An overwhelmingly Democratic crowd at the ARCO Forum cheered the debate performance of Vice President Al Gore '69 last night.

In an informal straw poll of 130 who watched at the Institute of Politics (IOP), 12 percent felt that Bush "won" the debate, while 80 percent felt that Gore had "won." (National tracking polls taken immediately after last night's closing statements showed that likely voters scored the debate a tie).

"I almost couldn't believe how many times George Bush put his foot in his mouth," said Nathan R. Perl-Rosenthal '04, whose comments were typical of the crowd.

"Clearly, Gore won the debate," said Raj Prabhakar, a student at Harvard Business School. "Bush didn't have the intellect to compete."

Ivan D. Barron, a Kennedy School student, said that though Bush presented some interesting ideas, he also thought that Gore won the debate.

"I thought the governor had nothing substantive to say," he said.

There were, however, a few supporters of the Texas governor in the crowd.

"I have decided [to vote] for Bush, but some things I saw tonight made me a little concerned with my choice," said Matt E. Sonnesyn, a student at the Kennedy School. "He had a couple of serious slips of words."

Hannah Choi '01, the chair of the IOP's Student Advisory Committee, said nothing she heard tonight altered her decision to vote for Bush.

But, she said, she was disappointed in her candidate's performance.

"I'd say there was no clear winner. Gore showed himself to be annoying, but Bush had some moments that were definitely embarrassing," Choi said, referring to Bush's apparent statement that at-risk children were children who "basically can't learn."

The IOP audience included a 60-member focus group convened for ABC's Good Morning America.

Though the crowd was packed with Democrats, the most die-hard partisans were elsewhere, taking in the spectacle at the Gore campaign's official debate-watching party at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston.

The viewing crowd of approximately 2,000 people, over half of whom were college students, reacted most strongly when Gore stressed the importance of reproductive rights and when he outlined his proposals for education.

Like the decidedly partisan crowd at the IOP, the Park Plaza Democrats seemed very pleased with Gore's performance and the debate in general.

"I think that Al Gore was very precise and specific and Bush was extremely vague. Gore really seemed to be enjoying himself," said Margot E. Kaminski '04.

Just before midnight, Gore himself dropped by, accompanied by Massachusetts Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56.

The visibly enthusiastic Gore took the stage to loud cheers and victory chants from the crowd.

"This is what politics is made of, having opportunities to see the people we put in office," said Lionel F. Rivera '04.