Our readers wanted answers to questions you wouldn't imagine Jim Lehrer ever asking: questions about each candidate's alleged problems with substance abuse; about gay marriage and civil rights; proof that the death penalty works; and the candidates' own less-than impressive records on key issues.

And the candidates answered us. Sort of. Al Gore, perhaps as expected, was the windier of the two, and responded lengthily to each question -- you decide whether he actually answered every question. George W. Bush, on the other hand, simply chose not to respond to two questions, and ignored parts of others. With a few exceptions, he kept his responses brief and to the point.

The youth debate is the brainchild of New York writer Anthony Tedesco, who has wrangled answers out of the top two candidates for a second straight election (Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, it should be pointed out, both declined our invitation). Tedesco explains his thinking behind the youth debate here.

The questions come from Salon readers who are under 30 (we took their word for it) who answered our call for questions, and two friends of Tedesco's, political pundits Farai Chideya and Deroy Murdock, got the ball rolling with questions of their own.

What follows are the questions and the candidate responses, uncut:

1. In the decades since Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court has ruled that districts cannot be forced to use means such as busing and magnet schools to enforce desegregation orders. Today, the majority of black children attend majority-black schools, and many other children go to schools where racial integration is still a dream. If you still believe in that dream, what will you do -- with laws and concrete actions -- to make educational integration a reality? -- Farai Chideya, debate co-moderator

Bush: [The governor did not respond to this question.]

Gore: Brown vs. Board of Education has done a lot to increase diversity in our schools, but there are still too many kids that don't benefit from a diverse educational environment. All too often these children are also isolated in failing schools. I pledge to continue to rigorously enforce civil rights laws to ensure opportunities for all our children.

I'm not satisfied when any children are trapped in a poor school without the guidance and resources they need to learn. All children should have access to a high-quality education. I want to make improvements in all of our schools, and especially under-performing schools, to give children of all backgrounds the chance at a world-class education. I will finish hiring 100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes so that students can get more one-on-one time with teachers, and I will help local communities construct new schools, fix failing schools and modernize classrooms so that all students can benefit from a quality classroom.

We must also provide parents with more choices to suit their children's needs. This will help support diversity in our public school systems and improve the quality of education. I will triple investment in charter schools to give parents an alternative, and support greater choice for parents within the public school system.

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