AMERICA'S CHOICE.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TWO MEN WHO WANT TO RUN YOUR COUNTRY

AL GORE 

AFTER AL GORE lost his first bid to become the Democratic candidate for President 12 years ago, he organized an excruciating exercise: a series of dinners where he asked each guest what he had done wrong. He had no economic vision, Gore was told, and people couldn't understand what he was trying to say about technology and the environment. Oh, and his speaking style needed a ton of work. His response was vintage Gore: hitting the books on tax policy and business history, bringing in a speech consultant, and even hiring a dance coach to help him move more fluidly. Albert Arnold Gore is a student by nature. And while his extraordinary willingness to learn and change has taught him a lot, it has also left him open to the rap that he is constantly reinventing himself.

At 52, Gore is without question a complicated man. He attended elite St. Alban's prep school, but dressed in a cousin's hand-me-downs and spent summers working hard on the family farm in Tennessee. He opposed the war in Vietnam, but volunteered to serve. Afterward, he spent a year in divinity school.

Despite his willingness to change, Gore does not seem to suffer from a lack of confidence. He applied to only one college-Harvard-because it never occurred to him that he wouldn't get in. He ran for Congress at the tender age of 28, and had he been chosen for the White House in 1988, he would have been the youngest U.S. President in history.

The son of Senator Albert Gore, an up-from-poverty child of the Depression, Gore had been a virtual grown-up since he was a child, raised to perform in the company of important adults. He was made responsible for his parents' hopes from an early age, and often talks about his work and his life in a way that suggests he defines himself as someone people are depending on.

Gore's intellect and the willingness to use it are probably his most important assets. In 1981, when Gore became concerned about the Cold War, he turned himself into an arms-control expert in a single year. In the 1990s, he was out front on issues like information technology and global warming. "His education is ongoing," says actor Tommy Lee Jones, a close friend of Gore's since college.

As befits a good student, Gore has a strong work ethic. As Senator from Tennessee, he would delight in taking advantage of the state's two time zones to shoehorn in back-to-back town hall meetings. But Gore is someone who makes all his hard work look like ... hard work. He lacks the smooth moves of his boss, Bill Clinton. As Gore attempts to move out of Clinton's shadow, it may be crucial to let the more personal side of his personality shine.

MELINDA HENNEBERGER is a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. KATHARINE O. SEELYE is a political correspondent for The New York Times.

GEORGE W. BUSH

GEORGE W, BUSH, the Republican candidate for President, drifted through much of his life until he became Governor of Texas five-and-a-half years ago. Until the late 1980s, he was simply a struggling oilman in Texas, and his career really didn't take off until he became a part-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team in 1989. If elected, he will have one of the thinnest resumes in public service of any President in the last century.

Yet he has a dazzling charm, tremendous social skills, a bold self-confidence, growing political savvy-and a past littered with opponents who underestimated him. Most people who have worked with Bush, Democrats as well as Republicans, say that contrary to all the jokes, he is smart, shrewd, and a quick study.

Bush, 54, is a man of many paradoxes. He's a law-and-order candidate who has presided over more executions than any other Governor. Yet he was arrested twice in college for pranks, avoided military service in Vietnam, and refuses to answer questions about whether he has used illegal drugs. He scorns the ways of Washington and boasts of his frontier roots in the rattlesnake country of Midland, Texas, yet he graduated from an exclusive prep school and then went on to Yale and Harvard.

It's not easy to figure out who the real George W. Bush is, but any guesses would have to focus on his personable, nonideological nature, his family background, and his religious faith.

Bush is-and perhaps always has been-more of a "people person" than a political person. Although he helped his father campaign for the Senate and later for President, friends say that when he himself ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 1978, he was motivated mostly by the thought that it would be cool to be a member of Congress.

But Bush is also driven by the pressure to uphold his family's legacy of public service. "He admired his father tremendously and wanted to live up to the expectations that his family had for him and for all members," recalls Ted Livingston, a Yale roommate.

Bush seems distrustful of big political ideas. His instincts are conservative, inclining him toward pro-business policies, tax cuts, and limited government. But he says he prefers to read the summaries of reports rather than the backup documentation and, left to his own devices, Bush talks more about his pets than his proposals. Another one of his favorite topics is religion. Asked recently to name his favorite philosopher-thinker, he replied: "Christ, because he changed my heart."

For much of his life, Bush's awesome people skills were undermined by a volatile temper, a sharp tongue, and a tendency to hold grudges. But he has shown great restraint during a stressful presidential race, keeping his temper in check, sticking with his campaign themes, and showcasing his down-to-earth manner. "1 never thought of myself as a bad campaigner," says his father, former President George Bush. "After all, I was elected President of the United States. But I think George is better."

FRANK BRUNI is a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF is a national correspondent for The New York Times.

FOCUS: Profiles of Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students better understand who the major-party presidential candidates are, what forces and experiences have shaped them, what they think about important issues, and why they believe voters should support them.

Discussion Questions:

* Explain why Governor George W. Bush or Vice President A1 Gore should be elected the next President.

* How would you characterize the personalities of Bush and Gore?

* Bush and Gore have histories of public service. While few people can be elected President, most can perform some public service. Do you support proposals to require young people to perform a year of community service?

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

Debate: Governor George W. Bush says one advantage he has over his opponent is that he, Bush, does not come from Washington and is therefore not beholden to the Washington "establishment." Should a presidential candidate have experience working for the federal government at the national level? Does an "outsider" (such as Clinton was) bring a fresh approach to the office?

Guided Reading: The article notes that Gore is trying to move out of the shadow of President Clinton (and the scandalridden White House). Students should discuss what the "shadow of Clinton" means. Should Gore have publicly criticized President Clinton when the President was involved in the Monica Lewinsky matter and later impeached? Must a Vice President be utterly loyal to the President? How much does the vice presidency prepare one for the presidency?

As for Bush, critics say he has relatively little experience in public service. How much and what kind of experience should a candidate have before becoming President? What is Bush telling voters when he scorns Washington?

Remind students of the major difference between the candidates in their views of the proper role of government. Gore believes government should guarantee basic social services like Social Security and health care. Bush believes private companies should have a greater role in these areas. Students should debate these different views. Should the public sector or the private sector be relied on more to ensure basic services?