WASHINGTON – George W. Bush swung an ax while Al Gore read a book yesterday as the party’s two prizefighters readied for a 90-minute debate tomorrow in Boston – their first-ever face-off.
The preparations, indoors for Gore and outdoors for Bush, follow more than a year of campaigning, negative ads by both sides and sniping over where – and if – they should debate.
Gore’s campaign chairman, William Daley, pronounced his man ready to go, while Bush aides said their guy was “prepared.”
Bush’s sweaty approach, which included a run and a long walk with wife Laura, came as he was strongly attacked by someone who ought to be an ally: the Rev. Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition.
Bush has “blown a major lead, and the campaign has lost focus in these last several weeks,” charged Robertson, who says the Texas governor plays a “dangerous strategy” by excluding conservatives.
To win, Robertson said on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Bush must attack Gore the way he once hit Arizona Sen. John McCain and “come through like a fighter. We can’t have these cutesy ads about rats.”
As they prepare for the debate, Gore practiced with former White House aide Paul Begala, who imitated Bush. Bush rehearsed with Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who played the role of Gore.
Bush, who since Friday has stayed at his remote ranch near Waco, chopped some cedar, which he says helps “recharge his batteries.” Today the governor flies to West Virginia.
Gore, who is entertaining 14 regular Joe-type voters in the days before the debate, remained tucked away, reviewing documents, according to campaign spokesman Jano Cabrera.
The vice president, who has started calling the debate his “job interview” with the American people, spent thousands of dollars on travel, hotel and food costs so that all 14 could be with him all weekend, today and even tomorrow in Boston.
“They will be with him the whole time,” Cabrera said, saying the guests are mostly teachers, but include a firefighter, a construction worker and a couple of retirees.
On the airwaves yesterday, Team Gore sought to lower expectations for their candidate while Team Bush described the vice president as the sharpest arguer in America.
“If America was going to elect the president of the debate society, we’d go with Al Gore,” Pennsylvania GOP Gov. Tom Ridge told Fox News Sunday.
Despite Gore’s advantage on experience – 40 debates over a 25-year career vs. 12 debates for Bush over a six-year career – Ridge insisted Bush “is in command of the facts” and will be “prepared.”
One surprise for Bush was a new poll by the Chattanooga Times-Free Press showing him leading Gore 46-43 percent in Tennessee, a statistical tie but a surprise, given the veep’s roots there.
On another front, Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.) criticized Gore running mate Joe Lieberman for saying he’s open to meeting with Louis Farrakhan, whom King called a “religious and racial bigot.”
On the dual mystery of whether the Gore campaign has a mole in the Bush campaign and who mailed a Bush debate prep tape to one of Gore’s best friends, there were few answers yesterday.
Ari Fleischer, a Bush spokesman, said, “We are pleased the FBI is digging and digging deep. We want to get to the bottom of this.”