Posted on Wed, Oct. 23, 2002 story:PUB_DESC ANALYSIS

BY PETER WALLSTEN pwallsten@herald.com

ORLANDO - Bill McBride bumbled a big opportunity Tuesday night.

With the race for governor coming down to a handful of waffling voters, the most widely viewed televised debate of the campaign offered the Democratic nominee a prime-time stage to make a compelling pitch for ousting Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

But a flurry of questions from the debate's relentless moderator, NBC's Tim Russert, flummoxed McBride and laid bare an agenda lacking in specifics.

Across the Meet the Press-style table, Bush appeared relaxed and in command. And, most important, the governor offered an artful argument for voters to reelect him on Nov. 5.

He called serving as governor ''the most joyous experience of my life'' and spoke with emotion about his ''passion'' for education, and his ''hopes and dreams'' to increase standards.

BURDEN ON MCBRIDE

But the onus was on McBride, as a challenger who polls show remains largely unknown to nearly one in three Florida voters, to pull off a dramatic performance. At times his performance was dramatic -- dramatically abysmal.

That was particularly true during an exchange between Russert and McBride on how he would pay for his priorities, which include a proposed amendment to the state Constitution to cap class sizes in public schools.

The exchange led to a perennial losing issue for Democrats -- taxes -- and gave Bush the perfect opening to again tell voters that his Democratic foe would force them to pay more.

McBride, on the other hand, looked slippery.

''It's a question of priorities,'' McBride said when pressed by Russert for specifics on where he would find the money in the state budget to pay for smaller classes.

It took the moderator several tries before McBride conceded that the amendment might cost as much as $15 billion -- more than one-fourth of the entire budget -- and even then McBride fumbled through an answer referring to ''across-the-board'' cuts to services.

Bush all but threw his hands in the air and referred to his administration's increased spending on programs for seniors and the developmentally disabled that would be cut.

''You can see my frustration,'' the governor said to Russert, referring to his criticism of McBride's lack of detail.

McBride, a Tampa lawyer who is a newcomer to politics, did show some bright spots.

He frequently reminded viewers of his record as a Marine -- a record that could help him wrest votes from Bush in the traditionally conservative regions of Central and North Florida rich with veterans.

ON VICTOR CURRY

And, in the most pointed exchange between the two candidates, McBride looked sincere under questioning from Russert and Bush about comments by Miami talk show host Victor Curry referring to Bush's brother, President Bush, as a ''neo-Nazi'' and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

Bush has called on McBride to condemn Curry, a powerful player in South Florida black politics, while McBride has said he did not hear the remarks. McBride had said on the radio that Curry was one person he would listen to as governor.

McBride compared the spat to a fistfight between 12-year-olds, portraying Bush as a whiner during a ''nyah, nyah'' back-and-forth between the two men.

''I will not say anything to just get elected, and I will not say anything to impinge on anyone's character just to get reelected,'' McBride said, offering his most forceful remarks of the night.

MANY QUESTIONS

But by the debate's end, viewers were left with far more questions about McBride's agenda than answers and little more than a vague understanding of why he is running.

His presentation included far less hand-waving and mumbling than he displayed during the first televised encounter between the two candidates.

But on this night, McBride unleashed no memorable zingers that could turn around a race in which he continues to trail Bush by five percentage points, according to a poll this week.

In contrast, eight years ago Gov. Lawton Chiles began his comeback to victory against Bush with a perfect performance in a debate moderated by Russert. The most important moment was Chiles' legendary ''he-coon'' remark, referring to an old raccoon's wisdom, which confused Bush but charmed voters.

McBride's challenge over the next 13 days is even greater than the popular and better-known Chiles faced in 1994.

Nearly six in 10 undecided voters are registered Republicans, according to the latest poll, suggesting that most of them are likely to wind up in Bush's column without some sort of stunning development.

McBride did himself no favors Tuesday night in wooing those undecideds.

Even on gun control -- typically a winning issue for Democrats -- McBride tried to turn the debate to crime, which is generally a losing topic for his party.

He attacked Bush for failing to reduce the violent crime rate in Florida, which is a legitimate complaint based on state statistics, but again failed to offer specifics on what he would do to fix the problem other than offering more money.

Asked how much, he said: ``I don't know how much. I'd listen to law enforcement authorities.''

LONG SILENCES

When Russert asked McBride if he disagreed with the state teachers union on even one issue -- the union has bankrolled much of the Democrat's efforts and its leading officials hold key campaign posts -- McBride paused and looked a bit dazed.

''I could have gone out and gotten a drink of water, and then come back in,'' joked Mike Murphy, Bush's media consultant, who was sitting in the audience.

Then noting another McBride pause when he was asked how much the class-size amendment would cost, Murphy cracked again: ``We could have had a musical interlude.''

McBride campaign spokesman Alan Stonecipher had said Tuesday's affair was little more than ''good political theater,'' downplaying the event's importance.

But Bush aides have seen such a debate turn the tide before, and they were pleased with what they saw this time.

Said Murphy: ``I heard the air coming out of the McBride campaign.''

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2002

Answers

Onething I heard again and again was McBride saying it has been building for the last 4 years, regardless of the issue being talked about. As if all the problems have started when bush took office.

I don't trust McBride. his ads say his education reform shit will be paid for with a 50 cent tax on tobacco. That this is the only tax he will levy or raise during his time as governor. As Bush says, "Yeah, right." with the obvious sound of disbelief.

Bush said Florida had taken the winnings from tobacco firms judgements and put them in an escrow account and using the earnings. something like that. he said other states have spent all that money and are now hurting because of it. McBride says Bush came in with a surplus on the books and spent it and now florida is broke. Bush says we have plenty in reserves and the tax cuts he has implemented show this to be so.

If McBride wins [shudder!] and implements his school shit, it will look like it works because Bush has already begun to address the class size issue with the building of tons of schools which will be completed in the next couple years.

Thing is, McBride hasn't any idea of what the books look like for Florida and Bush does. This is one reason why McBride cannot say anything for certain about what he will do. He needs to get the budget analyzed so he can understand it.

There is one thing, adoption by same sex couples. Bush is against it, but doesn't seem to mind having same sex couples who own property paying for schools that they will never have kids using. Hardly seems fair, does it? McBride thinks same sex couples should be able to adopt, but does not expand on that.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2002