Gore, Kemp Ready To Go

By Kathleen Hayden/AllPolitics

vice presidential debate ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AllPolitics, Oct. 9) -- Vice President Al Gore and GOP challenger Jack Kemp are going through final preparations in the last hours before their debate tonight at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. Both candidates have promised to keep it civil and attack only the issues, not each other.

Tonight's Gore/Kemp face-off will follow the same format as Sunday night's presidential debate, with Jim Lehrer of PBS again moderating, and is expected to echo the substance of the previous debate as well. Most of the same issues -- taxes, the economy, education, welfare and foreign policy -- will be addressed.

The two vice-presidential hopefuls have pledged to follow their bosses' playbooks. Gore's strategy is to communicate President Bill Clinton's agenda for the future while touting lower unemployment rates, a shrinking budget deficit and declining crime rates. White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry says that he will also emphasize high technology issues, a longtime Gore strength.

As Republican candidate Bob Dole has been doing, Kemp plans to label President Clinton as a liberal hiding behind conservative election-year promises. Kemp says he will not assume the "attack dog" role as former Vice President Dan Quayle attempted to do during the 1992 vice-presidential debate.

Certainly a few snappy one-liners will zing, but tonight's debate between the longtime friends and former House colleagues is expected to be civil. They say they want to concentrate on the positive messages of their respective campaigns. And though Gore and Kemp discourage speculation of a possible year 2000 match-up between them for the top job, both want to come across tonight as presidential and to avoid any gaffes that could haunt them in the future.

The vice president and his team retreated to Longboat Key, Fla., over the past few days, where they have run through four mock debates in an empty laboratory at the Mote Marine Aquarium and Laboratory, simulating the 90-minute nighttime format of the debate. Mother Nature even tested Gore's ability to handle surprises as rainfall from Tropical Storm Josephine leaked through the building roof and directly on to his podium. Aides say Gore wasn't thrown off at all.

During the day, Gore was peppered with practice questions as he shot hoops. His debate prep team insists the vice president needs little content help since he is already well-versed on the issues. Their focus has been on the format, since Gore is not used to speaking within time constraints.

The short time limits are expected to be even more difficult for the exuberant Kemp, who has been known to keep talking when enthused on a subject. When he arrived in St. Petersburg, Kemp joked to the welcoming crowd, "I cut my answers down from eight minutes to three minutes and I'm working on 90 seconds."

Before going to St. Petersburg, Kemp and his advisers isolated themselves at Dole's Bal Harbour condominium for intensive prep time. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) played the role of Gore, taking care to be "appropriately rigid," referring to the vice president's reputation as a wooden public speaker.

Kemp and his wife Joanne arrived in St. Petersburg Tuesday, and Gore joined his wife Tipper and their four children there today. The president is at the White House, where he plans a low-profile day to keep the spotlight on the vice president, while Dole is campaigning in Illinois. Both plan to watch their running mates square off.

Gore, Kemp Ready To Go

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