October 11, 2000 -- Guns, gay rights and health care drew the hottest exchanges in the second presidential debate between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, while a long discussion of global affairs found the two candidates on mostly common ground. Bush also put Gore on the defensive by charging his reputation for exaggeration raises serious questions about his credibility while the Vice President Al Gore attacked the Governor Bush's record in Texas.

Moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS's Newshour launched into the 90-minute session Wednesday night at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with several foreign policy questions. Both used the opportunity to outline their "vision" for the country, which many have said is lacking in this historically tight race. Gore said the U.S. should promote its values in human rights and democracy, while Bush urged a "strong but humble" approach to international relations.

Foreign Policy
Given a pop quiz on what past U.S. interventions they'd reconsider, Bush picked Somalia and Haiti while Gore chose Somalia and Lebanon. Both agreed that intervention should be conditioned on national interests, but Gore pointed critically to Bush's position that genocide -- such as in the Balkans -- alone does not justify U.S. military action. Bush only reiterated that he would base such decisoins on strategic interests.

The two, who were less confrontational in the sit-down, more informal atmosphere than their October 5 round, agreed the U.S. must stand by Israel and press the Palestinians to curb the current round of violence. They also stressed the importance of playing the "honest broker" in the Mideast crisis. Bush and Gore concurred that the popular revolt in Yugoslavia signalled a U.S. military triumph and backed President Bill Clinton's decision to bomb Serbia. Listen to the exchange.

Health Care and Civil Rights
The tough talk really began when the two turned to the home front. Gore attacked Bush for his record in Texas, which ranks 49th in providing children with health insurance. Bush pointed out that the increase in coverage in his state outpaced the rate nationally. Gore also went after the governor for failing to back a hate crimes bill inspired by the brutal killing of a black man, James Byrd, by three whites. Bush insisted existing laws in his state were sufficient and noted that the murderers have been sentenced to death. "It's going to be hard to punish them any worse after they've been put to death." Listen to the exchange.

On gay rights, the two agreed that marriage is a union "between a man and a woman," but Gore pointed out that he and both vice presidential candidates, Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney, backed anti-discrimination protections for gay unions while Bush did not. Bush defended his support for equal not "special" rights for minority groups. Listen as the two discuss gay rights.

Credibility and Namecalling
The debate, which will be followed by a finale on October 17, ended on perhaps the most negative note of the evening. Asked about his campaign aides calling Gore a "serial exaggerator," Bush warned that credibility "is an issue voters will consider" when they look at some of the vice president's past claims. Gore said he may have gotten some details wrong, in the last debate, on Bush's policy, but that didn't change the big picture. Lehrer tweaked Gore for his campaign's description of Bush as a "bumbler," and the vice president said "I don't use language like that and I don't think we should." Listen as the two talk on credibility.

For more on the debates, check out NPR host Neal Conan's analysis.

For more on the debate and complete audio archives, check out our Election 2000 Debate section.

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