Transcripts For CSPAN3 Presidential Debates 2000 Presidential Debate - George W. Bush V. Al Gore 20240712

Good evening from the Athletic Center at the university of massachusetts in boston, im jim lehrer of the news hour on pbs and i welcome you to the first of three 90minute 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 president ial debates and they will be conducted within formats and rules agreed toby the commission and the two campaigns. Tonight well have the candidates at podiums. No answer to a question can exceed two minutes. Rebuttals are limited to one minute. But as moderator i have the option to followup and extend any particular give and take another three and a half minutes. Even then no single answer can exceed two minutes. The candidates under their rules may not question each other directly. 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 alone. I have told no one from the two campaigns tore commission or anyone else involved what they are. Theres a small audience in hall tonight. They are not here to participate. Only to listen. I have asked and they have agreed to remain silent for the next 90 minutes. Except for right now when they will applaud as we welcome the two candidates governor bush and Vice President gore. [ applause ] and now the first question as determined by a flip of a coin goes to Vice President gore. Vice president gore you have questioned whether governor bush has the experience to be president of the United States. What exactly do you mean . Well, jim, first of all, i would like to thank the sponsors of this debate and the people of boston for hosting the debate. I would like to thank governor bush for participating and i would like to say im happy to be here with tipper and our family. I have actually not questioned governor bushs experience. I have questioned his proposals. Heres 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 im entrusted with the presidency here are the choices that i will make. Ill balance the budget every year. I will pay down the National Debt. I will put medicare and Social Security in a lock box and protect and i will cut taxes for middle class families. I believe its important to resist the temptation to squander our surplus. If we make the right choices, we can have a prosperity that endures and enriches all of our people. If im entrusted with the presidency, i will help parents and strengthen families because, you know, if we have prosperity that grows and grows, we still wont be successful unless we strengthen families. By for example ensuring children can always go to schools that are safe. By giving parents the tools to protect their children against cultural pollution. I will make sure that we invest in our country and our families. And i mean investing in education, health care, the environment and middle class tax cuts and Retirement Security. Thats my agenda and thats why i think that its not just a question of experience. Governor bush, one minute rebuttal. We do come from different places. I come from west texas. Ive been a governor. Governor is the chief executive officer and learns how to set agendas. I think youre going to find the difference reflected in our budgets. I want to take one half of the surplus and dedicate it to Social Security. One quarter of the surplus for important projects and i want to send one quarter of the surplus back to people who pay the bills. I want everybody who pays taxes to have their tax rates cut. And that stands in contrast to my worthy opponents plan which will increase the size of government dramatically. His plan is three times larger than president clintons proposed plan eight ears ago. Its a plan that will have expanded promgs that will create 20,000 new bureaucrats. It empowers washington and tonight youll hear that my passion and my vision is to empower americans to be able to make designates for themselves in their own lives. So, i take it by your answer then mr. Vice president that in your, in an interview recently with the New York Times when you said you question whether or not governor bush was experience enough to be president you were talking about strictly policy differences. Yes, jim. I said that his tax cut plan, for example, raises the question whether its the right choice for the country. Let me give you and example of what i mean. Under governor bushs tax cut proposal he would spend more money on tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 than all of the new spending that he proposes for education, health care, Prescription Drugs and National Defense all combined. Now i think those are the wrong priorities. Now under my proposal, for every dollar that i propose in spending for things like education and health care, i will put another dollar into middle class tax cuts. And for every dollar i spend in those two categories ill put 2 towards paying down the National Debt. I think its very important to keep the debt going down and completely limit and i also think its very important to go to the next stage of welfare reform. Our country has cut the welfare roles in half. I fought hard from my days in senate and as Vice President to cut the welfare roles and we moved millions of people in america into good jobs. But now its time for the next stage of welfare reform and include fathers and not only mothers. Well get to a go ahead. Let me just say, obviously, tonight well hear some phoney numbers about what i think and about what we ought to do. People need to know that over next ten years theres going to be 25 trillion of revenue that comes into our treasury. My plan says lets pass 1. 3 trillion back to the people who pay the bills. Surely we can afford 5 of the 25 trillion coming in to the treasury to the hardworking people who pay the bills. Theres a difference of opinion. My opponent thinks the government the surplus is the governments money. Thats not what i think. Its the hard making people of americas money and i want to share that money when you so you have more money to build and save and dream for you families. Its a difference of opinion. Its versus government making decisions for you and you getting more of your money to make decisions for yourself. Jim, let me follow up with one quick question. When you hear Vice President gore question your experience, do you read it the same way that hes talking about policy differences only . Yes. I take him at his word. I fully recognize im not of washington. Im from texas. And hes got a lot of experience. But so do i. I have been the chief executive officer of the second biggest state in the union. I had a proud record of working with both republicans and democrats which our nation needs. We need somebody to couple to washington and say lets forget all the politics and finger pointing and get positive things on immediate case Prescription Drugs and Social Security and so i take him at his word. Jim, the if i could respond. Quickly. We need to move on. I know that. The governor used the phrase phoney numbers. But if you add the numbers up the numbers are correct. He spends more money for tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 and proposals for health care, Prescription Drugs, education, National Defense combined. I agree the surplus is American Peoples money. Its your money. Thats why i dont think we should give nearly half of it to the wealthiest 1 because the 99 had a lot to do with building the prosperity. Three and a half minutes is up. New question. Governor bush, this came is a companion question to the question i asked Vice President gore. Okay. You questioned whether Vice President gore has demonstrated the Leadership Qualities necessary to be president of the United States. What do you heres what i said . I said, jim, i said that eight years ago the campaign on Prescription Drugs for seniors. Four years ago they campaigned on getting Prescription Drugs for seniors. And now they are campaigning on getting Prescription Drugs for seniors. It seems like they cant get it done. And they may blame other folks but its time to get somebody in washington who is going to work with both republicans and democrats to get some positive things done when it comes to our seniors. And so what i said is theres been some missed opportunities. Theyve had a chance. Theyve had a chance form consensus. I got a plan on medicare, for example thats a twostage plan that says well have immediate help for seniors and what i call immediate helping hand 48 billion program. But i also want to say seniors if youre happy with medicare the way it is fine you can stain program but were going give you additional choice just like they give federal employees in that federal Employee Health plan. They have a variety of plans to dploos. As opposed to politicizing the tissue like medicare, in other words holding up an issue, hoping somebody bites and club them over the head with it for political purpose, this year in the year of 2000 its time to say lets get it done once and for all and thats what ive been critical of the administration for. Same with Social Security. It was a great the opportunity to bring republicans and democrats together so seniors would never go without. Those on Social Security and give younger workers a choice to manage their own money in privatesector to make sure theres a Social Security system tomorrow. Theres a lot of Young Workers in our rally when is they hear ill trust them at their option to be able to manage under certain guidelines some of their own money to get party rate of return so they will have a Retirement Plan in the future they begin to nod their heads and they want a different attitude in washington. Attitude in washington. Jim, under my plan, all seniors will get Prescription Drugs under medicare. The governor has described medicare as a government hmo. Its not, and let me explain the difference. Under the Medicare Prescription Drug proposal im making, heres how it works. You go to your own doctor, and your doctor chooses your prescription. And no hmo or Social Security company can take those choices away from you. You go to the pharmacy, you fill the prescription and medicare pays half the cost. If youre in a very poor family or its a very high cost, medicare will pay all the costs. A 25 premium and more than that you can find in the public sector. Heres the contrast. 95 of all seniors would get no help whatsoever under my bonus plan for the first four or five years. One thing i dont understand, jim, is why it is the wealthiest 1 get tax cuts the first year, but 95 of seniors have to wait four or five years before they get a single penny . I guess the answer is the man is running on mediscare, trying to scare people from the voting booth. Thats not my plan. I want all seniors to have Prescription Drugs on medicare. This administration has failed to do it. Seniors will have not only a medicare plan where the poor seniors have their Prescription Drugs paid for, but there will be a variety of options. The Current System today has meant a lot for a lot of seniors, and i really appreciate the intentions of the Current System. As i mentioned, if youre happy with the system, you can stay in it. But there is a lot of procedures that have not kept up in medicare with the current times. Theres no Prescription Drug benefits, theres no drug therapies, theres no preventing medicines, there is no vision care. We need to have a modern system to help seniors. The idea of helping support a federally controlled 232page document for bureaucracy and the only Compassionate Care for seniors is 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 it will require a different kind of leader to go to washington to say to both republicans and democrats, lets come together. Youve had your chance, Vice President. Youve been there for eight years and nothing has been done. My point is that my plan not only trusts seniors with options, my plan sets aside 3. 4 trillion for medicare over the next ten years. My plan also says its going to require a new approach in washington, d. C. Its going to require somebody who can work across the partisan divide. If i could respond to that, jim, under my plan, i will put medicare in an ironclad lockbox and prevent the money from being used for anything other than medicare. The governor has declined to endorse that idea even though the republican, as well as democratic, leaders of congress have endorsed it. I would be interested to see if he would this evening say he would put medicare in a lockbox. I dont think he will, because under his plan, if you work out the numbers, 100 billion comes out of medicare just for the wealthiest 1 in the tax cut. Now, here is the difference. Some people who say the word reform actually mean cuts. Under the governors plan, if you kept the same fee for service that you have now under medicare, your premiums would go up by between 18 and 47 , and thats the study of the congressional plan that hes modelled his proposal on by the medicare actuaries. A quick example. There is a man here tonight named George Mckinney from milwaukee. Hes 78 years old. He has high blood pressure, his wife has heart trouble. They have an income of 25,000 a year. They cannot pay for their Prescription Drugs, so theyre some of the ones that go to canada regularly in order to get their Prescription Drugs. Under my plan, half their cost would be paid right away. Under governor bushs plan, they would not get one penny for four or five years, and then they would be forced to go to an hmo or an Insurance Company and ask them for coverage, but there would be no limit on the premiums or deductibles or terms and conditions. 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 Care on Prescription Drugs. Its called the immediate helping hand. Instead of skwaub liquabbling, immediate help. They get 25,000 a year income. That makes them ineligible. Look, this is a man who has great numbers. He talks about numbers. Im beginning to think not only did he invent the internet, but he invented the calculator. Its fuzzy math. Hes trying to scare people at the voting booth. Under my tax plan he continues to criticize, i set a third the federal government should take no more than a third of anybodys check. But i also drop the bottom rate from 15 to 10 , because by far the vast majority of help goes to the people at the bottom end of the economic ladder. If youre a family of four in massachusetts making 50,000, you get a 50 cut in the federal income taxes you pay. Its from 4,000 to about 2,000. The difference in our plans is i want that 2,000 to go to you. The Vice President would like to be spending the 2,000 on your behalf. One quick thing, gentlemen. These are your rules. Were way over the three and a half. I have no problems with it, but we only have five minutes. If you make over 25,000 a year, you dont get a penny of help under the bush Prescription Drug proposal for at least five years, and then youre pushed into an hmo or an Insurance Company plan, and there is no limit on the premiums or deductibles or any of the conditions. And the Insurance Companies say it wont work and they wont offer these plans. Let me ask you both this and well move on this subject. As a practical matter, both of you want to bring Prescription Drugs to seniors, correct . Correct. The difference is i want to bring it to 100 and he brings it only to 5 . Thats just totally false. Wait a minute, thats totally false for him to stand up and say that. Let me make sure the seniors hear me loud and clear. They have a chance to get something done. Im going to work with both republicans and democrats to reform the system. All seniors will be covered, all seniors will have their Prescription Drugs paid for, and in the meantime, well have a plan for seniors. It could be one or two years. Let me point to the key word there. He said all poor seniors. All seniors are covered in my plan. In the first year . In the first year. It takes a year to pass it, and in the first four years, only the poor are covered. Middle class seniors like George Mckinney and his wife are not covered for four or five years. If you have anything to say about the issue, say in your closing statement and move on. Vice president gore, how would you categorize your approach to preventing oil price and supply problems like we have now to the approach of governor bush . Excellent question, and heres the simple difference. My plan has not only a shortterm component but also a longterm component. And it focuses not only on increasing the supply, which i think we have to do, but also on working on the consumption side. In the short term, we have to free ourselves from the domination of the Big Oil Companies that have the ability to manipulate the price, from opec 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 deep gas in the western gulf, like stripper wells for oil, but also renewable sources of energy. And domestic sources that are cleaner and better. And im proposing a plan that will give tax credits and tax incentives for the Rapid Development of new kinds of cars and trucks and buses and factories and boilers and furnaces that dont have as much pollution, that dont burn as much energy, and that help 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, well then be able to sell them overseas, and there is a ravenous demand for them overseas. Another big difference is governor bush is proposing to open up some of our most precious environmental treasures like the wildlife refuge for the Big Oil Companies to go in and start producing oil there. I think that is the wrong choice. It would only give us a few months worth of oil and the oil wouldnt start flowing for many years into the future, ask i dont think and i dont think its a fair price to pay to destroy precious parts of americas 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. Mgovernor bush, one minute. I was a small oil owner for a while in west texas. This is an administration that has no plan. The results of having no plan have caught up with america. We need to help lowincome folks, particularly in the east, pay high fuel bills. Secondly, we need an active exploration problem in america. The only way to stop being dependent on foreign sources of crude oil is to explore at home. You can bet i want to open up a small part of alaska, because when that field is online, it will produce a Million Barrels a day. Saddam says, i would rather a million come from our own hemisphere, our own country as opposed to saddam saying, i want to build more pipe lines to help this hemisphere, i want to develop coal sources in america and have coal technologies. We have an abundance of supplies here in america, and we better get after it and better start exploring it, otherwise well be in trouble in the future because of our dependency on foreign sources will accrue. If someone is listening to what the two of you just said, is it fair to say, okay, the difference between Vice President gore and governor bush are the following. You are for doing something on the consumption end, youre for doing something on drilling let me clarify. Im for doing something on the supply side, the production side and the consumption side. I found one thing in governor bushs answer we certainly agree on and thats the lowincome heating assistance program, and i commend you for supporting that. I worked on getting a couple hundred dollars a couple weeks ago and to establish a permanent Home Heating Oil reserve here in the northeast. As for the proposals ive worked for for renewables and conservation and efficiency and the new technologies, the fact is in the last few years in congress, weve faced a lot of opposition thoo them, and thaey only approved 10 of the agenda. We need to get serious about this crisis both in the congress and in the white house. If you entrust me with the presidency, i will tackle this program and focus on new technologies that will make us less dependent on big oil or foreign oil. How would you draw the difference . I would first say he should have been tackling it the last seven years. Secondly, the difference is, we need to explore at home. The Vice President doesnt believe in exploration, for example, in alaska. There is a lot of shutin gas we need to be moving out of alaska by pipeline. There is an interesting issue in the northwest as well, and that is whether or not we remove dams that produce hydroelectric energy. Im against removing dams in the northwest, i dont know where Vice President gore stands, but we need toay because its not in our interest to use force in this case. I would use pressure, i would use diplomacy. There is a difference between what the president did, who i supported, and kosovo. And its up to the people in this region to figure out how to take control of their country. New question. How would you go about as president deciding when it was in the National Interest to use force, generally . If its in our vital National Interests, and that means whether or not our territory our territory is threatened, our people could be harmed, whether or not our alliances defense alliances are threatened, whether or not our friends in the middle east are threatened. That would be a time to seriously consider the use of force. Secondly, whether or not the mission was clear. Whether or not it was a clear understanding as to what the mission would be. Thirdly, whether or not we were prepared and trained to win. Whether or not our forces were of high morale and high standing and well equipped. Finally, if theres an exit strategy. I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I dont think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we have to be very careful when we commit our troops. The Vice President and 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 win war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place. So i take my responsibilities seriously. And it starts with making sure we rebuild our military power. Morale in todays military is too low. Were having trouble meeting recruiting goals. We met the goals this year, but in the previous years, we have not met recruiting goals. Some of our troops are not well equipped. I believe were overextended in too many places, and, therefore, i want to rebuild the military power. It starts with a billiondollar 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 our troops are well housed and well equipped. Bonus plans to keep some of our highskilled folks in the services, and a commander in chief who clearly sets the mission. The mission is to fight and win war and prevent war in the first place. Vice president gore, one minute. First of all, i want to make it clear, our military is the strongest, best trained, best equipped, bestled fighting force in the world and in the history of the world. Nobody should have any doubt about that, least of all our adversaries or potential adversaries. If you entrust me to the presidency, i would do whatever was necessary in order to make sure our forces stay the strongest in the world. In fact, in my tenyear 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 someplace in a foreign country. But if our National Security is at stake, if we have allies, if weve tried every other course, if were sure military action will succeed, and if the costs are proportionate to the benefits, we should get involved. Now, just because we dont want to get involved everywhere doesnt mean we should back off anywhere it comes up. And i disagree with the proposal that maybe only when oil supplies are at stake that our National Security is at risk. I think that there are situations like in bosnia or kosovo where there is a genocide where our National Security is at stake there. Governor . I agree that our military is the strongest in the world today. Thats not the question. The question is will it be the strongest in years to come. And the warning signs are real. Everywhere i go around the campaign trail, i see people who moms and dads whose son or daughter may wear the uniform, and they tell me how skurjd the discouraged their son or daughter may be. A recent poll was taken with enlisted personnels as well as half the officers who will leave the service when their time of enlistment is up. The captains are leaving the service. There is a problem. And its going to require a new commander in chief to rebuild the military power. The other day i was flanked by general colin powell and general schwar schwar schwar schwartzkopf who agreed with me. They said if we dont stop extending our troops all around the world and nationbuilding missions, then well have a serious problem coming down the road. Im going to prevent that. Im going to rebuild our military power. Its one of the major priorities of my administration. Vice president gore, how should the voters go around deciding which one of you is better suited to make the kind of decisions weve been talking about, whether its malosevich or whatever, in the military and Foreign Policy area . They should look at our proposals and look at us as people and make up their own minds. When i was a young man, i volunteered for the army. I served 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 felt against the war as i did, but i went, anyway, because i knew if i didnt, somebody else in the small town of carthage, tennessee would have to go in my place. I served eight years and served on the Armed Services committee. For the last eight years, ive served on the National Security council. When the 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 ii. Look, thats where world war i started, in the balkans. My uncle was a victim of poisoned gas there. Millions of americans saw the results of that conflict. We have to be willing to make good, sound judgments. Incidentally, i know the value of making sure our troops have the latest technology. The governor has proposed skipping the next generation of weapons. I think thats a big mistake. I think we have to stay at the cutting edge. Governor, how would you advise the voters to make the decision on this issue . I think you have to look at how one has handled responsibility in office, whether or not same in domestic policy as well, jim, whether or not youve got the capacity to convince people to follow. Whether or not one makes decisions based upon sound principles, or whether or not you rely upon polls and focus groups on how to decide what the course of action is. Weve got too much polling and focus groups going on in washington today. We need decisions made on sound principles. Ive been the governor of a big state. I think one of the hallmarks of my relationship in austin, texas is that ive had the capacity to work with both republicans and democrats. I think thats an important part of leadership. I think of what it means to build consensus. As a matter of fact, tonight in the audience, there is one elected state senator who is a democrat, a state rep who is a democrat, one statewide officer is a democrat. There are a lot of democrats here in the debate because they want to show their support that shows i know how to lead. So the fundamental answer to your question, who can lead and who has shown the ability to get things done. If i could say were way over the three and a half minutes. Go ahead. I think one of the key points in Foreign Policy and National Security policy is the need to reestablish the oldfashioned principle that politics ought to stop atwaters edge. When i w at the waters edge. I worked to assume arms control in a positive way. When i was in the senate, i worked with president george h. W. Bush, your father, and helped support the gulf war. I think bipartisanship is a national asset, and we have to find ways to reestablish is in Foreign Policy. In a word, do you have a problem with that . Yeah, why havent they done that in seven years . New question. Should the americans see this domestic area as a major choice between competing political philosophies . Absolutely. This is a very important moment in the history of our country. Look, weve got the biggest surpluses in all of American History. The key question that has to be answered in this election is will we use that prosperity wisely in a way that benefits all of our people and doesnt go just to the few . Almost half of all the tax cut benefits, as i said under governor bushs plan, go to the wealthiest 1 . I think we have to make the right and responsible choices. I think we have to invest in education, protecting the environment, health care, a Prescription Drug benefit that goes to all seniors, not just to the poor, under medicare, not relying on hmos and Insurance Companies. I think that we have to help parents and strengthen families by dealing with the kind of inappropriate entertainment material that families are just heartsick that their children are exposed to. I think weve got to have welfare reform taken to the next stage. I think we have got to balance the budget every single year, pay down the National Debt, and, in fact, under my proposal, the National Debt will be completely eliminated by the year 2012. I think we need to put medicare and Social Security in a lockbox. The governor will not put medicare in a lockbox. I dont think it should be used as a piggy bank for other programs. I think it needs to be moved out of the budget and protected. Ill veto anything that takes money out of Social Security or medicare for anything other than Social Security or medicare. Now, the priorities are just very different. Ill give you a couple of examples. For every new dollar that i propose for spending on health care, governor bush spends 3 for a tax cut for the wealthiest 1 . Now, for every dollar that i propose to spend on education, he spends 5 on a tax cut for the wealthiest 1 . Those are very clear differences. Governor . One minute. The man is practicing fuzzy math again. There is differences. Under Vice President gores plan, hes going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Lyndon Baines johnson in 1965. Were talking about a massive government, folks. Were talking about adding to or increasing 200 new programs, 200 programs, 20,000 new bureaucrats. Imagine how many irs agents its going to take to be able to figure out his targeted tax cut for the middle class that excludes 50 million americans. There is a huge difference in this campaign. He says hes going to give you tax cuts. 50 million of you wont receive it. He said in his speech he wants to make sure the right people gets tax relief. Thats not the role of a president to decide right and wrong. Everybody who pays taxes ought to get tax relief. After my plan is in place, the wealthiest americans will pay the highest percentage of taxes than they do today. And the poorest of americans, 7 Million People wont pay any tax at all. It is a huge difference. Its the difference between big, exploding federal government that wants to think on your behalf and a plan that meets priorities and liberates working people to be able to make decisions on your own. Let me just say, jim, you havent heard the governor deny these numbers. Hes called them phony, hes called them fuzzy, but the fact remains almost 30 of his proposed tax cut goes only to americans that make more than 1 million per year. More money goes to can i have a rebuttal here . Sure, but i want to see if he buys that. Let me tell you what the facts are. The facts are after my plan, the wealthiest of americans pay more taxes of the percentage of a whole than they do today. Secondly, if youre a family of four making 50,000 in massachusetts, you get a 50 tax cut. Let me give you an example, the strzok family. I campaigned with them the other day. They make 50,000 in combined income. They pay 3000 in taxes. In my plan they get 1800 tax relief. In gores plan, they get 800 tax relief. Whose plan makes more sense . He would rather spend the strzoks 1800 and i would rather not spend their money. Do you agree with that . No, i dont. Im going to tell you what the facts are. His facts leave out more than half of the tax cuts i have proposed. If you add the numbers up he still hasnt denied it he spends more money on a tax cut for the wealthiest 1 than all of his proposals for Prescription Drug care, education and National Defense combined. Those are the wrong priorities. 665 billion over ten years for the wealthiest 1 . Now and as i said, almost 30 of it goes to americans that make more than 1 million per year. Every middle class family is eligible for a tax cut under my proposal. Let me give you some specific examples. I believe that College Tuition up to 10,000 a year should be tax deductible so parents can choose to send their kids to college. I believe all seniors should be able to choose their own doctors and get Prescription Drugs from their own pharmacist with medicare paying half the bill. I believe that parents ought to 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 the number one priority in our country and treat teachers like the professionals that they are, and thats why i have made it the number one priority in my budget, not a tax cut for the wealthy. Let me talk about tax cuts one more time. This is a man whose plan excludes 50 million americans. Not so. He doesnt believe take, for example, the maris penalty. He picks and chooses. He decides who the right people are. I want my fellow americans to hear one more time, were going to spend 25 trillion. Were going to direct 25 trillion of revenue over the next ten years, and were projected to spend 21 trillion. Now, surely we can send 5 of that back to you all who pay the bills. This man has been disparaging my plan with all this washington fuzzy math c. I want you to hear a problem we have in america. If youre a single mother making 22,000 a year and youve got two children, under this tax code, for every additional dollar you make you pay a higher margin on that than someone making 22,000 a year. Thats not right. My plan increases the tax dollar for everybody. Not just a few, everybody who pays taxes ought to get relief. Education. Governor bush. Both of you have promised dramatically to change dramatically Public Education in this country. But of the public money spent on education, only 6 of it is federal money. You want to change 100 of education with 6 of the money. Is that possible . We can make a huge difference by saying if you receive federal money, we expect to show you results. Let me give you a story about public ed. Its in houston, texas, a Charter School run by some people from teach for america. Young folks who say, i want to do something good for my country, im going to teach. Its a school for socalled atrisk children. Its, unfortunately, how we label certain children. It means basically they cant learn. Its a school of strong discipline and high standards. Its one of the best schools in houston. And here are the key ingredients high expectations, strong accountability what it says is dont put these rules on it, just hold us accountable for every grade. Thats what we do. As a result, some of these hispanic youngsters are some of the best learners in houston accidenthouston, texas. Our girls went to Public High School and many of the Public Schools are meeting the call. Unfortunately, a lot of schools are trapping children in schools that just wont teach and wont change. Heres the role of federal government. One is to change headstart into a reading program. If you want to access reading money, you can do so, because the goal is for every single child to learn to read. There must be diagnostic tools, teaching money available. Three, weve got to consolidate federal programs to free the districts, free the schools, encourage the innovators like michael, to let schools reach beyond the confines of the current structure to recruit teach for the children type teachers. Four, were going to say if you receive federal money, measure. Third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade and show us whether or not children are learning to read, write and subtra subtract. Instead of subsidizing failure, the money will go to the parents so the parents can choose another Public School the money will go to the parent for Public School or Charter School or tutorial or catholic school. What i care about is children, and so does michael feinberg. And you know what, it can happen in america with the right kind of leadership. Vice president gore . We agree on a few things regarding education. I strongly support accountability, so does governor bush. I support education goal, so does governor bush. I agree with having every state test the children. I also proposed a voluntary National Test from the fourth grade and eighth grade. And a form of testing the president has not endorsed, i think all new teachers ought to be tested, including in the subjects that they teach. Weve got to recruit 100,000 new teachers, and i have budgeted for that. Weve got to reduce the class size so that the student who walks in has more oneonone time with the teacher. We ought to have universal preschool and we ought to make College Tuition tax deductible up to 10,000 a year. Id like to tell you a quick story. I got a letter today as i left sarasota, florida. Im here with a group of 13 people from around the country who helped me prepare and we had a great time. But two days ago, we ate lunch at a restaurant, and the guy who served us lunch got me a letter today. His name is randy ellis. He has a 15yearold daughter named kaylee who is in sarasota high school. Her science class was supposed to be for 24 students. She is the 36th student in that classroom, sent me a picture of her in the classroom. They cant squeeze another desk in for her, so she has to stand during class. I want the federal government, consistent with local control and new accountability, to make improvement of our schools the number one priority so kaylee will have a desk and can sit down in a classroom where she can learn. All right. So having heard the two of you, voters have just heard the two of you. Whats the difference . Whats the choice between the two of you on education . The difference is, there is no new Accountability Measures in Vice President gores plan. He says hes for voluntary testing. You cant have 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 subtra subtract. Thats the difference. You may claim youve got mandatory testing, but you dont, mr. Vice president. And that is a huge difference. Testing is the cornerstone of reform. Do you know how i know . Because its the cornerstone of reform in the state of texas. Republicans and democrats came together and asked the question, what can we do to make our Public Education the best in the country . And weve gone a long way working together to do so. The cornerstone is to have strong accountability and in return for money, in return for flexibility. We post the results on the internet. We encourage parents to take a look at the comparative results of schools. Weve got a strong Charter School movement that i signed the legislation to get started in the state of texas. I believe if we find poor children trapped in schools that wont teach, we need to free the parents. I think we need to expand education savings accounts. Its something Vice President ial running mates supports. Theres big differences of opinion. He wont support freeing local districts from the strains of federal money. What do you see as the difference . First of all, i do have mandatory testing. I think the governor may not have heard what i said clearly. The voluntary test is in addition to the mandatory testing we require of states, all school districts, students themselves and required teacher testing, which goes a step farther than governor bush has been willing to go. Here are a couple differences, though, jim. Governor bush is in favor of vouchers which take taxpayer mona way from Public Schools and give them to private schools that are not accountable for how the money is used and dont have to take all applicants. Private schools play a great role in our society. All our children have gone to both Public Schools and private schools. But i dont think private schools should have ra right to take taxpayer money from Public Schools at a time when kaylee ellis is standing in that classroom. Let me give you another example. I went to a school in dade county, florida where the facilities are so overcrowded, the children have to eat lunch in shifts with the first shift for lunch starting at 9 30 in the morning. This is a Funding Crisis all around the country. There are fewer parents of School Age Children as a percentage of the voting population, and there is the largest generation of students ever. Were in an Information Age when learning is more important than ever. 90 of our kids go to Public Schools. We have to make it the number one priority, modernize our schools, reduce the class size, recruit new teachers, give every child a chance to learn with oneonone time in a highquality safe school. If its a Failing School, shut it down and reopen it under a new principle with a Turnaround Team of specialists the way governor jim hunt does in north carolina. Heres another difference. The governor, if its a Failing School, would leave the children in that Failing School for three years and then give a little bit of money to the parents, a down payment on a down payment for private school tuition, and pretend that would be enough for them to go out and go to a private school. Its an illusion. 30 seconds, governor. Okay. First of all, most is at the state level. Heres the mentality. Im going to make the state do this, im going to make the state do that. All im saying is test every year which you do not, mr. Vice president , you do not test every year unless youve changed your plan on the stage. You need to test every year, because thats where you determine whether or not children are progressing to excellence. Secondly, one of the things we have to be careful about in politics is throwing money at a system that has not yet had reform. Step one is to make sure we reform the system, to have the system in place that leaves no child behind. Stop this business about asking, gosh, how old are you . If youre 10, well put you here, if youre 12, well put you here. Start asking what do you know, and if you dont start working on what they dont know, its too late. Weve been talking about a number of issues. In the final analysis, 90 of being president of the United States is dealing with the issues, not what came up in the campaign. Vice president gore, can you point to a decision, an action you have taken that illustrates your ability to handle the unexpected, the crisis under fire, et cetera . When the action in kosovo was dragging on and we were searching for a solution to the problem, our country had defeated the adversary on the battlefield without a single American Life being lost in combat, but the dictator malosevich was hanging on, i invited the former president of russia to my house and asked him to get involved along with finland to go to belgrade and to take a set of proposals from the United States that would constitute basically a surrender by serbia, but it was a calculated risk that paid off. I could probably give you other examples of decisions over the past 24 years. I have been in Public Service for 24 years, jim, and throughout all that time, the people i have fought for have 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 hmos, the oil companies. They have good people and they play constructive roles sometimes, but sometimes they get too much power. 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 policies and the laws to their advantage. Thats you can see it in this campaign, the Big Drug Companies support governor bushs Prescription Drug proposal. They oppose mine because they dont want to get medicare involved because theyre afraid that medicare will negotiate lower prices for seniors who currently pay the highest prices of all. Governor bush . Ive been standing up to big hollywood, big trial lawyers. What was the question . It was about emergencies, wasnt it . It was about well, okay. As governor you have to deal with emergencies. I remember the floods in our state. I remember going to del rio, texas and i have to pay the administration a compliment. Jay whitt has done a good job working with the governor in times of crisis. But thats times youre tested its a time to test your mettle, its time to test your heart when you see peoples lives upside down. It broke my heart to go to the flood scene in del rio where a fellow and his family just got completely uprooted. The only thing i knew to do was get aid as quickly as possible, which we did with state and federal help, and put my arms around the man and cry with him. Governors are sometimes on the front lines of catastrophic situations. New question. There can be all kinds of cri s crises. There could be a crisis, for instance, in the financial area. 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 in such events . Well, it depends, obviously, but what i would do is get in touch with the federal chairman Alan Greenspan to find out all the facts and all the circumstances. I would have my secretary of treasury be in touch with the Financial Centers not only here but at home. I would make sure 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 it. Thats what governors end up doing. We end up being problem solvers. We come up with practical Commonsense Solutions for problems that were confronted with. In this case of a financial crisis, i would gather up all the facts before i made the decision as to what the government ought or ought not to do. Vice president gore . First i want to compliment the governor on his response to those fires and floods in texas. I accompanied James Lee Whitt down to texas when those fires broke out, and fema has been a major flagship project of our reinventing government efforts, and i agree, it works extremely well now. On the International Financial crises that come up, my friend bob ruben, former secretary of treasury, hes an adviser and great friend in all respects. Ive had a chance to meet with him and Alan Greenspan following the collapse of the mexican pace peso, when the asians started rising our economy, and of course the euros value has been dropping, but it seems to be under control. It started for me in the last eight years when i had the honor of casting the tiebreaking vote to end the old economic plan here at home and put into place a new economic plan that has helped us to make some progress. 22 million new jobs and the greatest prosperity ever, but its not good enough, and my attitude is you aint seen nothing yet. We need to do more and better. So, governor, would you agree there is no basic difference here on intervening the federal government intervening in what might be seen by others as a private financial crisis . No, there is no difference on that. There is a difference in what the economy meant. I think the economy has meant more to the gore and clinton folks and its their role to encourage that. In terms of response to the question, no. Can i comment on that . I think the American People deserve credit for the great economy that we have, and its their ingenuity, i agree with that. They were working pretty hard eight years ago and they had ingenuity eight years ago. The difference is we have a new policy of the policy. Instead of concentrating a tax cuts mostly for the wealthy, i want tax cuts for the middle class families, and i want to continue the prosperity and make sure that it enriches not just a few, but all of our families. Look, we have gone from the biggest deficits to the biggest surpluses. Weve gone from a triple dip recession during the previous 12 years to a tripling of the stock market. Instead of high unemployment, weve got the lowest africanamerican and lowest latino unemployment rates ever in history, and 22 million new jobs. But its not good enough. Too many people have been left behind. We have got to do much more and the key is job training, investments and health care and education, and the environment and the Retirement Security and incidentally, we have to preserve Social Security and i am totally opposed to diverting one of six dollars away from the Social Security trust fund as the governor has proposed into the stock market. I want more incentives and savings for young couples working hard to save and invest on their own on top of Social Security and not at the expense of Social Security as the governor proposes. Two points. One, a lot of folks are still waiting for that 1992 middleclass tax cut. I remember Vice President saying just give us a chance to get up there, and we will make sure that you get the tax cuts. It didnt happen, and now he is having to say it again. They have had their chance to deliver a tax cut to you. Secondly, the surest way to bust this 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 expend suchurs and they could bt 900 billion and they have to raise your taxes by 900 billion or go into the Social Security surplus by 900 billion, and this is a plan to increase the bureaucracy by 900 billion people, and this is such fine print it is going to require numerous irs agents and we need to simply the code and continue to prosperity to share the surplus with the people who pay the bill and particularly those at the bottom end of the economic ladder. If i could respond, jim, what he is quoting is not the Senate Budget committee, but it is a Partisan Press release by the republicans on the Budget Committee which is not worth the government, and the taxpayer paid paper it is printed on. Now, as for 20,000 new bureaucrats as you call them, and you know, the size of the federal government will go down in a gore administration. In the reinventing government program, and you just look at the numbers, and it is 300,000 people smaller today than it was eight years ago. And the fact is that you are going to have a hard time convincing folks that we were a whole lot better off eight years ago than we are today, but that is not the question. The question is will we will better off four years from now than we are today, and as for the surest way to threaten our prosperity, having a 1. 9 trillion tax cut almost half of which is going to wealthy and a 1 trillion Social Security privatization proposal is the surest way to put the budget into deficit and raise the Interest Rates and i cannot let the man continue with the fuzzy math. It is 1. 3 trillion, mr. Vice president , and it is to everybody who goes to pay the tax. I wont be one of the president s who says you will get the tax relief and you dont. What is fair is that everybody who pays the taxes will get relief. I thought that we cleared this up. New question on Social Security. Both of you have Social Security reform plans and we could spend the evening and two or three to talk about them in detail. It suits me. [ laughter ] but, many experts including Federal Reserve chairman greenspan, Vice President gore, say it is going to be impossible for either of you essentially to keep the system viable on its own in the coming baby boomer retirement onslaught without either reducing benefits or increasing taxes. Do you disagree . I do disagree, because if we can keep the prosperity going, and if we can continue to balancing the budget and paying down the debt, then the Strong Economy continues to generate surpluses. This is my plan, i keep the Social Security in a locked box to pay down the debt and the interest savings i would put right back into Social Security, and that is going to extend the life of Social Security for 55 years. Now, i think that it is very important to understand that cutting benefits under Social Security means that people like winnifred skinner who is here from iowa is one of the seniors living hand to mouth, and you talk about cutting the benefits, i dont go along with it, and i am opposed to it. I am opposed to a plan to divert 1 of every 6 dollars fromway from the Social Security trust fund. The Social Security trust fund pays the checks this year with the money that is paid into Social Security this year. At the governor wants to divert 1 of every 6 off into stock market which means that he would drain a trillion dollars out of the Social Security trust fund in this generation over the next 10 years and Social Security under that approach would go bankrupt within this generation. His leading adviser on this plan actually said it would be okay, because then the Social Security trust fund could start borrowing, and it could borrow up to 3 trillion. Now, Social Security has never done that, and i dont think that it should do that. I think it should stay in a locked box, and i will tell you this, i will veto anything that takes money out of Social Security for privatization or anything else other than Social Security. Governor . Well, i thought that it was interesting on the two minutes he spent a million and half on my plan which means he doesnt want you to know that he is loading up the ious for future generations. He put nos real assets in Social Security. It is going to go to 2015 which means all retirees are going to get the promisings made. So for those who he wants to scare into the voting booth to vote for him, hear me loud, a promise made is a promise kept. We want to allow the younger workers to take some of their own money, and this is a difference of the opinion. He thinks it is the governments money, and it is your money, and you should put it in prudent investments so that the 1 trillion will grow to be 3 trillion, and it is going to stay within the Social Security system. He claims it is out of Social Security. It is your money, and it is part of your Retirement Benefits and the fundamental difference of what we believe. I want you to have your own asset that you can call your own and asset to pass on from one generation to the next. I want a better rate of return for your own money than the paltry 2 that the Social Security trust gets today. So mr. Greenspan, i thought that he missed the opportunity to say that there is a third way to get a better rate of return on the Social Security monies coming into the trust. There is 2. 3 trillion of surplus to ensure that younger workers have a Social Security plan in the future if we are smart, and if we trust the workers and we understand the power of the compounding rate of interest. Heres the difference. I give 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 Social Security. My plan is Social Security plus. The governors plan is Social Security minus. Your future benefits would be cut by the amount that is diverted into thek stock market. And if you make bad investments, too bad. But before then, the problem hits, because the money contributed to Social Security this year is an entitlement, and this is how it works. The money is used to pay the benefits for seniors this year. If you cut the amount going in 1 of every 6, then you have to cut the value of every check by 1 of every 6 unless you come up with the money from somewhere else, and i would like to know from the governor and i know that we are not supposed to ask each other questions, but does that trillion dollars come from the trust fund or from the rest of the budget . No. There is enough money to pay the senors tod s t the seniors fr current surplus, and the surplus is more than needed. Your plan is not Social Security plus, it is Social Security plus huge debt. You are leaving the future generations with a huge ious and it is time to have a leader to put off tomorrow what we should do today. It is time to have somebody step up and say, let the younger workers take some of their own money and under guidelines invest it in the private markets. The safest of federal investments yields 4 and this is twice of the amount of the rate of return in the Social Security returns, and there a fundamental difference of opinion here. Younger worker after younger worker and here is my call that i trust you. The issue is changing, because the seniors now understand that the promise made is a promise kept, but younger workers now understand that we have to have a government that trusts them, and that is exactly what i am going to do. And can i respond to that, jim . This is a big issue. This is a big issue, and could we do another round on it. We are almost out of it. Just briefly. When fdr established Social Security, they did not call it the ious, but it is the full faith and credit of the United States, and if you dont have trust in that, i do. And if you take it out of the surplus of the trust fund, that means that the trust fund is going to go bankrupt in this generation, within 20 years. Go ahead. This is a government that thinks that a 2 rate of return on your money is satisfactory. It is not. This is a government that says that younger workers cant possibly have their own asset. We have to think differently about the issue, and make sure that the seniors get the promise made, but if we dont trust the younger workers to manage some of the money with the Social Security surplus to grow from 1 trillion to 3 trillion it is going to be impossible to bridge the gap what mr. Gore is saying without huge payroll gaps or taxes. Mr. Bush, issues of character that distinguish you from Vice President gore . Well, man loves his wife and i appreciate that a lot. And i love that. And the man loves his family, and i appreciate that a lot, because i love my family. The thing that discouraged 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 believe theyve moved that sign the buck stops here from the Oval Office Desk to the buck stops here on the lincoln bedroom, and it is not good for the country. It is not right. We need to have a new look about how we conduct ourselves in office. There a huge trust. I see it all of the time when people come up to me, and say that i, i dont want you to let me down again. And we can do better than the past administration has done. It is time for the fresh start. It is time for the new look. It is time for a fresh start after a season of cynicism. And so, i dont know the man well, but i have been disappointed about how he and his administration has conducted the fundraising affairs. You know, going to the buddhist temple and then claiming it is not a fundraiser is not my view of responsibility. Vice president gore . Well, we should attack our countrys problems and not attack each other. I want to spend my time making this country even better than it is, and not trying to make you out to be a bad person. You may want to focus on scandals, but i want to focus on the results. As i said a couple of months ago, i stand here as my own man, and i want you to see me for who i really am. Tipper and i have been married for 30 years. We became grandparents a year and a half ago. We have four children. I have devoted 24 years of my life to Public Service and i have said it before and i will say it again, if you entrust me to the presidency and may not be the most exciting politician, but ly work hard for you everyday and for working men and women, and i will never let you down. Governor, what are you saying when you mention the fundraising scandals or the fundraising charges that involved Vice President gore, and what are you saying that the voters should take to that from the election . They should factor it in when they make the decision in the voting booth. In what way . People need to be held responsible for the actions they take in life. I think that go ahead. That is part of the need of the cultural change and we need to be responsible for what we do, and the people in highest office in land have to be responsible, and that is the way i have conducted myself as governor of texas and the way i will be president of the United States should i be fortunate to be as president of the United States. And you Vice President . No, we are to be experience are, and knowledge of issues and i am asking you again to see me for who i am. I am offering you my own vision, my own experience and my own proposals and incidentally one of them is this. The Current Campaign financing system has not reflected credit on anybody on either party, and that is one of the reason that i have said before and i will pledge it here tonight, if i am president the first bill that Joe Lieberman and i will send to the United States congress is the Mccain Feingold finance reform bill that whether it is the patient bill of rights to take the patient decisions away from the doctors and the nurses and the opposition of the hmos to be limiting the special interest money and give the democracy back to the American People. I wish governor bush would join me in evening in endorsing the Mccain Feingold Campaign Finance reform bill. You know this man has no credibility on the issue. I read in the New York Times that he said that he cosponsored the bill, and he was not in the senate with senator feingold. Look. What you need to know is that i will uphold the law, and i will have an attorney general to uphold the law. When it is time for the Campaign Funding reform is after the election, and this man has outspent me, and the special interests are outspending me, and i will not lay down my arms in the middle of the campaign for somebody who has no credibility on the issue. Senator mccain said in excuse me one, sec, Vice President gore, senator mccain said in august, it does not matter which one of you is president of the United States in january, there is blood on the floor of the United States senate, and he is going to tie it up until Campaign Finance reform is passed to ban soft money, and would you support that effort by him or sign a bill that is finally passed that would include i would support a ban of corporate soft money, and labor soft money as long as there is a check off and i have campaigned on this, and there needs to be instant disclosure on the internet as to who gave what to whom and we need to enforce the laws and we need an attorney general to enforce the law, and be strict about it and firm about it. Look, governor bush, you have attacked my character and credibili credibility, and i am not going to respond in kind. I think that we should focus on the problems and not attack each other, and one of the Serious Problems and hear me well is that our system of government is being undermined by too much influence coming from special interest money. We have to get a handle on it. And like john mccain, i have learned from experience, and it is not a new position for me. 24 years ago i supported full Public Financing of all federal elections and anybody who thinks that i am just saying it is going to be the first bill thatly send to the congress, i want you to know they care passionately about this, and i will fight until it becomes law. I want people to hear what he said. He is for full Public Financing of public elections and i am against that. I dont want the government financing elections. On that wonderful note of disagreement, we will stop here, and go to the closing statements. Governor bush is first. You have two minutes. Thank you, jim and mr. Vice president , and Lively Exchange and we have huge differences of opinion. Mine is that i want to empower people, and e also want to go to washington to get some positive things done. It is going to require new spirit, and spirit of cooperation, and require the ability of the republican president to reach out across the partisan divide to say to democrats to come together to do what is right for america. It is my record as governor of texas and how i conduct myself if i am fortunate enough to earn your vote as president of the United States. I want to finally get something done on medicare and make sure that Prescription Drugs are available for all seniors, and i want seniors to have additional choices when it comes to choosing their health care plans. I want to have something done on Social Security, and have the seniors with a promise made is a promise kept, and i want the younger workers to manage some of the money in payroll taxes and also to get a better rate of return on their money. I want to rebuild the military to keep the peace and a strong hand when it comes to the United States and world affairs. I dont want to try to put our troops in all places at all times. I dont want to be the worlds policeman but peacemaker and having a military of high morale and well quipped. I want to have antiballistic Missile Systems to keep us from a rogue nation who tries to hold us hostage or blackmail a friend. I want to have a system of hope and promise and i have a strong record of working with republicans and democrats in texas to make sure that no child is left behind. I understand the role of government, but it can be constructive when it comes to reform to make sure that there are accountability systems. My intentions are to earn your vote and confidence. I am asking for your vote. I want you have to be on my team, and for those of you who are working, thanks, thanks from the bottom of my heart. And for those who are making up your mind, i will be honored to have your support. Mr. Vice president gore, two minutes. I want to thank you who have watched and listened tonight. This is a crucial time in history and a fork in the road. We have an incredible prosperity, and a lot people have been left behind. We have a very important decision to make. 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, vi fought for the working men and women of this country. Middleclass families. Why . Because you are the ones who have the hardest time paying taxes, the hardest time making mends meet, and you are making car payments and mortgage payments and doing right by your kids and a lot of times, there are powerful forces against you. Make no mistake about it, they do have undue influence in washington, d. C. , and it makes a difference if you have a president who will fight for you. I know one thing about the position of president , it is the only position in our constitution that is filled by an individual who is given the responsibility to fight not just for one state or one district or the well connect toed or the wealthy, but to fight for all people, and especially for those who most need somebody to stand up to take up the powerful forces against them in the way. There is a woman ms. Skinner from iowa who is 79 years old and she has Social Security and im not going to cut her benefits or support any proposal that would. She gets a small pension, but in order to pay for her prescriptions she has to go out several hours a day seven days a week to pick up cans. She came from iowa in a winnebago with her poodle to attend here tonight. And i want to tell her tonight that i am going to fight for a Prescription Drug benefit for all seniors and fight for the people of this country for a prosperity that benefits all. And we will continue this dialogue next week on october 11th at Wake Forest University in winston salem, north carolina, and the format is more informal and more conversational with the two candidates seated with me. And then october 17th in st. Louis, and that is a town hall format, and then the day after tomorrow, october 5th, the 90minute debate for the candidates for Vice President senator Joe Lieberman, and republican candidate former secretary of defense dick cheney, and it will then be moderated by bernard shaw of cnn. Thank you, governor george bush and Vice President al gore. Im jim lehrer, good night. [ applause ] week nights this month on American History tv, we are looking at the past president ial debates. Tonight, it is the 2004 debates between president george w. Bush and democratic senator john kerry of massachusetts. The first debate was held at the university of miami and the candidates took questions from jim lehrer of pbs about Foreign Policy and the bushs response to the 9 11 terrorist attacks and the war in iraq. That starts at 9 00 p. M. Eastern. Enjoy American History tv this weekend and every weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend before election day november 3rd, we will look at president s and president ial elections. Saturday at 10 00 p. M. Eastern on reel america, four films that explore the electoral system. On november 3rd, the election of john f. Kennedy, president of the United States. Richard m. Nixon, 1976, and then the final president ial debate between al gore and george bush. Then at 2 00 p. M. Eastern, the first president ial debate between george w. Bush and john kerry. And then the personality and achievements of Franklin Roosevelt on the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan3. The last of the three president ial debates in the 2000 contest between Vice President al gore and Texas Governor george w. Bush was a town hall format at Washington University in st. Louis. The audience was made up of undecided voters chosen be ti gallup polling organization. Good evening from the field house at Washington University in st. Louis, im jim lehrer of the newshour on pbs, and