Gamesmanship To debate or not to debate?

BOTH GEORGE BUSH AND BILL CLINTON SAY THEY are anxious to debate. But each insists on his own terms, which is why, with six weeks to go before the election, no debates have been scheduled. And it's possible that none will be held at all.

The debate about the debate format has itself become a test of a candidate's resolve. Clinton backs the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates proposal for a single moderator, in part because it allows for more give-and- take between principals. Two weeks ago, Bush agreed to two debates before a panel of three journalists and a moderator, seeking to exploit his ability to match wits with reporters while avoiding a single moderator's power to focus on a single issue, like the economy. The Bush camp gave Clinton until last Friday to agree to its terms. The deadline passed. Both sides agree on one point: unless someone relents, the debates may not occur.

Still 10 to 12 points ahead in most polls, Clinton can better afford to hang tough. Aside from differences on format, Bush is delaying in part to give his attacks on Clinton's draft record time to sink in with the public, putting Clinton on the defensive in the first debate while taking some pressure off the incumbent. But if Bush can narrow Clinton's edge in the polls quickly, officials say, he may not need to debate at all. Said a White House official last week: "If we were within 5 points, I'd say we shouldn't debate. But if we aren't, we may need to debate."

As if the two-way maneuvering weren't complicated enough, Ross Perot rejoined the game again last week, making an appearance on NBC's Today show to reaffirm his unhappiness over both Bush's and Clinton's economic plans. With Arizona becoming the 50th state ready to put the Texas billionaire on the November ballot, Perot appeared on the edge of re-entering the race. "I'm trapped," he told his TV audience last Friday. "They won't sell ((TV airtime)) to me unless I declare as a candidate. So I may be the first guy in history that had to declare as a candidate so he could buy TV time." No telling where this ploy ends. (See related story on page 43.)