m. and is scheduled to last 90 minutes.