On the environment, Gore's signature issue, the vice president was at his most animated. His answers ranged from praise of a global environmental treaty to a personal plea that Americans take a close look at their surroundings.

"A president can make a huge difference," Gore said. As president Gore said he would offer tax incentives to businesses that developed ways of caring for the planet.

Bradley asked voters to look at his Senate career, which he said reflected a strong commitment to the environment.

"We have two challenges. One is to clean up that which has already been polluted, and then second, to protect those areas, which have not been polluted from becoming polluted," he said. Bradley said he would use the moral force of the presidency to convince people that the environment was worth federal action.

The unique format of the debate gave candidates two minutes to answer questions posed by the audience.

Gore's habit of asking questioners to repeat their names if he didn't hear--a Clintonian campaign tactic in 1992--brought some moments of awkwardness.

When a woman asked Gore how he planned to end violence in schools, Gore asked her to tell him about her family.