More debates.

More talk about the issues.

Less talk about politics.

That's the strategy that some political insiders are pushing for one of the leading mayoral candidates as the race to succeed Mayor Rendell enters its frantic final six weeks.

And if you guessed the candidate in question is Republican Sam Katz, you'd be dead wrong.

It's Democrat John Street, who, even some aides concede, needs to chart a new end game for his mayoral bid. The new thinking comes after a devastating week that started with one of the city's top Democrats jumping ship and ended with the odd spectacle of the man who'd just been Philadelphia's top black official denying that he'd demeaned African-American men.

Advisors say that Street has enough time, money and support to recover from the bad publicity of former housing chief John White Jr. endorsing Katz. But they said his most important task is not letting Katz convince voters that he has the best programs to improve schools and fight crime and reminding voters that in Council Street has been solving problems for years.

Street, Mayor Rendell, who is his biggest supporter, and some top advisors met behind closed doors late Wednesday night, sources say, to talk about the campaign and pulling things together for the final days of the race. Officials wouldn't say what was discussed.

David Axelrod, the Chicago-based political media whiz who'd been advising the Street campaign, said in a phone interview last week that it's time to start challenging the claims that Katz has made in his early TV spots that the Republican has the "best plan" for schools and against crime, the issues that matter most to city voters.

In fact, Axelrod said, Katz - a financial consultant who has never held elective office - hasn't released detailed plans on either issue other than to say that he supports school vouchers, opposed by many of the white liberals he seeks to attract, as well as sharp cuts in the city wage tax of a magnitude that Street feels would cripple city services.

"The Katz campaign to date has been all show and no go," Axelrod said. He said the Street campaign will try to better draw the contrast between the Democrat and Katz on both issues and experience.

One way to do that, Street aides say, is through more frequent debates. Up until now, the perception has been that Katz - thought to be the underdog because of the Democrats' massive enrollment edge in the city - is the only one who wants a lot of debates.

But Street surprised some experts last week when he appeared in Frankford - a neighborhood with a large parochial school enrollment - to voice his opposition to vouchers, or government aid to parochial and private school parents, and to challenge Katz to a debate on the issue. Expect more such challenges, aides said.

"Sam Katz has never served a day in elected office - he's based his career on making money off the government, not making government work," said Axelrod, sounding what will be a likely theme for the fall campaign season.

Bob Barnett, Katz' campaign manager, said Street can debate his candidate as many times as he wants. "All he has to do is show up," said Barnett.

He said there were many times over the summer and as recently as last week when Street didn't show up or arrived early or late at events and didn't appear with Katz.

As for detailed blueprints on schools, crime or jobs, Barnett said those are coming. "We'll release them on our timetable," he said.

Given both the 4-1 Democratic enrollment edge and Street's multi-million dollar campaign kitty, no one in the former City Council president's camp is pushing the panic button yet, despite what clearly was the worst week for a campaign that ran like a well-oiled machine in beating four well-known Democratic rivals in May.

But Street aides are hard-pressed to explain the low energy level of the Democrat's campaign during the summer months and how he let his long-time friend and former City Council colleague, White, slip across party lines. Many experts think White's endorsement will cause two key groups of swing voters - white liberals and upscale blacks - to think more seriously about voting for the Republican.

One big problem for Street, according to experts, has been the absence of Ken Snyder, the Axelrod associate who served as Street's press secretary in the spring but left to become a deputy mayor of Washington, D.C.

Rumors say he may be back, on leave until election day.

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