Video: 'George W. Bush and Al Gore 1st Presidential Debate 2000'

(Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 9:00-10:30 p.m. EDT; during the 2000 United States presidential election) — Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush presented starkly different stands on issues ranging from taxes to abortion to oil drilling tonight as Gore repeatedly cast Bush as a friend of the rich and Bush upbraided his rival as a Washington insider with big promises and few accomplishments.

In the first debate of the 2000 presidential campaign, at the University of Massachusetts, Bush and Gore engaged in blunt condemnations of each other’s proposals.

Even when attacking, they smiled their way through the 90-minute encounter. They steered clear of personal criticisms until the final few minutes, when Bush questioned the Vice President’s credibility and his involvement in the campaign fund-raising scandals of 1996.