Head-to-head for Bush and Gore

Bush is on the offensive after losing over the debates

Presidential rivals George W Bush and Al Gore have agreed to hold three set-piece debates before the 7 November election.

There is no requirement that candidates for the presidency debate with each other during the campaign, and so it is left to the two candidates to negotiate some kind of agreement.

It's a victory for the American people

Gore campaign manager

The BBC Washington correspondent says the announcement marks a highly public U-turn by Mr Bush, who has for weeks demanded a different format for the exchanges.

With the polls suggesting an extremely tight race, the debates, to be held next month, could be vital in determining the election outcome.

Resistance

Mr Bush had long resisted the debate timetable proposed by the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates, despite its acceptance by his opponent.

Gore feels confident he has a better grasp of the issues

He wanted debates on specific TV shows, which would probably only be carried by one network and would have a considerably smaller audience.

The Texas governor has been plagued throughout his campaign by a series of gaffes, raising questions about how he would perform in debates.

But he abandoned his objections when it became clear they were unpopular with voters, and his advisers now insist that he is as enthusiastic as Mr Gore.

"The governor is very eager to debate," said Don Evans, who represented Mr Bush in the negotiations with the Commission.

'Progress' for Gore

The Gore campaign, which believes its candidate has a stronger grasp of the substantive issues than his opponent, was delighted.

"I think we made great progress today. It's a victory for the American people," said campaign manager William Daley.

The two sides agreed to the following schedule:

• Boston on 3 October
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina on 11 October
• St Louis on 17 October
• Vice-presidential candidates: in Danville, Kentucky on 5 October

As the deal was announced in Washington, Mr Bush went onto the offensive for the first time in several days by reviving an old controversy about Mr Gore's alleged fund-raising activities.

Mr Bush said that the vice-president "may have crossed a serious line" during the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign in 1996, raising questions about whether Mr Gore can be trusted.

Government officials have said the central issue is whether Mr Gore lied over the incidents when he was questioned by the prosecutor on 18 April.

But the US Attorney-General Janet Reno has previously turned down recommendations to investigate the vice president.