It was a little hard to avoid the debate if you were watching tv tonight.
So some Gore supporters decided to make a party out of it at this Sugarhouse restaurant.
It didn't make for your usual brew pub atmosphere, but valuable for assessing a candidate.
Dave Jones/Gore-Lieberman Utah State Chairman: "IT'S THE ONE TIME YOU GET AWAY FROM THE RHETORIC AND SEE HOW THEY WORK UNDER PRESSURE, AND NOT JUST HOW THEY RESPOND BUT HOW THEY HANDLE THE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS."
Some Bush supporters had a similar idea, with a pizza party at Republican Headquarters.
Here, too, the partisian crowd likes to hear the candidates speak in complete sentences, and to each other.
Natalie Noel/Utah College Republicans State Chair: "THEY'RE ON THE SPOT, THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUES RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THEN, THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO FORMULATE A RESPONSE, THEY HAVE TO SPEAK FROM THE HEART."
Cheering the right candidate was certainly acceptable as each made points about energy, the surplus, education, military strength, etcetera.
A little scof at the opposing side's view on abortion is almost expected.
But at both gatherings, and across Utah, the debate holds serious implications.
People who tune in pay close attention to what the candidates say and how they say it, free from media editing and analysis.
And people pick a candidate as they watch, or at least re-confirm their choice.
Josh Maggiora/George W. Bush Supporter: "I JUST DON'T BUY GORE, I JUST DON'T FEEL THAT GONG OF TRUTH INSIDE."
Josh Loftin/Al Gore Supporter: "GORE IS DOING A MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE JOB THAN BUSH IS. BUSH HAS STUMBLED OVER SOME OF HIS ANSWERS AND IS RESORTING TO SOUNDBITES."
