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Tuesday, February 13, 2001 5:09 a.m. CT Bush, Gore receive honors The Associated Press ABILENE (AP) - During the closest presidential election in history, candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore conducted themselves with civility normally absent in political campaigns, a two-man civility patrol says. "Campaigns will bring out animosity, but they did their best not to get personal," said Glen Dromgoole. Dromgoole and Alan Gibson are known as Americans for More Civility. "I thought their conduct was pretty positive," Dromgoole said. The men awarded "Civies" to Bush, Gore, their running mates Dick Cheney and Joseph Lieberman as well as actors Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford and Olympic sprinter Marion Jones. The civility patrol lauded Cheney and Lieberman for a debate that focused on issues and not partisan politics. They praised Fox for his work to help find a cure for Parkinson's disease, Ford for refusing any credit after his helicopter rescue of a stranded mountain climber and Jones, the first woman track and field athlete to win five medals at one Olympics, for remaining humble in the midst of her success. Dromgoole and Gibson handed out "Un-Civies" last year, but elected not to do so this year. Last year's "Un-Civie" award-winner was former Indiana coach Bobby Knight. "There are some people you could give them to every year," Dromgoole said. "I just felt it called attention to the wrong things. We were afraid it might take away from what we're trying to do." Dromgoole, a former editor of the Abilene Reporter-News, said he and Gibson, a writer from Jasper, Ga., are trying to discourage foul behavior. "This is not so much to recognize celebrities, but to call attention to worthwhile behavior," he said. "We want to make sure we cite their actions, not their celebrity. These are people who make a difference by promoting civility in their everyday lives." http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/021301/tex_bushgore.shtml **********