HANNIBAL, Mo. – Al Gore wrapped up his riverboat tour yesterday by accusing his GOP presidential rival George W. Bush of trying to “duck” man-to-man debates.
Bush “apparently wants to see if he can get away with some Sunday morning talk show when nobody is watching much and substituting that for what the American people have a right to expect,” the Democratic candidate said.
Gore said the public should get “one-on-one debates in prime time when everybody can hear a good detailed discussion of the issues.”
“I don’t know why he would want to duck that,” added Gore, who said it would be “unprecedented” for Bush to “stiff” the bipartisan planners who set the debate schedule.
Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer ridiculed the vice president’s comment.
“What part of ‘debate’ doesn’t he understand? Gov. Bush wants to debate five times,” Fleischer said, although he refused to say why Bush was reluctant to accept the bipartisan debate plan proposed last spring.
Under those rules, Gore and Bush – who are now neck-and-neck in the polls – would probably meet on a stage alone three times this fall.
But Bush wants to scrap that format for a plan that would include independent candidates Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan.
Gore relished word that he holds a 47-44 percent lead in a new Reuters/Zogby poll – the third survey in a row to show the Democratic ticket leading the Republicans. The poll’s margin of error puts the two in a dead heat.
Although a sore throat made his every word a labor, Gore remained enthusiastic, upbeat and even loose.
Gore will head to Miami for a fund-raiser before flying back to Washington to meet with Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox.