On the economy, an issue on the minds of many New Hampshire residents who remember how hard their state was hit by the recession of 1991-92, Bradley and Gore outlined different priorities for the projected trillion dollar budget surplus.

While Bradley advocated spending more on public education and health, Gore said he favored restraint--and repeated throughout the evening his concern that Bradley would spend money recklessly.

"Spending more than the entire surplus and then putting on top of that proposals that may sound great and there's no money, it's something we've got to look at very, very carefully," Gore said.

The loudest applause of the evening came after Bradley answered a question on gay rights.

Asked how he would take command of the issue, Bradley reiterated his position that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.

"I am against all discrimination. I am against discrimination on the basis of race, gender and sexual orientation. The place to deal with that is the 1964 Civil Rights Act, adding sexual orientation to the list of protected classes," he said.

After a period of sustained applause, Gore said that he and Bradley have similar positions on the issue of domestic partnerships. But, he said, same sex unions should not share "the same sacrament, the same name...because I favor the institution of marriage as it has been understood between a man and a woman."

Gore added that many gay advocates and civil rights leaders opposed Bradley's plan to open up the Civil Rights Act to possible alteration by Congressional Republicans.