But what a difference 30 minutes can make. Calm, however, doesn't necessarily mean not combative. The two issues have been inextricably intertwined for weeks, as the two engaged in several debates in Iowa and in the Granite State. While Gore denied ever engaging in any intentionally negative advertising, he stuck to his point of attack on the Bradley health plan. Don't shoot the messenger.
Some people confuse free-spirited debate with negativity.
The effect of the Gore ads, Bradley insisted, was that they portrayed him as uncaring about the plight of the poor, the uninsured and current Medicaid patients. Gore, Bradley insisted, was instead paying lip service to the notion of universal healthcare. Nothing in your plan would get us there. The exchanges over negative ads grew considerably more testy when Gore mentioned the Bradley campaign's involvement in the production of a flyer that documented Gore's criticism during a 1988 campaign appearance of a Massachusetts prison furlough program that resulted in the temporary release of the infamous felon Willie Horton, who committed rape and murder while on leave. Gore, who never mentioned Horton by name during that appearance, was criticizing then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was also running for the 1988 Democratic nomination.