Facebook Twitter Email
OCTOBER 12, 2000

Presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush mostly agreed with one another last night as the second televised debate brought the two together before the nation's voters.

The first portion of the 90-minute debate had both Gore and Bush agreeing with one another on many issues. If undecided voters were looking for a distinction between the candidates, they might not have found it among the pair's frequent agreements on peace in the Middle East, struggles for democracy in Yugoslavia, and the role of the country in the international arena.

But significant differences emerged as the night went on. Bush challenged the government's record on "nation building" exercises and said he wouldn't have supported sending troops to Somalia or Haiti, because missions turned into efforts to rebuild the two countries.

"I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war," said Bush.

Gore, on the other hand, supported the practice of nation building. He referred to the aftermath of World War II, when the United States helped European nations.

The two also disagreed on the environment, a particular rallying cry of Gore. But Gore stayed away from reciting numbers and data when he said the country needs to take the lead and combat global warming or face serious consequences.

Bush, meanwhile, took on a wait and see approach to the issue. He said he wanted a "full understanding" of the facts before making any decision about the environment.

And although Native Americans weren't mentioned at all, as in the first debate or the Vice Presidential debate, racial profiling, hate crimes, and the rights of gays and lesbians were discussed by the candidates. Both agreed that racial profiling needs to be combated but Bush said he wouldn't support "special rights" for gays and lesbians

Bush said there is a hate crimes bill in his home state of Texas, where two men are being punished with the death penalty for the death of an African-American man, James Byrd. He said he didn't know how they could receive any tougher penalty than death, with or without hate crimes legislation.

Read the Debate Transcript:
Transcript: Presidential Debate, Winston-Salem, NC (eMediaMillWorks 10/11)

Relevant Links:
The Commission on Presidential Debates - www.debates.org

Related Stories:
Second debate airs tonight (The Talking Circle 10/11)
Candidates repeat selves at debate (The Talking Circle 10/4)
Text of Presidential debate (The Talking Circle 10/4)
Bush, Gore enter debates even (The Talking Circle 10/3)
Presidential debates set (The Talking Circle 09/15)
Pueblos endorse Gore, others (The Talking Circle 09/01)
Bush meets with Navajo Nation (The Talking Circle 09/01)
Candidates hit the road (The Talking Circle 08/30)
Winona LaDuke urges action (The Talking Circle 08/29)