DALLAS – Former Vice President Al Gore has advice for John Kerry (search) in Thursday night's presidential debate: attack President Bush's (search) record.
Former Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole also offered his words for Bush: Stay on message.
The two losers of previous presidential contests offered their comments during a markedly relaxed discussion to a sold-out crowd at Southern Methodist University (search) Tuesday. They even frequently punctuated their comments with humor.
"I am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States of America," Gore said, opening the evening.
"I'm happy to report on President Clinton (search)," Dole said, referring to his former rival. "When he went into the hospital I sent him an e-mail and I said, 'If you need a couple of pints of Republican blood let me know. You got most of it in '96 but I got a little left.'"
While the mood was light, College Republicans (search) and College Democrats (search) threw their own barbs at the former candidates earlier in the day at a student session, proving that partisanship crosses the generation gap.
"Did John Kerry teach you how to flip-flop, or did you learn that yourself?" one student asked Gore, seeking an explanation for Gore's agreeing that Saddam Hussein was a threat, but saying that the war in Iraq was a mistake.
Another student accused the GOP of not holding Bush to the same moral standard it did Clinton.
Click in the box near the top of the story to watch a report by FOX News' Phil Keating.
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