Section B • Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, October 18, 2000
Nation
For comments. contact Lori O'Toole at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.com
Debate targets undecided voters
The Associated Press
ST.LOUIS — Three weeks from judgment at the polls, Al Gore and George W. Bush tried to gain the favor of crucial uncommitted voters last night in the third and last of their presidential debates.
The night was beginning in silence, a moment of tribute to Gov. Mel Carnahan of Missouri, killed in an airplane crash the night before as he campaigned for the Senate.
The presidential nominees and their voter-questioners were pausing in Carnahan's memory before the climactic 90-minute debate on the campus of Washington University.
While the television audiences for this year's debates have not matched those of past presidential campaigns about 37.6 million saw the debate last Wednesday night — Bush and Gore were still playing to more people than would watch them again before the election.
After two debates without decisive moments, it was a chance perhaps to break out of the virtual deadlock that
pollsters see them in now.
concentrating as the campaign days dwindle toward Tuesday, Nov. 7. In the latest national polls on issues that have been argued in the debates, Gore has
The presidential campaign is rated statistically even in the polls, although Bush has gained since the debates began two weeks ago in Boston. Missouri is one of the swing states on which Bush and Gore are
the advantage on the economy, health care and education, while Bush is preferred on the question of trust and honesty. Bush also has a narrow edge on leadership skill and likability.
Along with those topics and traits, there were crises abroad for the debaters to deal with — the Israeli-Palestinian strife that sent President Clinton to an emergency summit in Egypt, which ended with the two sides agreeing to try to end 20 days of violence, and the terrorist attack on the destroyer USS Cole at a refueling stop in Yemen, which killed 17 sailors.
The debate finale was in a different format, with the audience, rather than the moderator, Jim Lehrer of PBS, putting most of the questions to the candidates. The potential questioners were voters from the St. Louis area, selected by the Gallup organization as uncommitted between Bush and Gore. They were among about 600 people in the debate theater.
The exclusion of minor candidates from the two-way debate led to another court challenge, by Ralph Nader, the Green Party nominee, who argued that his rights were violated when he was ushered out of the Boston debate even though he had been given a ticket.
Nader and Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan both have sued the commission sponsors for keeping them out under a rule that excludes candidates who do not have at least 15 percent support in the national public opinion polls. Both Nader and Buchanan are far short of that.
The Associated Press
GOLDMAN, Mo. — Gov. Mel Carnahan's death in the crash of a small plane, piloted by his son, plunged Missouri into mourning for the beloved politician yesterday and cut short one of the hardest-fought Senate races in the nation.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and National Transportation Safety Board members combed the crash site throughout the day yesterday. The bodies remained in the wreckage.
The twin-engine plane went down Monday night in rainy, foggy weather south of St. Louis on the way to a campaign rally, killing the 66-year-old Carnahan, his 44-year-old son Roger and an aide, Chris Sifford. 37. No one else was on board.
Mourners gathered at the governor's mansion in Jefferson City shortly after daybreak as the news spread.
"He did so much for our state," said Susie Shultz, a state employee who brought red chrysanthemums. "Mel Carnahan was the education man. He was for the right things."
The two-term Democrat was locked in a tight and sometimes bitter Senate race with Republican Sen. John Ashcroft, who suspended campaign advertising and other operations after the crash.
"Obviously this is not a time for politics. This is a time for the state to come together," Aschroca said.
"Gov. Carnahan served the people of Missouri with dignity and honor for more than four decades. I will remember him and all of Missouri will remember him for that exemplary public service and for his dedication to his family, as a husband, as a father and as a grandfather."
There was talk of postponing the third presidential debate between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov, George W. Bush in St. Louis last night. Carnahan's wife, Jean, insisted it go on. She said her husband would have wanted it that way.
In a statement, Bush praised Carnahan as "a thoughtful, distinguished man who was dedicated to quality education and excellence in public service." Gore, who wore a black ribbon in his jacket, said he
Carnahan: was running for a Senate seat in Missouri.
was deeply saddened and hailed Carrahan's work on education and other issues.
In 1988, Carnahan was elected lieutenant governor. Four years later, he won the governor's office in a landslide and was re-elected in 1996. He was barred by state law from seeking a third consecutive term.
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New this Fall Brown Bag Classics
The KU School of Fine Arts and Kansas Union present
Make your lunch a classic. Join the Music & Dance Department for free, noon-time performances. Just bring your lunch because drinks are on the Kansas Union.
Time 12:30 pm to 1 pm
Location Alderson Auditorium,
fourth floor, Kansas Union
October 4 Jazz Ensemble I
October 11 Pianist Darcie Prilliman
October 18 Women's Chorale
October 25 Saxophonist Vince Gnojek
November 8 KU Saxophone Quartet I
November 15 Tuba & Euphonium Consort
November 29 Trumpet Ensemble
December 6 Horn Ensemble
School of Fir
Piano courtey of Vaccaro's Piano and Organ of Overland Park
Univ