|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
| PARTISAN VIEWS | |
 October 3, 2000  |
|
|
GOP strategist Mike Deaver and Democratic pollster Mark Mellman reflect on the first Gore-Bush encounter.
|
|
MICHAEL DEAVER: Well, I think George Bush obviously had the most to gain, and I think he did gain tonight. He was relaxed. He did have some humor. He had a command of the facts tonight. He stayed on his themes over and over and over again. He wasn't taken aback by Gore at any point. I think George Bush gained tonight. RAY SUAREZ: And the "Morning Mellman Mail", what's the banner headline? MARK MELLMAN: Well, the headline I think really is Bush had a big burden
to meet and he failed to meet it. The reality is if you look at the
national polls, Gore has a consistent, slight but consistent, edge.
In the key battleground states, that edge is even bigger. George Bush
had a burden to change in a significant way the dynamic of this election,
to inject a new way of thinking about this election. That just didn't
happen. From my |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Lectures and missed opportunities | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
MICHAEL DEAVER: Well, you know, I saw a poll earlier today that 50 percent of the people who are going to watch this poll didn't know the position of either one of these candidates on anything. And I think tonight they did. And so I think that is a big plus for George Bush. They got a chance to see him. They have seen Al Gore over and over and over again. And they heard a lot from him again tonight. This is the first time they've really been able to take measure of George Bush on where he stood on the issues. And I think that's a plus. RAY SUAREZ: Do you think that is a performance that really makes its impact in overall impression over the ark of the hour and a half, or were there some particular exchanges where the Governor presented both high contrast and maybe got the better of the exchange?
RAY SUAREZ: Mark Mellman? MARK MELLMAN: That's why people bring -- take out of these debates what they bring into it. I didn't hear any facts and figures from George Bush. I heard some retreat to vague nostrum, but I think that the fundamental devastating fact that Paul Gigot referred to a moment ago, this notion that the Bush tax cut gives more money to the wealthiest 1% of Americans than he invests in education, environment, health care, prescription drugs. That devastating fact in my judgment speaks volumes about George Bush's priorities. And I think the fact that people got to see and hear that tonight did not hear George Bush refute that; I think people walk away looking at George Bush's positions on the issues and say, "he doesn't really reflect my priorities. He doesn't really reflect my views or my values." RAY SUAREZ: Not directly refute it, but did he neutralize it with his own answers? MICHAEL DEAVER: I think so. I think so. And I think there's another thing too. I got the sense that people may not be tuning in to any more of these debates. I mean, if we have to hear this pedantic lecturing from Gore for another three nights, there was almost a talking down that came through in the Gore lectures, not just to what he was saying to George Bush, but what he was saying to the American people. There's a sort of smarty- pants impression that came through.
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Points of agreement | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
RAY SUAREZ: There were many points of agreement between the two. How do those work in the confines of a debate, both the governor saying of the vice president, he and I agree on that, the vice president saying of the governor, yes, on that particular issue... MARK MELLMAN: I think the American people like that. I think they'd like to see that. And I think that was one of the things that Bush kept harping on, about the fact that he had the experience to work in a bipartisan way. I think that resonates well with the American people. And I think each time they agreed with each other, the American people sort of took a little sigh of relief from that. RAY SUAREZ: Do you agree with the earlier analysis that there was a little bit... maybe not punch pulling, but they stepped back from taking really big swings at each other? MARK MELLMAN: I think that's absolutely right. I think the American people want to see differences on the issues, but they don't want pugilistic combat. They don't want these guys ripping each apart before them on their television screens. I think each of them was trying to be careful about that. When you say you agree with your opponent, I agree with Mike 100 percent, I think people did breath a sigh of relief. Maybe these are decent guys, after all, -- and not the nasty politicians we're so used to thinking about. RAY SUAREZ: If you had been a coach, Michael Deaver, too much detail, too little, about right? MICHAEL DEAVER: Are you talking about for George Bush or both? RAY SUAREZ: For George Bush, both of them.
RAY SUAREZ: Michael Deaver, Mark Mellman, thank you both. |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
        |
|
| Support the kind of journalism done by the NewsHour...Become a member of your local PBS station. | ||
| ||
| PBS Online Privacy Policy Copyright ©1996- MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved. | ||
| ||
RAY
SUAREZ: And we get that, Gwen, from Republican media strategist Michael
Deaver, and Democratic pollster and strategist Mark Mellman.
perspective,
Gore looked knowledgeable; Bush looked uncertain. Gore looked in command;
Bush was often rattled. Gore was factual. By contrast, I think Bush
often retreated to vague assertions. Bush had a burden to change the
dynamic of this election. He didn't do that. And that's a huge missed
opportunity. 
MICHAEL
DEAVER: Well, I think that one of the things that you're really looking
for tonight is impression. The impression to me was George Bush knows
what he's talking about. He had the facts and figures at his fingertips,
and he wasn't about to be tripped up by Gore. That was the impression
I got out of this tonight. 
MARK
MELLMAN: Well, you know, what I heard was someone who knew what he was
talking about, somebody who was well schooled in the issues, well schooled
in the facts, and really understood them. And I think Al Gore looked
at this as a job interview with the American people tonight. He wanted
to impress the American people with his knowledge of the issues, with
his knowledge of the facts, with his positions on the issues, with his
values. And I think he did that quite well. 
MICHAEL
DEAVER: I must say, I tune out after a while with Gore. I don't think
that's my partisanship. There is just something about his recitation
that is off-putting after a while. I have listened to George Bush for
a long time. I thought he was very good tonight. I thought he was relaxed;
he was natural. He was trying to identify with his kind of people. I
thought it was good.