THE VIEWERS TALK BACK

To Manhattanite Kathryn Bridgman, 25, "Ford exuded the personality of an overcooked noodle." But Bostonian Sam Jones, 28, felt the President "sounded much better than usual." Nettie Goldstein, 63, of Skokie, Ill., dozed through some questions, but what she saw led her to conclude that "they both came off very well." Frank Amarillas, 39, of Douglas, Ariz., disagreed. Said he: "Carter shouldn't grin because it's a gentlemen's debate. Grinning hurt him."

The four are among 60 carefully selected voters of varying ages, walks of life and economic status from all parts of the country specially chosen for TIME by Pollster Daniel Yankelovich to provide a representative sampling. Prior to the debate, most were undecided between Ford and Carter. They were interviewed by TIME immediately after the debate, and in seven cases correspondents sat before television sets with selected families to record their spontaneous reactions. Of the voters in the Yankelovich sample, only a handful were swayed by the debate. In general, most had good impressions of both men, objected to the overuse of confusing statistics by each, rated Ford as appearing more forceful and "presidential," and Carter as more eloquent, particularly in his summation. Hardly anybody thought either candidate scored a decisive victory. Some samplings:

Bridgman, an independent film producer who watched the debate with New York Bureau Chief Laurence Barrett, pronounced herself "as baffled as before." On Carter: "He skirts around things." But she found Carter more personally appealing. She appreciated the fact that "Ford was a little more direct than Carter." Her expert's judgment of the debate as a visual production? "A bore."

In Northfield, Ill., Sally Jackson, 41, a high school English teacher, and her husband Sterling, 51, watched with Chicago Correspondent Anne Constable.

Summed up Sally: "Nobody's going to remember anything about this except that the sound failed." Sterling Jackson, who had been hoping to discover reasons to support Carter, found none. His view: neither candidate clarified anything, but "I think I would vote for Ford now." Both Jacksons felt that Ford came off better on appearance; Carter struck Sally as having "the smile of a mortician." Ford, in addition, "countered most of the questions with poise and facts." She will vote for the President.

In Ford's home state of Michigan, Detroit Bureau Chief Edwin Reingold watched a television set in the family room of the Royal Oak home of Jim and Pat Walsh, who told him they had joked at dinner about how Ford "might bumble and stumble about." But Pat declared afterward that the President "came over a whole lot different." Added her husband: "He was a lot better than we thought he would be. But Carter was good. We got a chance to see more of him and his ideas." Jim Walsh thought Carter was too vague on his proposal for reorganizing the Government. "He has said he would do it, but it may be a lot of hot air." His wife thought the Democrat contradicted himself in pledging to begin new programs and cut back the bureaucracy at the same time. When it was over, Jim, a 29-year-old computer salesman, said he "probably" will vote for Ford. His wife, 28, remained unimpressed--and undecided.

For selecting a unique setting from which to watch the debate, few viewers could have topped Bonnie Berliner, 54, a Los Angeles divorcee who nibbled cheese and sipped champagne under a whirring hair dryer while viewing the debate with Los Angeles Correspondent David DeVoss. Berliner brought her portable television set to a hair-styling salon on Sunset Boulevard. Of Carter, she complained: "I just can't understand anything that man says. Are you sure his mouth isn't full of mush?" Ford? He "has done a lot better than I expected. He's not a brilliant person, but he's not out to cut anybody's throat like his predecessor." Her verdict: I'll probably vote Democratic, but Ford's better under pressure than I expected."

Boston Bureau Chief Sandra Burton watched with Sam Jones, a Boston Public Library assistant. Jones lamented the amount of statistics with which each candidate larded his answers, and was skeptical of the accuracy of most of them. He felt Carter scored in the discussion of Ford's pardon of Nixon. Of major concern to Jones is "how to combine Democratic social programs with Republican fiscal policies. I guess they don't mix." Even though an intangible "something" about Carter bothers him, the debate did not move him in Ford's direction.

The President fared better with Cathy Marceau, 23, a Los Angeles computer programmer. "Ford was very presidential," she said. "Carter seemed hesitant. Too many 'wells' and 'uhs.' " But Ford's position on the issues was the deciding factor: "I thought Ford was very effective in knocking Carter's reorganization of the Georgia bureaucracy. I also thought Ford did a good job pointing out the inflationary consequences of Carter's economic programs."

Robert Acuff, 39, and his wife Beth of Chevy Chase, Md., are Republicans with sufficient reservations about Gerald Ford that they wanted to see the debate before firming up a decision to vote for him. With Washington Correspondent Simmons Fentress for company, they watched and listened intently; neither saw any reason to reject their party's candidate next November. To Bob Acuff, a management consultant for a large accounting firm, Ford was a clear winner: "He wanted to force issues." And Carter? His "manner of speaking interfered with his presentation." Beth, 39, thought "Carter's nervousness at the beginning really showed." But she was pleased with the Democrat's concern for the unemployed as people rather than statistics and thought his reference to 1,000 jobless at one of his Pennsylvania appearances was "very effective."

In Carter's home state, TIME'S Larry Woods watched the debate in the small Atlanta apartment of Patricia Perry, 31, a county court clerk. Said she: "I really don't think the old Carter style was there tonight." Woods found whatever style Ford has the same as ever, "but I liked what I heard from him." However, she wants another look on the chance that "maybe next time Carter will be more direct." As Carter began his response to the first question about unemployment, she blurted out: "He's going all the way around not to answer the question."

Peter Brindle, 25, an unemployed archaeologist from Philadelphia, had been leaning slightly to Carter, and "the debate firmed up my feelings a little. Carter came across with more compassion for the unemployed. I don't need my taxes cut; I need to be in a position to pay taxes." Mrs. Stella Danyliw, 52, a secretary from Queens, complained: "It didn't really help me to make up my mind. I'm still smack in the middle between them." In a similar quandary was David Poole, a journeyman tool and die maker from Lexington, Ohio: "Carter promises a lot. If he can fulfill his promises--great. Ford hasn't done much."

But the first debate did nothing to convince Poole. "I still don't know who I'll stick with."

By night's end, Steven Todd, 26, a gardener in San Diego seemed to have summed up the conclusions of the Yankelovich sample: "A pretty dry draw."

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