Although there is no agreement locally on the winner of Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, one candidate seemed to be the definite loser.

Members of local student political groups agreed that independent vice presidential hopeful Admiral James Stockdale came out on the short end of the stick in a three-way debate including Republican Vice President Dan Quayle and Democratic Sen. Al Gore.

College Republican President Kevin Hir said Stockdale’s inexperience was obvious throughout the debate. “He even said himself he wasn’t a strong public speaker,” Hir said.

Hir said that he “felt sorry for the retired admiral.”

Young Democrat President Brad Strauss agreed with Hir on this point. “(Stockdale’s) inexperience shows the uncertainty of the Perot campaign,” Strauss said.

That’s where the agreement ends between the two, however.

As one would expect, Hir said, “Dan Quayle won that debate hands down.”

Gore couldn’t answer why democratic candidate Bill Clinton should be trusted as president, Hir said.

Quayle used the phrase “pulling a Bill Clinton” throughout the debate, which meant answering the same question two different ways. Hir said he agreed with the tactic because “it questioned the trustworthiness of the Clinton/Gore ticket.”

Hir said at times the debate got more personal instead of focusing on the issues but was more issue-oriented than last Sunday’s presidential debate.

There are always two sides to a story though.

Strauss said that he felt it was Gore who came out ahead in this round. “The question of the debate is who would be capable of being President of the United States, and Gore is the candidate who came out to be very presidential,” he said.

Strauss said the interrupting and bickering by Quayle made him look unprofessional and took away from discussing the issues.

On the subject of trust, Strauss said “The questions concerning trust that Quayle asked were slanted.”

Quayle never addressed how either President Bush or himself could be trusted, Strauss said. “Al Gore proved his worth as a potential president, Bill Clinton addressed why he should be trusted in the presidential debate, Dan Quayle didn’t prove anything.”

Strauss said the “actual effect of the debate (on voters) is nil.”