Poll: Debate watchers likely to be older, better educated and wealthier

September 13, 2000

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Memo to the presidential candidates: More than half of Americans plan to watch the debates and think they will be an important factor in how they vote.

A few other things you might want to know? Debate watchers tend to be age 35 and older, middle-income or higher, at least partially college educated, registered to vote and a member of one of the two major political parties, says an Associated Press poll.

"I think (the debates) are important and I do plan to watch them," said Sarah Brown, a 62-year-old retiree from Steubenville, Ohio. "I want to hear what they plan to do on the issues that are important to me - education, the economy and Medicare."

More who plan to watch say Democrat Al Gore will do better in the debates than Republican George W. Bush by 49-29, according to the poll conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa.

Campaign aides for Gore and Bush plan to meet Thursday with the Commission on Presidential Debates to negotiate a schedule. The commission has proposed three presidential debates, Oct. 3, 11 and 17, and one vice presidential debate on Oct 5. Six in 10 say that's the right number to have.

Two-thirds of Democrats say Gore will do better in the debates, while just over half of Republicans think Bush will do better. Independents are about evenly split in the poll of 1,019 adults taken Sept. 6-10 with an error margin of 3 percentage points.

Overall, more Americans think Gore will do better, 44 percent, than Bush, 33 percent. A fifth say they just don't know.

"I'm hoping Bush does better, but with the numbers so close, it's hard to know," said Anne Jones, a 36-year-old housewife and student from Portsmouth, Va., who considers herself an independent. "I hope they just stick with the issues, clarify their positions. I don't care about hearing them argue."

Marie Samaha, 53, an elementary school principal from Moltonborough, N.H., said she hasn't been able to figure out who will fare better.

"Al Gore has better use of language, but sometimes he doesn't come across as being totally honest," said Samaha, a Democrat. "George Bush has a folksy way about him and people tend to trust that kind of dialogue."

Two of 10 Americans say the debates will be very important to their decision, with almost three of 10 blacks feeling that way.

Derek Williams, a 31-year-old teacher and Republican from Norwalk, Ohio, said he thinks the debates will make a difference in the election because the race is close.

"There are 40 percent of us who support one side and another approximately 40 percent on the other side," he said. "It's the 20 percent in the middle who determine things. There are a lot of undecided voters out there, and I think the debates could push it one way or the other."

While two-thirds of Democrats say they will watch the debates and just about as many Republicans, fewer than half of independents plan to tune in.

Just over half of Americans say they prefer a two-way debate, while about a third say the Green Party's Ralph Nader and the Reform Party's Pat Buchanan should be included. Independents are about equally split between preferring two-way and four-way.

"Let them all get up there and hack at each other for a while," said Richard Gardner, a 57-year-old independent from Buckley, Mich., who works at an auto dealership.

Some who already have a preference plan to watch to see if their candidate measures up.

"Gore is a pretty nice person, but he seems weak," said Edward Sexton, a retired NASA worker from Athens, Ala., who backs the Democrat for now. "I'd like to find out whether he has the stuff to hold up under the onslaught that presidents face. Look at Bill Clinton. He's beat up like an old football."