Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 6, 1993 TAG: 9311090304
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In the end, they finally agreed to a 90-minute, televised debate Tuesday night. It will take place in a Washington TV studio, moderated by talk show host Larry King, and may include call-in questions from listeners, according to White House officials.
Earlier in the day, Perot had accused the White House of trying to weasel out of a face-off by rejecting his preferred scenario of three debates.
"This is like the town bully challenging you to fight," Perot declared. The most outspoken critic of eliminating trade barriers with Mexico, Perot wanted the debates held in cities where he plans to hold anti-NAFTA rallies: Tampa, Fla.; Detroit; and Seattle.
White House officials, in turn, charged that Perot, not Gore, was the cowardly one.
"He's sort of backing away from this whole deal," insisted Jack Quinn, Gore's chief of staff. Quinn said that Perot was trying to avoid a serious debate and wanted to limit it to "a contest of one-liners."
Gore, who initiated the debate challenge, proposed a single event moderated by King. He suggested it be held Sunday in Tampa at a site far removed from Perot's rally.
"We want a neutral format and a neutral place," Gore said.
Portraying himself as a David willing to take on the White House's Goliath, Perot offered to debate both President Clinton and Gore simultaneously.
"I'll take 'em two-to-one," Perot said, even offering to debate a third, White House "spinmaster."
The debate will take place eight days before Congress votes on NAFTA. Political analysts disagreed over the wisdom of Gore's decision to spar with the wily Perot.
In a debate with Dan Quayle during last fall's election, Gore was well-informed on the issues but proved to be stiff and unable to fight off Quayle's incessant attacks.
Participating in three election debates last year with Clinton and President Bush, Perot was feisty and full of quips. But he offered few specifics on his economic program.
Perot "is going to kill Gore," Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist who briefly served as a former Perot campaign adviser, said. "He'll talk in sound bites and he'll hit on emotional buttons."
White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers disagreed, saying that administration officials believe the debate will show that the public can be won over when presented with the facts on NAFTA.
"In a 90-minute debate, Perot better come prepared to talk details," Meyers said. "The vice president is an articulate spokesman."
by CNB