The back-and-forth on the forensic encounters runs into layer after layer of contention, some of it embarrassing.

(1) Are we exploring the question of character? That seems to be the primary objective these days of Candidate Bush. On Day One, Bush sponsored a heavy-handed TV political commercial in which the voice-over lady professed her concern over the unreliability of Candidate Gore, right to the point of threatening to give up television. On Day Two, Bush struck again. He said Gore said yes, now he says no. Gore said he would debate Bush "any time, any place," and now Gore is refusing to accept a revised schedule featuring a proposed prime-time (NBC) version of Tim Russert's "Meet the Press" and a prime-time (CNN) version of "Larry King Live."

The trouble with using the Gore refusal as the gravamen of Gore's untrustworthiness is that a personal concern is toweringly self-evident. It is that Candidate Bush does not look forward to the Presidential Commission formula for these encounters, and is plausibly suspect of palavering his way around that point by suggesting other, more congenial forums that would reduce the size of the audience.

But (2), Gore has run into a different order of problems. He says that Bush's proposed schedule would have the effect of cutting millions of voters out of the loop. Why?

Here is the explanation. If a network gives up a commercial hour in order to broadcast the debate, that network is undergoing a sacrifice. How's that? Because (let's use round figures) 20 million people aren't going to forfeit an hour with football or "60 Minutes" in order to tune in on the presidential debate. If NBC shows the debate, featuring moderator Tim Russert, CBS and ABC aren't going to collapse their schedules to defer to a competitor.

But why can't we assume that the viewing public will tune in to the debate, forcing the hand of the network management? Because they won't; and this is an aspect of the controversy Mr. Gore is not willing to parse, because he doesn't want to get out there and say: The only way we can get the high figure of listeners to tune in is if we lock them into doing so by giving them no alternatives on the dial. He would not want to say that because it would suggest less than the kind of faith he wants to exhibit, faith in the curiosity and duty-mindedness of the American voting public.