The debates gave Bush and Gore their first chance since the conventions to reach a mass audience. Debate organizers estimated that about 75 million Americans would tune in.

So, nothing was left to chance.

Bush toured the debate site for about an hour yesterday morning, spending most of the day in a hotel near Logan Airport.

Gore zipped in and out of the U-Mass campus in the late afternoon, his motorcade leaving South Boston just minutes before a wave of union supporters arrived.

Inside the cavernous gymnasium, engineers set the temperature at an agreed-upon 59 degrees Fahrenheit while technicians adjusted lights to ensure that neither candidate would suffer from glare.

Even the candidates found themselves micro-managed.

The debate prep rooms at the gymnasium were identical, down to the volume of sunlight that shone through the windows. Bush and Gore were not allowed to bring any notes with them--the Commission on Presidential Debates supplied pre-approved pencils and papers for them to sketch ideas.

During the debate, Bush stood to the moderator's right, facing his family and friends who were seated about twenty feet away. Gore stood stage left, his gaze finding his own family and supporters. No staffers were allowed backstage--there simply wasn't enough room.