Co-Stars on Center Stage

A close battle for best performance in a supporting role

As political theater, last week's debate between Vice-Presidential Candidates George Bush and Geraldine Ferraro had two things going for it: a bankable historical precedent and last-minute word of mouth. All along it was to be the first time that a woman contender for national office had trod on the dueling ground of televised debate. Then, after Ronald Reagan's unexpectedly weak performance against Walter Mondale, the match-off between running mates also became a potential benchmark scoring opportunity for Democrat Ferraro. The challengers had a chance to claim two underdog victories in quick succession and keep their comeback momentum rolling.

Unlike the general agreement on a Mondale triumph after the first presidential debate, the verdict in the vice-presidential contest depended on who was making the judgment. The initial quickie polls, while hardly reliable, confirmed the perceptions of most political analysts: Bush came out slightly ahead overall, and women viewers split about evenly between the two candidates. Four out of the seven members of a panel of debate judges assembled by the Associated Press gave Bush an outright win, while one thought Ferraro had eked out a victory and two scored the match as a tie. Both performances had been sufficiently credible for the candidates' backers to claim a win. Said G.O.P. Campaign Manager Edward Rollins: "The Vice President did extremely well." Countered Ferraro Campaign Manager John Sasso: "She went toe-to-toe with the Vice President of the United States and not only held her own but distinguished herself."

Despite his easy familiarity with national security and foreign affairs, the Vice President committed more factual gaffes than Ferraro. Early on in the debate he seemed so wildly overcharged in his delivery that Ferraro aides watching him on television derisively demanded that he be given a saliva test.

By contrast, Ferraro, the three-term Congresswoman from Queens, was uncharacteristically subdued in her speaking style, making an obvious effort to soften a sometimes barking delivery for television. Her sharp-tongued sparkle plays well to partisans, but rankles many undecided voters. Yet Ferraro did cast the most telling blows of the debate, at one point effectively admonishing the Vice President for being "patronizing" toward her on a foreign affairs issue.

Bush was unwavering in his support for Reagan's policies, admitting only minor differences with the President on the issue of abortion: while Reagan supports a constitutional amendment that would protect unborn fetuses except when the mother's life is threatened, the Vice President would add rape and incest as grounds for ending a pregnancy. Although in 1980 he labeled Reagan's tax and spending programs "voodoo economics," Bush now insisted he was fully behind Reaganomics. "Of course I support the President's economic program, and I support him in everything else," said Bush. Then, going on the offensive with a reminder that Mondale has disavowed programs like the Soviet grain embargo, which he supported as Vice President, Bush added: "And I'm not sure ... if I didn't, I'd go doing what Mr. Mondale has done with Jimmy Carter: jump away from him."