Bradley by contrast, was his ordinary studious self. Staring at his shoes as he began to answer questions, he sounded more like a professor in front of a Core class than a blow-dried politician.

When a woman asked Bradley what he would do to improve education for children with "special needs," he fixed her in his gaze and rattled off a string of policy positions on the subject.

And when both candidates named leaders they admire, Bradley went for the obscure--Woodrow Wilson and Mikhail Gorbachev. (Gore was more mainstream--Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt for him.)

That professorial tone played well here at Dartmouth College. But across the country, Gore may find an electorate that's more to his liking.

The audience at last night's town hall seemed hand-picked for Bradley: liberal, wonkish, well-educated. Bradley's progressive stance on gay rights got the loudest applause of the evening.

Several questioners were Dartmouth professors or local teachers. All were white.

But Gore polls best among African Americans, Latinos and union members.