The final clash of the titans

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

ST.LOUIS, OCT. 16. It is the last of the three debates and there is a lot going for both the Texas Governor, Mr. George Bush and the Vice-President, Mr. Al Gore. For Mr. Bush, it is a question of keeping the momentum going and in the case of the Vice- President, he has to get back the edge he had not too long ago.

If there is some frustration in the Gore camp on the eve of the St. Louis showdown, it is not without reason. For the most part, the consensus has been that the Vice-President emerged from the debates in Boston and Winston-Salem stronger of the two by way of substance. Yet in the aftermath of North Carolina last week, the Texas Governor is getting high marks for substance and style. In urging their candidate to refrain from the ``lecturing'' mode, Mr. Gore's advisors probably over-coached him to the point that the Vice-President in Winston-Salem was just the opposite of what he was in Boston. Mr. Gore, in the view of many, was simply too passive. The Gore campaign has not yet found the fine line of taking apart Mr. Bush's track record and doing this without appearing to look down on the Republican nominee.

Mr. Gore will have to come up with a strategy that lets the American people know what he really is. And St. Louis offers the last opportunity for this. In a town hall setting, the candidates will be taking questions from the audience and the moderator. The two are free to wander about the stage or lean on a stool. This immediately raises the advantages of the format. What makes this last debate critical is that neither Mr. Bush nor Mr. Gore can afford to commit even a minor mistake as this election is literally heading to the wire.

With the focus of this election by and large on domestic issues, the thinking is that the debate in St. Louis will be, for the most part, confined to this aspect. But foreign policy as it relates to the West Asia violence and terrorist attack on the American warship, the USS Cole is also expected to figure. The Texas Governor was at one time thought of being weak in the realm of foreign affairs but he stood his ground during the second debate. This contributed to his rising in the polls.

The indication from the Gore campaign is that the Vice-President will criticise the record of Mr. Bush in Texas on issues like health insurance for children and on broader themes such as social security, medicare and prescription drugs.

One survey shows that six in ten Americans consider prescription drugs to be a ``very important'' consideration in their vote. In the final days to the November 7 election, the Bush campaign has evolved a two-fold strategy involving prominent women and Republican Governors. An all-women team comprising the Texas Governor's wife, mother, his running mate's wife, the wife of Senator John McCain and his top foreign affairs advisor, Ms. Condoleeza Rice will head to the key swing States of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Women account for 51 per cent of the voting population. Mr. Gore has the edge but the Texas Governor has been catching up with this category of voters.

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