I am bernard shaw of cnn. Cable news network. My colleagues are ann compton, of abc news. Margaret warner of newsweek magazine. And andrew mitchell, of nbc news. The candidates are Vice President george bush, republican nominee and governor michael dukakis. For the next 90 minutes we will be questioning the candidates by representatives of the two campaigns, however there are no restrictions on the questions that my colleague and i can ask this evening and the candidates have no prior knowledge of our questions. By agreement between the candidates, the first question goes to governor jackies. You have two minutes to respond. Governor if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, which you favored and irrevocably Death Penalty for the killer. No i dont, bernard. And i think you know that i post Death Penalty, all of my life. I dont see any evidence, and i think there are better and more effective ways to deal with crime. We have done so in my own state, and its one of the reasons why we hav
President george bush, arkansas governor bill clinton and independent candidate ross perot. Here now is mr. Ross perot. Ladies and gentlemen. [applause] good to see you thank you. Now, governor clinton. [applause] and now, president bush. [applause] about 30 seconds, we will be going on the air. Good evening and welcome to the first of three debates among the major candidates for president of the United States, sponsored by the commission on president ial debates. The candidates are, independent candidate ross perot, governor bill clinton, the democratic nominee, and president george bush, the republican nominee. I am jim lehrer of the news hour on pbs and i will be the moderator for this 90 minute event, which is taking place before an audience here in the Athletic Complex on the campus of Washington University in st. Louis, missouri. Three journalists will be asking questions tonight. They are john mashek of the boston globe, ann compton of abc news and sander vanocur, a freelance jo
Building infrastructure over the next ten years. Its not easy to do if you dont have to pick up a 30 million tab to defend your country. The European Community is in a position to pay a lot more than they have in the past. I agree with the president. And for us to bring the money back and here and we can only be a super power if were an economic superpower. One minute, sir. I agree with the general statement. I disagree we need 150,000 troops to fulfill our role in europe. We must maintain an engagement there. Theres dangers there. Theres other trouble spots in the world, which are closer to europe than the United States. But two former defense secretaries recently issued reports saying that 100,000 or slightly fewer troop troops would be enough. We have to do things that are costly and i dont believe nor do we need to keep 150,000 troops in europe given how much the red army under the control of russia has been cut. The arms control agreement concluded between mr. Push. I dont think w
[ 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 in the questions that my colleagues and i can ask this evening, and the candidates have no prior knowledge of our questions. By agreement between the candidates, the first question goes to governor dukakis. You have two minutes to respond. Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable Death Penalty for the killer . No, i dont. I think you know i opposed the Death Penalty during all of my life. I dont see any evidence that its a deterrent. I think there are per and more effective ways to deal with violent crime. We have down so in my own state. Its one of the reasons why we have had the biggest drop in crime of any industrial state in america, why we have the lowest murder rate in any industrial state in america. But we have work to do this nation. W
Michael dukakis. Candidates took questions on taxes, the budget deficit, defense spending, and each candidates choice of running mate. Good evening, on behalf of the commission on president ial debates, i am pleased to welcome you to the second president ial debate. Im bernard shaw of cnn, cable news network. My colleagues on the panel are and cotton of abc news. Margaret warner of newsweek magazine. And Andrea Mitchell of nbc news. The candidates are Vice President george bush, the republican nominee, and governor michael dukakis. [applause] for the next 90 minutes will be questioning the candidates in 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 can ask this evening. And the candidates have no prior knowledge of our questions. By agreement between the candidates, the first question goes to governor dukakis. You have two minutes to respond. Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and