Stream or ondemand at cspan. Org or listen on the cspan radio app. Your place for an unfiltered view of politics. In 1988, republican Vice President ial candidate dan quayle and candidate Lloyd Bentsen debated while a panelist asked questions of the candidates. Good evening. Im pleased to welcome you to this Vice President ial debate. Im Judy Woodruff of pbss newshour and front line. My colleagues on the panel are john margoules of the chicago tribune, tom brokaw of nbc news and britt hume of abc news. Both george bush and Michael Dukakis said their selections of a running mate would reveal a lot about themselves. And based on the history since world war ii, there is almost a 50 50 chance that one of the two men here tonight will become president of the United States. The candidates are senator dan quayle, the republican nominee, and senator Lloyd Bentsen, the democratic nominee. [ cheers and applause ] for the next 90 minutes, we will be questioning the candidates, following a format designed and agreed to by representatives of the two campaigns. However, there are no restrictions on the questions that my colleagues and i may ask this evening. By prior agreement between the two candidates, the first question goes to senator quayle. And you have two minutes to respond. Senator, you have been criticized, as we all know, for your decision to stay out of the vietnam war, for your poor academic record, but more troubling to some are some of the comments made by people in your own party. Just last week, former secretary of state hague said your pick was the dumbest call george bush could have made. [ cheers and applause ] your leader in the senate, bob dole, said a Better Qualified person could have been chosen. Other republicans have been far more critical in private. Why do you think that you have not made a more substantial impression on some of these people who have been able to observe you up close . The question goes to whether im qualified to be Vice President and, in the case of a tragedy, whether im qualified to be president. Qualifications for the office of Vice President and president are not age alone. You must look at accomplishments and you must look at experience. I have more experience than others that have sought the office of Vice President. Now lets look at qualifications and lets look at the three biggest issues that are going to be confronting america in the next presidency. Those three issues are National Security and arms control, jobs and education and the federal budget deficit. On each one of those issues, i have more experience than does the governor of massachusetts. And National Security and arms control, you have to understand the relationship between a ballistic missile, a warhead, what throw weight what mega tonnage is. You better understand about telemetropolitanry and encryption and you better understand you must negotiate from a position of strength. We want to have more arms control and arms reductions. In the area of jobs and education, i wrote the Job Training Partnership act. A bipartisan bill, a bill that is trained and employed over 3 million economically disadvantaged youth and adults in this country. On the area of federal budget deficit i have worked eight years on the Senate Budget committee. And i Wish Congress would give us the line item veto to help deal with that. Qualifications alone are going to be the issue in this campa n campaign, george bush has more qualifications than Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen combined. [ cheers and applause ] im going to interrupt at this point and ask once again that the audience please keep your responses as quiet as possible. We know that many of you here are for one candidate or another, but you are simply taking time away from your candidate and more likely than not, youll be causing the partisans for the other candidate to react again when their candidate speaks. So, please. Senator bentsen, you have one minute to respond. This debate tonight is not about the qualifications for the vice presidency. The debate is whether or not dan quayle and Lloyd Bentsen are qualified to be president of the United States, because, judy, just as you have said, thats happened too often in the past f that tragedy should occur, we have to step in there without any margin for error, without time for preparation to take over the responsibility for the biggest job in the world. To take over the awesome responsibility for commanding the Nuclear Weaponry that this country has. The debate tonight is a debate about the presidency itself. And a president ial decision that has to be made by you. The stakes could not be higher. Senator bentsen, a question for you. You also have two minutes to respond. What bothers people is not soechl your qualifications but split on policy with governor dukakis. He has said that he does not want a clone of himself but you disagree with him on major issues, aid to the nicaraguan contras. Whose agenda would you pursue, yours or his . Im delighted to respond to that question, because we agree on so many things, and the vast majority of the issues. We agree on the fact that we have to cut this deficit. And governor dukakis has been able to cut that deficit ten budgets in a row in the state of massachusetts while he lowered the tax burden on their people from one of the highest to one of the lower in the United States. That is a major sense of achievement. I admire that. Im just delighted to be on the ticket with him. Governor dukakis and i agree we ought to have a trade policy for this country, that weve seen this administration more than double the national debt, that they move this had country from the number one lender nation to the number one debtor nation in the world under their administration, that theyve not had a trade policy. That theyve let trade be a handmaiden for other Foreign Policy objectives of the country. That this country has exported too many jobs and not enough products. And as i work to pass a trade bill through the United States senate, they threw roadblocks in the way every step of the way. But we passed a trade bill that has this premise. That any country that has full access to our markets, were entitled to full access to their markets. Now that means were going to stand tough for america and were going to protect those jobs and were going to push American Products and were going to open up markets around the world. Well show leadership in that respect. And turn this deficit and trade around. Thats the sort of thing that Michael Dukakis and i will do to bring about a better america for all of our people. Senator quayle, a minute to respond . Senator bentsen didnt tell you very much about what governor dukakis will do. One of the most liberal governors in the United States of america, one thing he tried to point out about governor dukakis is he has cut taxes. The fact of the matter, senator bentsen, he raised taxes five times, including this last year. Thats why a lot of people refer to him as tax hike mike. Thats why they refer to the state of massachusetts as taxachussetts. The liberal governor from massachusetts raises taxes. I dont blame senator bentsen for not talking about governor mike dukakis. If i had to defend the liberal policies of governor mike dukakis, i wouldnt talk about it either. John margoulis, a question for senator bentsen. Youve claimed that president bush will raise but chairman of the finance committee you must know theres something to the argument of your fellow democrat bob strauss, that a decision to tax most Social Security benefits as regular income. You once voted for and spoke for a sixth month delay for Social Security. Senator, arent you and governor dukakis using this issue politically . I hate to contradict my good friend bob strauss but Social Security is an issue senator quayle voted eight times to cut benefits on Social Security. Where this administration came in and tried to cut the benefits, minimum benefits of 122 a month for widows, retirees, for 62yearold retirees by 40 . Tried to do an end run when they first came in after promising not to cut it, by cutting it by some 20 billion. While we were working together to reform the Social Security system and to be certain that that money would be there when people retired that the time they tried a 40 billion end run to cut Social Security. The record is clear, and we saw Vice President bush fly back from the west coast to break a tie in the United States senate. He doesnt get to vote very often in the senate, but he made a special trip to come back and vote against a cost of living increase. When you talk about Social Security, the people that are going to protect it are the democrats that brought forth that program and i think its very important we not see these kinds of end runs by this administrati administration. They talk about the fact that theyre going to continue to cut this budget, i know too well what their track record is. And we should be concerned about that kind of an effort once again after the election is over. Senator quayle, your response . Senator bentsen, you know i did not vote eight times to cut Social Security benefits. Voted to delay the cost of living adjustments. Governor of massachusetts at a governors conference support aid resolution to delay the cost of living adjustment. And john, youre right. They use this for political advantage, but they try to do time and time again is to scare the old people of this country. Thats the politics of the past. In 1983, republicans and democrats drop their political swords and in a bipartisan effort save the Social Security system. Republicans and democrats banded together because we know that this program is not a republican program. Its not a democrat program. Its a program for older americans. John, a question for senator quayle . Since coming to the senate, you have voted against Environmental Protection legislation about twothirds of the time. These include votes against pesticide controls, toxic waste super funds and health and safety protection from nuclear waste. Senator, do you consider yourself an environmentalist . If you do, how do you reconcile that with your voting record . I have a very strong record in the United States senate. I have a record where i voted for legislation. I have a record where i voted against my president on the override of the clean water act. Ive voted for major pieces of environmental legislation that have come down and voted on the United States senate. This administration, and i support this administration, and its environmental efforts, has moved in the area of the first time to deal with the ozone problem. We now have an international treaty, a treaty commonly referred to as the montreal treaty. For the first time were talking about the impact co2, the ozone lay layer. Thats progress for the environment. We are committed to the environment. I take my children hiking, fishing, walking in the woods in the wilderness. Believe me, we have a commitment to preserving the environment. Bring up the environment authors, Democratic Party of clean air, clean water, of the super fund. Im one who maplay aid very maj role in passing super fund legislation. Every major one has now enjoyed Dukakis Bentsen ticket and i have just received the environmental award in texas. The work ive done to clean up the bays, the water in texas. I think we know well who will help clean up this environment. The record is there. The history is there. And dukakis and bentsen will be committed to that. Tom brokaw, question for senator quayle. Thank you, judy. Senator quayle, theres been a lot of talk during the course of this campaign about family, principle theme, as i recall, at your acceptance speech in new orleans. I would like to ask you about the 65 million American Children who live with their families in poverty. I would like for to you describe to the audience the last time you may have visited with one of those families personally, and how you explain to that family your votes against the School Breakfast program, School Lunch Program and the expansion of the child immunization program. [ applause ] i have met with those people. I met with them at a food bank in ft. Wayne, indiana. You may be surprised, tom, they didnt ask me questions about those votes because they were glad i took time out of my schedule to go down, to talk about how were going to get a food bank going, and to make sure we have a food bank in ft. Wayne, indiana. I have a strong record to the poor, to those who dont have a family, twoont have a family. This administration and a George Bush Administration will be committed to eradicating poverty. Poverty hasnt gone up in this administration. It hasnt gone done much either, so that means we have a challenge ahead of us. Let me tell you something, what we have done for the poor. What we have done for the poor is we, in fact, passed the mckinney act that deals with homeless. Congress has cut the funding that the administration recommended. The biggest thing weve done is tax simple lisks act of 1986. 6 million working poor families got off payroll. 6 Million People are off the taxpaying payrolls because of that tax reform and theyre keeping the tax money there. To help the poor, well have a commitment to the programs and those program also go on. We are spending more in poverty programs today than we were in 1981. That is a fact. Poverty program were going to concentrate on is creating jobs and opportunities so that everyone will have the opportunities that they want. Senator bentsen, your response . I find that very interesting. Because he has been of no help at all when it comes to passing the most major wealth ever formed in the history of our country, one where we are working very hard to see that people can get off welfare, break that cycle, take a step up in life. Doing the kinds of things we did there to help them have medicaid for a year. Thats the positive thing its done. What also frustrates me with the kind of report i just heard here were the kind of votes we just cast against child nutrition programs. The fact that he has voted against money we needed for further immunizations, the denial of polio shots to kids where the parents couldnt afford to get that kind of a shot. I dont really believe that is identifying with the concerns of people in poverty. Tom, a question for senator bentsen . I would like to take you back to the question that judy asked you about, your differences with Michael Dukakas on contra aid. That is one of the cutting issues of Foreign Policy in this country the last eight years. And you is Michael Dukakis appear to be diametrically opposed to that. You made one of the most passionate speeches on behalf of contra aid. You allude to the fact that the santa nista regime could pose to your own state of texas. Governor dukakis on the other hand has described contra aid as immoral and illegal. Is he wrong . Governor dukakis and i have disagreed on the contra program, no question about that. But my big difference with this administration is they look at the contra aid program as the only way to resolve that problem. They concentrate on that. And i really think we have to give peace a chance. Thats why ive been a strong supporter of the adios plan that won the nobel prize for president adios, the president of costarica. To try to bring about the democraticization of nicaragua by pressure, by counseling, by diplomatic pressure we ought to be trying that first. By concentrating so much just on the contras, this administration has not paid enough attention to the rest of central america. The concern i have is that we have a country with 85 Million People sharing a 2,000mile border with us, with half of those people under the age of 15. A country that has its standard of living cut 50 in the last six years. Now we ought to be concerned about that. We ought to be involved. I was born and reared on that mexican border. I speak their language. I spent a good part of my life down there. Governor dukakis spooe speaks spanish, too. He spent a good deal of time in central and south america. We believe we ought to be working together with a new alliance for progress, bringing in other countries to help. Bring in europeans, the spanish, who have a real afanity for that area. Bringing in the japanese, a great capital circlist and looking for places to invest it. Those are the positive things i think we could do, to bring about peace in that area. To help raise that standard of living and give them the kind of stability where democracy and perceive and can prosper and bloom. Those are the kinds of things that we would be committed to in a dukakisbentsen administration to try to make this world a better place in which to live. Senator quayle, your response . Theres no doubt in a Dukakis Administration that the aid would be cut off to the democratic resistance in nicaragua. That is unfortunate. The reason its unfortunate, is because its beyond me why its okay for the soviet union to put in billions of dollars to prop up the communist santanistas but somehow its wrong for the United States to give a few dollars to the democratic resistance. The monroe doctrine, something that the governor of massachusetts has said has been superseded. I doubt Many Americans agree with that. I think they believe in the monroe doctrine. Senator bentsen talked about the entire central america. Another issue that Michael Dukakis is wrong on in central america, and thats grenada. He criticized our rescue mission, yet 85 of the American People supported our rescue mission. And we turned a communist country into a noncommunist country. The governor of massachusetts is simply out of step with mainstream america. Britt hume, a question for senator bentsen. Good evening, senator bentsen, senator quayle. Im a cleanup man in this panel. I have a followup question for you, senator quayle. Senator bentsen, i want to ask you about governor dukakis has tried to make ethics a major issue in the campaign. He has you as a running mate, a man who leads the league, at last count, in the receipt of pac money, that being the money raised by the special interest organizations. That is a kind of campaign financing, which governor dukakis finds so distasteful that he has refused to accept any of that. Do you find that embarrassing, senator . No, not at all. You have to remember that pac money is the result of the last Campaign Reform bill, one that talks about employees having greater participation. And what ive done in pac money is just what my opponent and my campaign has done in his campaign. He has been raising pac money too. What you have to do is comply with the laws as they are, whether youre paying taxes or youre playing a football game. Whether you like those laws or not, you comply with them. Now, i have been for Campaign Reform and have pushed it very hard. I believe we have to do some things in that regard. But ive noticed that the senator from indiana has opposed that Campaign Reform and voted repeatedly against it. The things we have to do, i believe, that will cut back on soft money, for example, which i look on as, frankly, one of those things that weve had to do because the republicans have done it for so long. I think its lootful, frankly. But Campaign Reform, changing the rules of the game is something we tried repeatedly in this session of the congress, but only to have the republicans lead the charge against this and defeat us. And i wish that senator quayle would change his mind on that particular piece of legislation and give us the kind of Campaign Reform law that i think is needed in america. Senator quayle, your response . Senator bentsen is the number one pac raiser. Matter of fact, he used to have a 10,000 Breakfast Club. 10,000 Breakfast Club. That it only cost highpaid lobbyists, special interests in washington to come down and have breakfast with the chairman of the Senate Finance committee, the one that oversees all the tax loopholes in the tax code 10,000. Im sure they werent paying to have cornflakes. What ill tell you the kind of Campaign Reform im supporting, senator bentsen, i think its time we get rid of pac money. Support our legislation where we totally eliminate contributions by special interests and Political Action committees and lets have the individual contribute and the Political Parties contribute. Thats the kind of Campaign Reform that republicans are for. They want to get rid of the special interest money and rely on the individuals, and also the Political Parties. Brit, your question for senator quayle . Once again, let me caution the audience, please, keep your reactions as quiet as possible. Brit . I want to take you back, if i can, to the question judy asked you about some of the apprehensions people may feel about you being a heartbeat away from the presidency. Let us assume, if we can, for the sake of this question, that you become Vice President and the president is incapacitated for one reason or another, and you have to take the reins of power. When that moment came, what would be the first steps you take and why . First, i would say a prayer for myself and for the country that im about to lead. And then i would assemble his people and talk. And i think this question keeps going back to qualifications and what kind of Vice President and in this hypothetical situation, if i had to assume responsibilities of president , what i would be. And as i have said, age alone although i can tell you, after the experience of these last few weeks in the campaign, ive added ten years to my age. Age alone is not the only qualification. Youve got to look at experience. And youve got to look at accomplishments. Can you make a difference . Have i made a difference in the United States senate where ive served for eight years . Yes, i have. Have i made a difference in the congress that ive served for 12 years . Yes, i have. As i said before, looking at the issue of qualifistics, and i am delighted that it comes up. Because on the three most important challenges facing america, arms control and National Security, jobs and education, and budget deficit i have more experience and accomplishments than does the governor of massachusetts. I have been in the congress and ive worked on these issues. And, believe me, when you look at arms control and trying to deal with the soviet union, you cannot come at it from a naive position. You have to understand the soviet union. You have to understand how they will respond. Sitting on that Senate Arms Services committee for eight years has given me the experience to deal with the soviet union and how we can move forward. That is just one of the troubling issues thats going to be facing this nation, and im prepared. Senator bentsen . Well, i cant leave something on the table that he has charged me with. So, lets get to that one. When you talk about the Breakfast Club, as you know, that was perfectly legal. And i formed it, and a closed it down almost immediately because i thought the perception was bad. [ laughter ] but its the same law, its the same law that let you invite highpriced lobbyists down to williamsburg and bring them down there and entertain them playing golf, playing tennis and bringing republican senators down there to have exchange for that contributions to their campaign. Its the same kind of law that lets you have honoraryams. You can spend it on anything you want to. You can spend it on Golf Club Dues if you want to do that. Now thats what ive seen you do in this administration, and thats why we need Campaign Reform laws and why i support them and you, in turn, have voted against them time and time again. John margoulis, question for senator quayle. Senator quayle, in recent years the Reagan Administration has scaled back the activities of the Occupational Safety and health administration, prompted in part by Vice President bushs tax force on regulatory relief. The budget for the agency has been cut by 20 and the number of inspection at manufacturing plants has been reduced by 33 . This has had a special effect in this area where many people work in the meat packing industry which has a far higher rate of serious injuries than almost any other injury, a rate which appears to have been rising, although were not really sure. Some of the Largest Companies have allegedly been falsifying the reports. Would you acknowledge to the hundreds of injured and maimed people in nebraska and elsewhere in the midwest that in this case deregulation may have gone too far and the government should reassert itself in protecting workers rights . The premise of your question, john, is that somehow this administration has been lax in enforcement of osha regulations. I disagree with that. Ill tell you why. If you want to ask some Business People that i talk to periodically, they complain about tough enforcement of this administration. Furthermore, let me tell you this for the record. When we have found violations in this administration, there has not only been tough enforcement, but there have been the most severe penalties, the largest penalties in the history of the department of labor have been levied when these violations have been found. There is a commitment and there will always be a commitment. The safety of our working men and women. They deserve it and were committed to them. Now the broader question goes to the whole issue of deregulation and has deregulation worked or has deregulation not worked . In my judgment, deregulation has worked. We have a deregulated economy and we have produced, through low taxes, not high taxes, through deregulation the spirit of entrepreneurship, the individual going out and starting a business, the businessman or woman willing to go out and risk their investments to start up a business and hire people. We have produced 17 million jobs in this country since 1982. Deregulation is a form of political philosophy is a good philosophy. Its one that our opponents disagree with. They want a centralized government. We believe in the market. We believe in the people and, yes, theres a role of government. And the role of government is to make sure that those safety and the health and welfare of the people is taken care of. And well continue to do that. Senator bentsen . I think you see, once again, a piece of democratic legislation thats been passed to try to protect the working men and women of america. And then youve seen the administration that came in and really didnt have its heart in that kind of an enforcement. Good example of that is the Environmental Protection laws we were talking about a moment ago. This administration came in and put in a james lott and gorsuch. Thats the bonnie and clyde of Environmental Protection. Thats why its important you have people who truly believe and trying to represent the working men and women of america. Most employers do a good job of that. Some of them put their profits before people. And thats why you have to have osha. And thats why you have to have tough and good and fair enforcement of it. And thats what a Democratic Administration would do, to help make this working place a safer and a better place to be employed. John margoulis, another question for senator bentsen. Since youve been in the senate, the government has spent increasing amounts of money in an effort to protect the family farmer but most of the subsidies seem to go do go to the largest farmers when its the smallest farmers often forced to sell out. Despite the fact that i believe you, sir, are a rather large farmer yourself, do you believe its time to uncouple the subsidy formula from the amount of land a farmer has and target money to the small and mediumsized farmer . Well, ive supported that. I voted for the 50,000 limitation, to get way from the Million Dollar contributions to farmers. And of the four that are on this ticket, im the only one that was born and reared on a farm and still involved in farming. So i think i understand their concerns and their problems. I feel very strongly that we ought to be doing more for the American Farmer and what weve seen in this administration is neglect of that farm. Weve seen them drive 225,000 farmers off the farm. They seem to think the answer is move them to town. But we ought not to be doing that. What youve seen them do is cut farm assistance for the rural areas by over 50 . Were seeing rural hospitals close across the country because of this kind of administration. Weve seen an administration that has lost much of our market abroad because theyve not had a trade policy. We saw our market loss by some 40 , and thats one of the reasons that weve seen the cost of the farm program, which was only about 2. 5 billion, when they took office, now go to about 25 billion. Now, we can bring that kind of a cost down and get more to market prices if well have a good trade policy. I was, in january, visiting with the new Prime Minister of japan. I said youre paying five times as much for beef as we pay for in our country. Its six times as much for rice. You have a 60 billion trade surplus with us. You could improve the standard of living of your people. Youre spending 27 of your disposable income on food. We spend 14 or 15 . When you have that kind of a barrier up against us, thats not free and fair trade. And we dont believe that should continue. We would be pushing very hard to open up those markets and stand up for the American Farmer and see that we recapture those foreign markets. I believe we can do it with a Dukakis Bentsen administration. Senator quayle . Senator bentsen talks about recapturing the foreign markets. One way we wont recapture the foreign markets is if we have another jimmy carter green embargo. [ audience reaction ] it set the farmer back. Farmers are interested in net farm income. Interest rates 1 billion out of every farmers pocket, another billion dollars net interest inflation. Supply management that the democratic platform talks about, the governor of ms. Went to the farmers in the midwest and told them not to grow corn or soy beans but to grow belgium endive. Thats what he and his harvard buddies think of the American Farmer. Grow belgium endive. To come in and tell our farmers not to grow corn, not to grow soy beans. Thats the kind of farm policy youll get under a Dukakis Administration and one that i think the American Farmer will rightly reject. Senator bentsen, you were a businessman before you entered the senate. Lower Interest Rates, lower unemployment, lower inflation, arms control deal with the soviet union. Now two guys come through your door at your business and say we would like you to change, without offering a lot of specifics. Why would you accept their deal . You know, if you let me write 200 billion worth of hot checks every year, i can give you an illusion of prosperity, too. [ cheers and applause ] this is an administration that has more than doubled the national debt. And theyve done that in less than eight years. They have taken this country from the number one lender nation in the world to the number one debtor nation in the world. And the interest on that debt next year, on this reagan bush debt of our nation is going to be 640 for every man, woman and child in america, because of this kind of a credit card mentality. So we go out and try to sell our securities every week and hope that the foreigners will buy them. And they do buy them. But every time they do, we lose some of our economic independence for the future. Now they turn around and bought 10 of the Manufacturing Base of this country. They bought 20 of the banks. They own 46 of the commercial real estate in los angeles. Theyre buying america on the cheap. Now when we have other countries that cant manage their economy down in central and south america, we send down the american ambassador. We send down the International Monetary fund and we tell them what they can buy and what they can sell and how to run their economies. The ultimate irony would be to have that happen to us, because foreigners finally quit buying our securities. So what we need in this country is someone like mike dukakis, who gave ten balanced budgets in a row there, and was able to do that, meet that kind of a commitment, set those type of priority priorities. We need an administration that will turn the trade policy around and open up those markets, stand tough to help keep the jobs at home and send the products abroad. Senator quayle . Senator bentsen talks about running up the debt. The governor of massachusetts has run up more debt than all the governors in the history of massachusetts combined. Going back to the days of the pilgrims. I dont believe that thats the kind of policy that we want. The question went to the heart of the matter, tom. You asked the question that why would we change . Well, we have changed since 1980. Weve got Interest Rates down. We got inflation down. People are working again. America is held in respect once again around the world. But were going to build on that change. And as we made those positive change of lower Interest Rates, lower rate of inflation, the governor of massachusetts fought us every step of the way. We are proud of the record of accomplishment and the opportunities and the hope for millions of americans, hope and opportunity of these americans is because of the policies that we have had for the last eight years and we want to build on that and change it for even better. Tom, a question for senator quayle . Senator quayle, as you mentioned here tonight you actively supported the invasion of grenada, to rescue an island from a marxist takeover. If military force was necessary in that endeavor, why not use the military to go after the drug cartels and general noriega since drugs pose a far more general danger to the American People . Youre absolutely right. The drug problem is the number one issue. Would you address the military aspect of it . I will address the military aspect, if i may respond. The military aspect to the drug problem is being addressed. Matter of fact we are using the department of defense in a coordinated effort, reconnaissance. I dont believe were going to turn the department of defense into a police organization. We are using our military assets in a prudent way to deal with interdiction and weve made some success in this area. 70 tons of cocaine have been stopped. But, you know, when you look at the drug problem and it is a tremendous problem, and there are no easy solutions to it. Its a complicated problem. Head i heading up the effort to try to create a drugfree america, which is a challenge and a goal of all of us. Not only will we utilize National Defense but we need to get on the demand side of the ledger. We need to get education. Education ought to begin at home and it ought to be reinforced in our schools. Theres another thing that will be more important than the premise of this question on a hypothetical of using troops, military assets. We will use military assets but we need to focus on another part of this problem, and that problem is law enforcement. Here is where we have a major disagreement with the governor of massachusetts. He is opposed to the Death Penalty for drug kingpins. We believe people convicted of that crime deserve the Death Penalty as does the legislation that is in the congress supported by a bipartisan, including Many Democrats of his par party. He also was opposed to mandatory drug sentencing for drug dealers in the state of massachusetts. You cannot have a war on drugs. You cannot be tough on drugs and weak on crime. Senator bentsen . Its interesting to see that the senator from indiana, when we had a resolution on the floor of the United States senator sponsored by senator dole, that this government would make no deal with noriega, that the senator frindiana was one of the dozen senators that voted against it. Its also interesting to see that one of his Campaign Managers is trying to help him with his image, was also hired by noriega, to help him with his image in panama. What we have seen under this administration, we have seen them using eight cabinet officers, 28 different agencies, all fighting over turf. Thats one thing we correct under the Dukakis Bentsen administration. We put one person in charge in the war against drugs and we would commit the resources to get that job done. Mike dukakis has been able to do that type of thing in the state of massachusetts by cutting drug use in the high schools while its going up around the rest of the country. By putting in a drug Educational Program that the Drug Enforcement agency said was a model for the country. We would be doing that around the rest of the country. Thats a positive attack against drugs. Brit hume, a question for senator quayle . Sir, i want to take you back to the question i asked you earlier, about what would happen if you were to take over in an emergency and what you would do first and why. You said something about a prayer and a meeting. What would you do next . I dont believe that its proper for me to get into the specifics of a hypothetical situation like that. The situation is that if i was called upon to serve as the president of this country, or the responsibilities of the president of this country, would i be capable and qualified to do that . And i have tried to list the qualifications of 12 years in the United States congress. I have served in the congress for 12 years. I have served in the congress and served eight years on the Senate Armed Services committee. I have traveled a number of times. Ive been to geneva many times to meet with our negotiators as we were hammering out the inf treaty. Ive met with the western political leaders, margaret thatcher, chancellor cole. I know them. They know me. I know what it takes to lead this country forward. And if that situation arises, yes, i will be prepared and ill be prepared to lead this country if that happens. Senator bentsen . [ applause ] once again, i think what youre looking at here is someone that can step into the presidency level at the moment if that tragedy would occur. And if thats the case, again you have to look at the maturity of judgment. And you have to look at the breadth of experience. Have you to see what kind of leadership roles that person has played in his life before that crisis struck him. If you do that type of thing then youll arrive at a judgment that i think would be a wise one and i would hope that would mean were going to say were going to vote for mike dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen. Brit, question for senator bentsen . I want to take you back if i can to the celebrated Breakfast Club when it was first revealed you had a plan to have people pay 10,000 to have breakfast with you, you called the whole idea off and were widely plays praized for having handle it deftally. The question i have, if the Washington Post had not broken that story and tell us tonight why we should not believe you would still be having those breck fichakfasts day . Well, i must say that i dont make many mistakes but that was was a real doozy and i agree with that. I immediately disbanded it. It was perfectly legal and you have all kinds of such clubs on the hill and you know that. And, but i still believe that the better way to go is to have a Campaign Reform law that takes care of that kind of a situation, even though its legal, the perception is bad. So i would push very strong to see we reform the entire situation. I would work for that end and thats what my friend from indiana is opposed, repeatedly. Vote after vote. Senator quayle . You disbanded the club, but still got the money. He he is the number one, the number one receiver of Political Action committee money. Senator bentsens talked about reform. Let me tell you about the reform were pushing. Lets eliminate Political Action committees, the special interest money. Theres legislation for the congress to do that. That way we wont have to worry about Breakfast Clubs ho wwhos number one pac raiser, get contributions in working men and women and the individuals are america. We can also strengthen our twoparty system, it needs strengthening and rely more on the Political Parties than we have in the past. Thats the kind of Campaign Reform that im for. And i hope the senator will join me. John margolis, a question for senator bentsen. Senator, weve all, moment america, just finished one of the hottest summers it can remember and parent this year the fifth of the last nine among hottest on record. No one knows but most scientists think that its something human beings are doing, exacerbating this problem and this could in a couple generations threaten our descendants comfort, health perhaps even their existence. As Vice President , what would you urge our government to do to deal with this problem, and specifically as a texan, could you support a substantial reduction in the use of fossil fuels which might be necessary down the road . Well, i think what you can do on that one and which would be very helpful is to use a lot more natural gas, which burns a lot cleaner, and what mike dukakis said hell try to break down the regulatory road blocks you have in the Regulatory Agency that denies much of the passage of that natural gas to the northeast. Where you, in turn, can fight against acid rain, another threat, because its sterilizing our lakes, killing our fish and interesting to me to see and the resume of senator quayle, that he brags on the fact that hes been able to fight the acid rain legislation. I dont think that thats proper objective in trying to clean up this environment. But the greenhouse effect is one that has to be a threat to all of us and we have to look for alternative sources of fuel and ive supported that strongly. Department of energy is one that has cut back substantially on the study of those alternative sources of fuel. We can use other things that will help the farmer. We can convert corn to ethanol and i would push for that strongly. So absolutely. Ill do those things that are necessary to put the environment of our country number one, because if we dont protect that, well destroy the future of our children and we must be committed to trying to clean up the water, cleans the air, and do everything we can not only from a research standpoint, but also in the applied legislation to see that thats carried out. Senator quayle . Vice president george bush said that he will take on the environmental problem. He has said further that he will deal with the as it rain legislation and reduce millions of tons of the so2 content. That legislation wont get through the congress this year, but it will get through in a George Bush Administration. A George Bush Administration that is committed to the environment. Now, the greenhouse effect is an important environmental issue. It is important for us to get the data in, to see what alternatives we might have to the fossil fuels, and make sure that we know what were doing, and there are some explorations and things that we can consider in this area. The drought highlighted the problem that we have and, therefore, we need to get on with it and in a George Bush Administration, you can bet that we will. John a question for senator quayle. Senator, as Vice President your most important contribution the advice you gave the president. One of the most troubling facts that face the administration, the United States is the Worlds Largest debtor nation. 1987 foreigners underwrote our debts to the tune of 138 billion. Last week a top official of the Japanese Economic Planning Agency bragged that japan now is in a position to influence the value of the dollar of our Interest Rates and even our stock prices and he warned one day maybe theyd do just that. If you were Vice President of the United States and japan did that what would you tell the president to do . When you look at dealing with this total problem, not just with the japanese but the underlying question on this total world debt problem, you have got to see why are we a debtor and what is attracting the for eign investment into ou country today, whether its japanese or others. I would rather have people come over here and to make investments in this country rather than going elsewhere. Because by coming over here and making investments in this country, we are seeing jobs. Do you realize that today we are producing hondas an exporting hondas to japan . We are the envy of the world. The United States some of senator bentsens supporters laugh at that, because they dont believe that the United States of america is the envy of the world. Well, i can tell you, the American People think the United States of america is the envy of the world. [ cheers and applause ] senator bentsen im sorry. Go ahead. We are the greatest nation in this world and the greatest economic power. Now, theres been some talk in congress about forgiveness of debt. Forgiveness of debt is wrong. Forgiveness of International Debt would be counterproductive. And id like to see those that talk about forgiving debt, senator bentsen, go out and talk about the farmer thats in debt that doesnt have his forgiven. Thats not the kind of policy george bush will have. Senator bentsen . Ive told you what id do about trade and trying to help turn that situation around. But what we also should do is get them to give us more burden sharing when it comes to National Defense. We have a situation today where on a per capita basis people in western europe are spending about onethird as much as we are in our country. Go japan were sending 6. 5 on defense of democracies theyre spending 1 . I met with some of the Japanese Business leaders talking with them about it and said, you know, we have 50,000 troops here in japan. Protecting the democracies of asia, and it costs 3. 5 billion a year. Youre the number two economic power in the world. You ought to measure up to that responsibility and carry some of that cost. I said, if we were not doing what were doing, wed have a big budget surplus, and i said youd have chaos, because you get 55 of your oil from the persian gulf and wouldnt have the u. S. Navy down there to take care of that. Now, the senator from indiana when we passed a resolution in the United States senate to ask for burden sharing on that cost to keep those sea lanes open from the japanese, he voted against that. I dont understand that. Tom brokaw, a question for senator quayle . Senator quayle, i dont mean to beat this drum until theres no sound left on it. Following up on brett humes question, hypothetical situation it is, sir, the reason were here after all is because youre running as the United States Vice President. Surely you must have a plan in mind about what you would do if it fell to you to become president of the United States as it has to so many vicepresident s just in the last 259 years or so. Let me try to answer the question one more time. I think this is the fourth time that ive had this question. Third time. Three times. Ive had this question and ill try to answer it again for you, as clearly as i can. Because the question youre asking is, what kind of qualifications does dan quayle have to be president . What kind of qualifications do i have and what would i do in this kind of a situation . And what would i do in this situation . I would make sure that the people in the cabinet and the people that are advisers to the president are called in, ill talk to them and ill work with them and i will know them on a firsthand basis, because as Vice President , ill sit on the National Security council. And ill know them on a firsthand basis, because, ill be coordinating the drug effort. Know them on a firsthand basis because Vice President george bush will recreate the Space Council and ill be in charge of that. I will have day to day activities with all the people in government. And then if that unfortunate situation happens, if that situation, which would be very tragic happens, i will be prepared to carry out the responsibilities of the presidency of the United States of america, and i will be prepared to do that. I will be prepared not only because of my service in the congress but because of my ability to communicate and to lead. It is not judst age. Its accomplishments, its experience. I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of Vice President of this country. I have as much experience in the congress as jack kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush Administration if that unfortunate event would ever occur. Senators bentsen . Senator, i served with jack kennedy. I knew jack kennedy. Jack kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, youre not jack kennedy. [ cheers and applause ] in a situation like that please please, once again, youre only taking time away from your own candidate. That was really uncalled for, senator. [ cheers and applause ] youre the one that was making the comparison, senator. And im one who knew him well. And, frankly, i think youre so far from the objectives you choose for your country that i did not think the comparison was well taken. Since we seem to be taking hostages on the stage, let me ask you question about the american hostages, nine, still in brutal captivity in the middle east. Senator bentsen, critical of the iron contra affair, but tell me, does the Dukakis Bentsen ticket have any realistic plan for getting the american hostages held in the middle east released in any due time . Tom, thats one of the toughest problems that any chief executive will face. Because you cant help but have the simp th fympathy for the fa and hostages the themselves. You cant go out and make secret deals with the ayatollah. You cant trade arms for hostages. When you try to do that, theres no question but what you just encouraged was more taking of hostages, and thats been the result by this dumb idea that was cooked up in the white house basement. And i want to tell you that george bush attending 17 of those meetings and having no record of what he said, if Lloyd Bentsen was in those meetings, you would certainly hear from me and no one would be asking where is lloyd . Because i would be making [ cheers ] i would be saying, thats a dumb idea, and now lets put an end to it and i would speak up on that type of thing. All you can do on that is to continue to push, use every bit of diplomatic pressure you can, what you can do in the way of economic pressure in addition to that, and thats what you would strive to do to have a successful release finally of those hostages. But not to encourage more taking of hostages. Senator quayle . Theres no doubt about it that arms for hostages is wrong, and it will never be repeated. Weve learned by our mistakes. But there have been a number of successes in Foreign Policy in this administration, but the question goes to a very difficult one. How do you do it . No one has the answer. If they did wed wed certainly do it. But we wont keep trying well keep trying. Well keep the doors open. And hopefully some day iran and others who control those hostages will want to return to civilized international community, and they can do that starting now by releasing those hostages that are held illegally. Brett hume, a question for senator bentsen. Senators, much of the dukakis ands bentsen campaign of late has been devoted to the notion that senator quayle isnt ready for the vice presidency and perhaps the presidency and nothing you said suggests you think otherwise. I wonder if you think its really fair for you to advance that view in light of the fact that you ran for the presidency, not the vice presidency, in 1976, having not yet completed one full term in the senate, and having previously served three terms in the house almost a quarter century earlier when, in fact, your time in washington was about equal to what he has now . Well, i think what you have to look at is the record of a man who has served his country, served his country in war, headed up a squadron in combat, a man who dealt a business, knew what it was to meet a payroll, create jobs and then serve in the United States senate, and one who has been able to bring about some of the kinds of legislation that ive been able to bring about in my service there. I must say, i didnt do a very good job of running for the presidency and im well aware of that, but what were looking at today is trying to judge once again the breadth of experience and the maturity of someone taking on this kind of a task. Thats the judgment that has to be exercised by the people of america. Its a president ial decision that youre facing. And its a very important one, because were talking about whos going to lead this country into the future and you cant have a more important responsibility than that one. Senator quayle . When you look at qualifications, you look at accomplishments. As well as experience. And one of the accomplishments that im proudest of is the authorship of the Job Training Partnership act that has trained, educated and employed over 3 million young people and adults that are economically disadvantaged. And we did it in a way that we got the private sector to involve itself with the public sector. On private Industry Councils throughout america that serve over the Service Delivery areas we have 51 of that private Industry Council that are businessmen and women. We have members of unions, we have communitybased organizations, education leaders. What weve been able to do is establish a program that is working. Thats putting people back to work. That is an accomplishment. And that is an accomplishment i will take with me into the white house. A question for senator quayle. Senator, i want to the ask you a question that may be off the subject of politics annaled to get more at the question what sort of person you are. I hope senators bentsen, you might choose to answer the same question in your rebuttal time. Senator, can you identify any work of literature or art or even a film that you have seen or read or experiencedals in any way in the last two years that has had a particularly str lly effect on you, and tell us why. In the last six months i think there are three very important books that i read that have had an impact. The three books are one, Richard Nixons victory in 1999. Richard lugars, senator Richard Lugars letters to the next president. Bob masseys nicholas and alexandra, which deals with the fall of the russian empire. And the coming of leninism in 1917. Those three books which i read over the last spring vacation and early summer had a very definite impact, because what former president nixon and senator Richard Lugar were talking about is a Foreign Policy as we move towards the 21st century and the historical book of the downfall of the czar, coming of leninism combining those three books together gave me a better appreciation of the challenges that we have ahead of us. And senator lugars book, he talks about the advancement of humes rights around the world. He talked about his leadershipest in the philippines and south africa, where we have now seen human rights and advancement in the reagan agenda. Former president nixon talked about what were going to do after detente and arms control. And how were going to pursue new arms control with the soviet union. Talked a little bit about how we deal with the soviet union and this is one of the differences between george bush and Michael Dukakis. Because george bush understands to deal with the soviet union and get progress you must deal from a position of strength. And the governor of massachusetts doesnt understand that. I understand it. And the George Bush Administration will pursue that policy. Senator bentsen . Well, i think reading pardon i think reading guns of august and wensabor backtoback shows how we make the same mistakes over and over again. Seems to me the senator of indiana is beginning to do that. As i look on our progress made towards disarmament and cutting back on Nuclear Weapons and what president reagan was able to do with the treaty, deserves great credit, i see a situation where the senator from indiana has now jumped off the reservation when we talk about building on what Ronald Reagan has done, and opposes what Ronald Reagan wants to do, the joint chiefs of staff and the secretary of defense and says, lets go slow on doing further disarmament and trying to get to the next treaty. I think thats a mistake. I think that you have to deal with the russians from strength and we have to understand that you have to have a strong modernized nuclear deterrent, but i think we can make substantial progress and ought to take advantage of it. I think hes arrived at a very dangerous judgment in the question of war and peace and it concerns me very much, because i saw him also try to sabotage the nif treaty when on the floor of the United States senate what he was doing there. Listening once again to the whims of the radical right. Senator still on john margolis. Question for senator quayle. Senator quayle, back to the matter of qualifications, which i think for most people is more than just, more than just your, how long youve been i cant hear you. Can you speak louder . Can you hear now . I can hear you. [ applause ] i want to go back to the question of qualifications which i think for most people is more than just how long youve been in the senate and how long in public life. Also a question of candor and of consistency and several of the things youve said both here and earlier raised reasonable questions. Each of them alone might seem rather trivial. Together they create a pattern that needs to be asked. Youve talked a few times today about the Job Training Partnership act which you authored. In fact, coauthored it with another senator whom you almost never name. Earlier in the campaign when you were asked why you got a very, a desk job in the National Guard after being trained as a welder, you said at the time you had a very strong background in journalism. Which at that time was summer jobs at your familyowned newspaper, which you have not been very forthcoming about what they were and not very forth it coming about your college record. Now, i have to say, you have at least, the males on this panel earlier agreed your record was probably comparable to ours, but nonetheless, nonetheless, these examples of sort of overstatement and exaggeration and not being forthcoming, this is what has led a lot of people to question this part of your qualifications. Not your experience, but your character, but your character. Would you like to set some of these things straight now as to what you did in your summer jobs in college, what your grades were like and would you like to department phi your cosponsor of the Job Training Partnership act . All in two minutes . Sure. Let me start with the underlying premise that somehow i havent been straightforward, and i have, and lets go right to the very first question. The Job Training Partnership act. I was the author of that. The coauthor in the United States senate was senator kennedy. I was the chairman of the employment and productivity subcommittee. Chairman of the committee. To write that legislation. Chairman of the committee, United States the legislation and goes outside and get cosponsorship. When you are chairman of the committee and sit down and write the legislation, you are the author of that. And im proud to have been the author of that, because what we had, a seda program that spent 50 billion from about 1973 through 1982 and when we concluded that program, when we concluded that program, unemployment was higher than when it began. It was a program that didnt work. And the Job Training Partnership act does work. Now the issue of releasing all of my grades. I am, and i stand before you tonight, as the most investigated person ever to seek public office. [ applause ] thousands of journalists have asked every professor ive had, all my teachers, and they know and i have never professed to be anything but an average student. I have never said that i was anything more than that, but its not whether youre an average student. Its what are you going to do with your life . And what am i going to do with my life . I committed it to Public Service since i was 29 years of age. Elected to the house of representatives. And elected to the United States senate when i was 33. Now i have the opportunity at 41 to seek the office of the vice presidency. Senator bentsen . I have absolutely no quarrel with senator quayles military record. But i do strongly disagree with him on some of the issues. You make great patriot speeches and i enjoy them. But i dont understand your vote on veterans issues. Senator quayle has one of the worst voting records in the United States senate on veterans issues, and one of them that particularly bothers me, sponsoring legislation to put a tax on combat pay and disability pay for veterans, for fighting men and women of america. Tax on the disability pay when theyre lying there in the hospital. People who have sacrificed for our country. I think you ought to explain that to the people of america and you ought to explain it tonight. John a question for senator bentsen . Senator, youre chairman of the Senate Finance which the and generally considered rather an orthodox conservative on fiscal matters meaning someone who be would very concerned about the budget deficit. With everybody in politics afraid to even mention taxes, Social Security cuts or very much restrained in defense spending, would you now list a few specific programs which would reduce or eliminate, which you would reduce or eliminate to cut the deficit about 50 billion, expected to be about 135 billion this fiscal year. One id work on and do this as a farmer, try to turn the situation around where weve seen the subsidy payments go from 2. 5 billion to ten times that under this administration. The way i would accomplish that, with a tough trade policy. Opening up those markets. Getting those prices back up to market prices. We can do that if we have an aggressive trade policy for our country. If we make trade a number one priority, and not trade it of you a for some Foreign Policy objective at the moment. That means we have to stand up for the American Farmers and that cuts back on the regulations on American Farmers. Thats a positive way to accomplish that. And in addition to that, we do some of the things that i think have to be done insofar as doing a better job of procurement. Particularly when talking about some of our military things that we should buy. I know that i fought very hard to put in an independent Inspector General for the defense department. That the senator from indiana opposed me on that. But we were finally able to put that into effect and we saved over a quarter of a billion dollars this year. Almost enough to buy a squadron of 716s. Those are the kinds of things that i would work on, and one of the things i learned in business is that you can expect what you inspect. So wed be doing a much tougher job of auditing, to try to get rid of some of these kickbacks to consultants on military contracts, to be much more aggressive on that. And in addition, those types of things would bring the Interest Rate down. Id try to turn the trade deficit around and that, too, would help and help substantially and get rid of things like planes theyre going to have, that the administration wants to try from new york to tokyo and take those Investment Bankers over there in four hours. I dont think we can afford a piece of technological elegance like that. Id strike that from the ticket. I dont know how many people have ridden the concorde. Not many, but i voted against it, said it would be a financial disaster and its been just that. So those are the types of things that i would work on. Senator quayle . The way were going to reduce this budget deficit and it is a challenge to make sure that it is reduced, is first, to stick to the grammrudman targets. Theyve worked. Weve reduced the federal budget deficit 70 billion. Senator bentsen voted against grammrudman. The very tool used to bring the federal budget deficit down. Were going to need all tools possible to bring this federal budget deficit down. We need the tools of a lineitem veto. A line ititem veto that 43 governors in this country have but not the president of the United States. The president of the unite needs to have a lineitem veto when Congress Goes ahead and puts into Appropriations Bills unrequested and unnecessary spending, let the president put a line through that, send it back to the congress and let the Congress Vote on it again. Congress has got to help out in reducing this budget deficit as much as the executive branch. Tom brokaw, last question for senator bentsen. Senator bentsen like to ask about your split personality. Running on ticket with Michael Dukakis, a man opposed to the Death Penalty, in favor of gun control and at the same time youre running for the United States senator in the state of texas, where your position on many of those same issues a well known and absolutely opposed with him. How do you explain to the people of texas how you can be a social conservative on those cutting issues and still run with Michael Dukakis on the National Ticket . Michael dukakis wasnt looking for a clone. Part of strength and character of this man that he reaches out and wants someone that will speak up and that ill do. I have seen many chief executives come into my office and say theyre going over to tell the president of the United States off. Theyre going to pound the desk. Going into that office and they turn into jello. Ive dealt with many of president and dont hesitate for a minute to speak up, but when talking about Something Like the Death Penalty where Michael Dukakis and i do disagree, what you really ought to get to is whats being done against crime. And what kind of progress hes been able to make. In the state of massachusetts, he has the homicide rate down to the lowest of any industrial state. Substantially ahead of the national average. Hes been able to do that with a educated program for the people of that state by adding some 1,500 new police officers. Hes done it in turn by the leadership that i think he will bring to the ticket when he becomes president of the United States, and fighting drugs. Hes take didnt down some 4 in the high schools of that state while its gone up around the rest of the nation, but you would see him at president of the United States being very aggressive in this fight against crime. And having that kind of a successful result. Thats one of the reasons im delighted and proud to be on the ticket with him. Sure, we have some differences. But overall we have so many things we agree on. This situation of a trade policy, of cutting back on the deficit, those are positive, plus things and major issue s facing our nation. Senator quayle . One of the things they dont agree on is in the area of National Defense. National defense and how were going to preserve the freedom in this country. Michael dukakis is the most liberal, National Democrat to seek the office of presidency since george mcgovern. He is for he is again the mx missile, the midget man cutting two aircraft carriers. He is opposed to many defense programs that are necessary to defend this country. Thats why former secretary of defense and former Energy Secretary in the carter administration, Jim Schlesinger in an open letter to Time Magazine asked governor dukakis, ary viscerally antimilitary . Jim schlesinger never got an answer. And the reason he did, is because the governor of massachusetts doesnt want to answer former secretary Jim Schlesinger on that very important question. Tom, last question for senator quayle. Senator quayle, all of us in our lifetime encounter and experiences that help shape us. What experience you may have had and how it shaped your political philosophy . There are a lot of experiences that ive had that have shaped my adult philosophy, but the one that i keep coming back to time and time again and i talk about it at commencement addresses, i talk about it in the high schools, i talk about it when i visit the job training centers, and its the advice that my maternal grandmother, martha polian, whos 97 years old, we are a modern day, four generation family. The advice that she gave me when i was growing up was advice that ive given my children and ive give ton a number of children, a number of people, and its very simple. Its very common sense. She says, you can do anything you want to if you just set your mind to it and go to work. Now, the dukakis supporters sneer at that because its common sense. [ cheers and applause ] they sneer at common sense advice. Midwestern advice. Midwestern advice from a grandmother to a grandson. Important advice. Something that we ought to talk about. Because if you want to, you can make a difference. You, america can make a difference. Youre going to have that choice come this election. Everyone can make a difference, if they want to. Senator bentsen . I think being born and reared on the rio grande to have spent part of my life seeing some of the struggles that have taken place in one of the Lowest Per Capita incomes in the United States, and thats one of the reasons i worked so hard to try to assist on education. When i found that the bankers in that area fond they could not handle the loans, because some of the details and the expense, wouldnt make a profit on it, i went couldnt thedown there and a Nonprofit Organization to buy up the loans from them and manage it and do it in a way theyd continue to make those loans. Now they have, and theyve educated more than 20,000 of those students. Loaned out over 100 million, and it hasnt cost taxpayers of this country one cent. Thats one of the reasons ive worked so hard to bring Better Health care to the people. Because what ive seen in the way of poverty down there in that area and the lack of medical attention and trying to see that thats turned around. Why i work so hard on the welfare reform bill to give them a chance to break these cycles of poverty. A chance for a step up in life. Somethings happened my lights still on. Your lights arent working. Sorry about that. If thats the case. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, senator bentsen. Thank you, senator quayle. Weve come to the end of the questions and before i ask the candidates to make their closing remarks, on behalf of the commission on president ial debates id like to thank all of you for joining us. Senator quayle, yours is the First Closing statement. Thank you. Tonight has been a very important evening. You have been able to see dan quayle as i really am. And how george bush and i want to lead this country into the future. Thank you, america, for listening, and thank you for your fairness. Now you will have a choice to make on election day. You will have a choice of whether america is going to choose the road of Michael Dukakis or the road of george bush as we march towards the 21st century. The road of Michael Dukakis comes down to this bigger government. Higher taxes. Theyve always believed in higher taxes. They always have and they also will. Cuts in national consequence. National defense. Back to the old economics of high Interest Rates, high inflation and old politics of high unemployment. Now, the road of george bush is the road to the future and it comes down to this america is second to none with visions of greatness. Economic expansion. Tough laws. Tough judges. Strong values. Respect for the flag and our institutions. George bush will lead us to the 21st century. A century that will be of hope and peace. Ronald reagan and george bush saved america from decline. We changed america. Michael dukakis fought us every step of the way. Its not that theyre not sympathetic. Its simply that they will take america backwards. George bush has the experience, and with me, the future. A future committed to our family, a future committed to the freedom. Thank you, good night, and god bless you. [ applause ] senators bentsen . Senator bentsen, your closing statement. In just 34 days america will elect new leadership for our country. Its a most important decision, because theres no bigger job than governing this great country of ours and leading it into its future. Mike dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen offer you experience, tempered, capable leadership. To meet those challenges of the future. Our opposition says lower your sights. Rest on your lurals. Mike dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen think america can do better. That america cant just coast into the future, clinging to the past. This race is too close. The competition is too tough, the stakes are too high. Michael dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen think america must move into that future, united and a commitment to make this country of ours the most powerful, the most prosperous nation in the world. As americans we honor our past and we should. But our children are going to live in the future, and mike dukakis says the best of america is yet to come. But that wont happen taking care of our economy just putting it on automatic pilot. It wont happen by accident. Its going to take leadership, and its going to take courage, and the commitment and a contribution by all of us to do that. I have worked for the betterment of our country both in war and peace. As bomb 0 bomber. I, one whos been a businessman and a United States senator working to make this nationed fairest and strongest and most powerful in the world. Help us bring america to a new era of greatness. The debate has been ours but the decision is yours. God bless you. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, both. Thank you. [ cheers and applause ] weeknights this month on America History tv we look add past president ial debates. Tonight we look at the president ial debates of 1976 between incumbent president gerald ford and former georgia governor jimmy carter. The First Time Since 1960 that the major nominees participated in debates. The first debate was on domestic issues. The second focused on Foreign Policy and defensive us including u. S. Soviet relations and the credibility of its u. S. In the wake of vietnam and watergate. Watch tonight starting at 8 00 p. M. Eastern and enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan3. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3 explore our nations past. Cspan3. Created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service, and brought to you today by your television provider. In 1992, the Vice President ial debate featured three candidates, the republican Vice President dan quayle, the democratic candidate senator al gore, and retired admiral james stockdale, running mate of
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