Munching on popcorn and frequently erupting in laughter, over 150 political junkies gathered in the ARCO Forum at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) last night to watch on CNN as the two Democratic presidential hopefuls squared off in a town meeting forum at Dartmouth College.

As they watched Vice President Al Gore '69 and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley on debate on television for the first time, audience members got a taste of the upcoming battle in the Democratic primary.

Students from both the Gore and Bradley camps used the event to win converts, posting signs and distributing campaign literature.

The audience greeted the start of the broadcast at 8 p.m. with applause and appeals to turn up the volume. The crowd remained energetic throughout, frequently laughing at the candidates' remarks, or more often, at the extreme close-ups of various members of the Hanover audience.

Bradley, speaking slowly and earnestly, emphasized his stances on child poverty, race relations and health care. He stressed the need for "big solutions to big problems," citing his comprehensive health care plan as an example.

Gore countered with his own health care plan, deriding the cost of Bradley's as "way excessive," which drew a laugh from the crowd. Gore's presentation was often informal, as he engaged questioners in dialogue and told one "St. Peter at the gates of heaven" joke about health maintenance organizations.

The crowd reacted strongly to Gore's freewheeling style, though it was uncertain whether students were laughing with the Vice President or at him. Luke P. McLoughlin '00, president of Harvard Students for Bill Bradley, contended that the mood was pro-Bradley.

"It felt like a Bradley rally," he said.

Bradley supporters were often vocal, applauding him and snickering at Gore's constant references to his wife Tipper.

But Bradley probably elicited the debate's loudest laugh when he solemnly suggested that "the idiosyncratic characteristics of our grandparents" may have been due to Alzheimer's disease.

Eugene Krupitsky '02, a Harvard Students for Al Gore organizer, declined to say who he thought won the debate, citing the town meeting format as one not conducive to producing winners and losers, though he offered that Gore did well.

Brian M. Kim, a KSG student who said he had previously been leaning toward Bradley, said he thought Gore was the more impressive candidate.

"[Gore] came off looking smooth and polished," he said. "Bradley, in comparison, nearly put me to sleep."

But Gabriel E. Tames '01, another undecided student, said he liked Bradley's "big ideas" and optimistic outlook.

And although Gore is widely considered to be a skilled debater, Taylor E. Terry '03, a sticker-wearing Bradley supporter, said he thought Bradley was not outmatched.

"Bradley made a more sincere effort to answer the questions," he said.

For Harvard Students for Bill Bradley, yesterday's debate coincided with another important campaign milestone: the launching of the Massachusetts Students for Bradley Web site, the first statewide student page for a presidential candidate in this campaign, according to McLoughlin.

Krupitsky said the debate was a good way for voters to get to know Gore and Bradley.

"The biggest thing was that we finally got to see the differences between the candidates," he said.