Now it’s the vice-presidential candidates’ turn. Vice President Al Gore and Republican Jack Kemp will meet tonight in St. Petersburg, Florida, for their one and only debate. Kemp says that the debate can be carried out with dignity, civility and respect, and Gore says you can disagree without being disagreeable. Maybe that’s because they don’t disagree on all that much. Gore says he’ll focus on lower unemployment, a shrinking budget deficit and declining crime rates. Kemp says he plans to cast President Clinton as a liberal hiding behind conservative election-year promises. Surprise, surprise.

And Dole will campaign in Illinois today. Clinton’s only scheduled public appearance is a White House signing ceremony for an aviation spending bill that contains new airline safety provisions and a last-minute provision that will make it difficult for Federal Express workers to unionize. Common Cause is holding a news conference today to discuss action it’s asking the Justice Department to take regarding potential massive violations of the federal campaign laws by the Clinton and Dole presidential campaigns.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is going to be holding a news conference today. USA Today is reporting that forums conducted over a three-month period by the commission found racism in the South. The paper said the forums were prompted by a February 16 article in USA Today that said the number of arsons at Black churches in the South had risen sharply in recent years. It said a subsequent two-month investigation by the paper determined that race was but one of several motivating factors behind the arsons. USA Today says documents from forums conducted by the commission say that in seven Southern states, that they reveal that racial animosity and segregation are still dominating factors in Southern life.