Debate brings Presidential candidates face-to-face

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 8

Debate brings Presidential candidates face-to-face

NZPA-Reuter Boston The Democrat, Michael Dukakis, and Republican, George Bush, yesterday were braced for a 90-minute campaign debate that marks a critical crossroads in their race for the United State Presidency. Mr Dukakis, said by advisers to be relaxed and confident after four days of drills in his New England home town, was to arrive in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for the televised encouter soon after Mr Bush, who described himself as “laid back” as he finished preparing in Washington. The candidates were to answer questions from three journalists and a moderator at Wake Forest University before a television audience predicted at more than 100 mill-

ion. The debate, the first of two that Mr Dukakis and Mr Bush will hold before the November 8 Election, was promoted like a championship boxing match with the biggest trophy possible — the White House — potentially riding on the outcome. Public opinion polls

indicate that Mr Bush holds a slender lead in the battle to succeed President Reagan, but the numbers suggest voters are not wild about him or Mr Dukakis. Political experts say the contest is still wide open. As the news media played up the stakes involved, the Dukakis

and Bush camps engaged in furious rounds of political “poormouthing,” minimising their respective candidate’s prospects in the debate and trying to put the burden for a strong performance on the other man. Arkansas’s Governor, Bill Clinton, who was among those who helped Mr Dukakis prepare, told reporters on Saturday that he believed the Massachusetts Governor would win the debate “just by being there.” “George Bush has an overwhelming advantage in terms of his years of national exposure and the level of knowledge the American voters feel they have of him,” Mr Clinton said. “I think if Dukakis can simply be himself and communicate his convictions and his feelings about the issues, he’ll do fine,” he said.