EDITORIAL: Getting it straight

Sunday night's debate wasSunday night's debate wasnot earth-shattering. but itSunday night's debate wasnot earth-shattering. but itwas informative.Sunday night's debate wasnot earth-shattering. but itwas informative._____________________________ Republican nominee Bob Dole needed a miracle to begin closing the double-digit gap President Clinton has opened in practically every poll. While his performance was polished and his policy points were peppered with snatches of humor, Dole didn't deliver a knockout punch. Clinton and Dole did manage to keep their dialogue civil, though. They responded to moderator Jim Lehrer's questions and only occasionally descending into overt partisanship or outright mud-slinging. But both candidates focused on issues like taxes, drugs and foreign policy -- all important, to be sure, but not as crucial to our generation of voters as are the availability of student loans, the solvency of Social Security, and the sources of funding for Medicare and Medicaid. We have been told that although the economy is booming today, we will likely be the first generation to be less well off than our parents when we reach maturity, thanks to deficit spending and a ballooning national debt. We know the government safety nets that our paychecks help fund will probably snap before we are eligible to use them. And we have been warned that if we do not go to the polls on November 5, our absence could decide the election. So why aren't the candidates willing to say more to young people than "Just tap into my home page" and "Don't do drugs?" We hope they will rectify this situation when they meet again in San Francisco, so that members of our generation can make an informed choice in the voting booth. Only by voting en masse, graphically showing in electoral returns the depth of feeling bubbling through the mass of 18-to-24-year-olds in this country, will we impress on politicians the fact that we do care about the quality of life in America in the next century. Then they will be obliged to regard us as highly and warily as they do the powerful and large senior citizens' lobby. We're not rich, established or powerful yet -- but we are vocal and able to speak out. We must use our voices in the public arena before it's too late. Our future depends on it.