In 1976, President Ford insisted to Jimmy Carter that there was "no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe," making his grasp of foreign policy seem shaky.

And in 1960, the image of a sick and haggard Richard M. Nixon may have shifted enough voters to tip the election to John F. Kennedy '40.

The caretakers of modern campaign teams do all that they can to preempt these sorts of blunders by carefully anticipating and avoiding unfavorable situations.

Tonight's debate provides a fine example of this caution. The Republican camp vied unsuccessfully for a shorter podium so that Gore's height advantage would be less apparent.

To Scardino, the most illustrative dispute centered around the auditorium greenrooms in which the candidates will rest and prepare for the debate.

"Most theaters are set up for only a lead actor and other supporting actors," he said. But the candidates' staffs argued at length about whose greenroom was bigger and how to apportion space fairly.

"You have to find a way in which you can equitably allocate space in the auditorium to each of the two candidates," Scardino said.