January 8, 2000
Web posted at: 2:39 p.m. EST (1939 GMT)

WEST COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) -- She must have wanted to crawl under a rock. Greenville, South Carolina, television reporter Stephanie Trotter was granted a rare opportunity Friday night -- a chance to grab a small share of a national television event and pose a question to six candidates for the presidency of the United States.

Trotter's question: "As an adult, can you describe your biggest mistake, and can you tell us what you learned from it?"

The query seemed simple enough -- harmless, even -- but the supercharged crowd of Republican loyalists that took hold of the one-time home improvement store that acted as the debate's venue leapt upon Trotter after the question's third asking. Those repetitions were provided at the behest of two or three of the presidential hopefuls, who couldn't seem to believe what it was they were hearing.

Once it became apparent that Trotter was going to stand her ground and not alter the question, the crowd unleashed a torrent of abuse, with just a bit of invective. Indeed, Trotter looked as if a place under the nearest rock would have suited her just fine, at least until the chorus of boos died down.

"I have to ask if that is an appropriate question to be asked," talk show host and onetime ambassador to the United Nations Alan Keyes replied. "There are things I will tell my priest in the confessional that I am not going to tell you or any other person."

"Ask the current president of the United States that question and you'll get an essay answer," said conservative activist Gary Bauer. "A personal mistake is personal," Bauer added, saying he would not divulge any such information.

But Texas Governor George W. Bush redeemed the process for Trotter, whose face betrayed a great deal of inner relief when the GOP front-runner came to bat with his multi-faceted answer.

"As you all know, I have a perfect background," Bush said with a smirk. "After all, I was raised by Barbara Bush.'

But that perfect background didn't prevent Bush from making one key mistake, he continued. Prior to entering politics, Bush was managing general partner of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers, and had a significant role in team personnel decisions.

The mistake, Bush said, was engineering a trade that saw powerhouse homerun hitter Sammy Sosa scratched from the Rangers' roster in favor of utility man Harold Baines.

Big mistake indeed. Suddenly, Trotter's gaff didn't look so bad.

One might expect an event as significant as a presidential debate to be held in a university auditorium, a civic building or a theater with the sort of stage and electronic infrastructure needed to produce a live television event.

But the organizers of Friday's debate in West Columbia opted for a trot up the unbeaten path -Ð they converted a onetime Lowe's home improvement, gardening and hardware store into a one-night only banquet facility and television studio, with mixed results.

Local Republican Party organizers chose the building because it was big enough to handle a crowd of several thousand state party members, a small army of caterers dispatched to keep them all in food and drink, and the scores of journalists expected to descend on the town for the event. The store, which closed in 1997, was refurbished by a crew of electrical and telecommunications workers in order to handle the unique technical and logistical demands of an event as rare as a six-way presidential debate.

But it's very difficult to turn a warehouse into a virtual concert hall on short notice. The cavernous space's concrete floors and ceiling, and its cinderblock walls, threw soundwaves to and fro like cats playfully batting golf balls around on a hardwood floor. The poor acoustics in the building carried over to the MSNBC cable network's national broadcast of the debate, with each candidate at one time or another sounding as if he were speaking from the bottom of a very deep, very empty glass fishbowl.

Nonetheless, those in attendance seemed to be enjoying themselves. Most endured snarled traffic around the store space to enjoy the variety of foods served by the evening's caterers. Dinner was preceded by a cocktail party in honor of South Carolina Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, and followed by a rousing video tribute to former President Ronald Reagan.

And while one might not expect to find a debate in a disused Lowe's retail space, one might also wonder what Lowe's was thinking. The chain recently opened up a home improvement center directly across the street from the one it abandoned two years ago. Good thing, though, as every space in the new store's lot was needed for overflow parking.

If Gary Bauer and publisher Steve Forbes had their way, Donna Brazil, campaign manager for Democratic Vice President Al Gore, would be out of a job right now.

Both men slammed Brazil for her comments earlier this week about Republican Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, a member of the House Republican Leadership, and General Colin Powell, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under President George Bush.

Brazil accused the Republican Party of showcasing Watts and Powell, both African Americans, when it has needed to score points with the African American community. Brazil is herself an African American.

Forbes said Brazil should be fired, while Bauer said Brazil's comments should fuel rank-and-file members of the GOP to fight back against the stereotyping of Republicans by Democrats.

"You have watched for 10 years as the Democrats have tried to smear our party with charges of racism and not caring about the poorÉ and each time we have always run for the high grass," Bauer said.

"It's time we stood up," Bauer continued. "(Brazil) should resign tonight."

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