Unfortunately, during the workday it is hard for most registered voters to see these debates, and that may have been Jerry Kilgore?s plan. Kilgore relied on sound bites throughout the debate to convey his single-minded message that Kaine is a liberal tax-hiker riding on the coattails of Mark Warner, while he is a pro-life Republican who would work hard from day one to widen the 8 miles of lanes on I-66 inside the Beltway. In between sound bites and attacks on Tim Kaine, Kilgore was jittery and repetitive. He didn?t think well on his feet, nor did he even attempt to defend himself against Kaine?s criticism that he had stood against everything Warner and Kaine had accomplished in the past 4 years, and in fact had said he wanted to ?undue the damage? of the Warner-Kaine Administration.
While Kilgore called the balanced budget a code word for ?raising taxes," Tim Kaine pointed out that even Jerry?s identical twin brother supported the Warner-Kaine budget proposal, as did a majority of the Republicans in the state legislature.
When asked about the day laborers in Herndon, Kaine reiterated his position that he didn?t want to go over the heads of local officials, and called on the Federal Government to enforce immigration laws. He got a big laugh when he explained to Jerry Kilgore that the U.S. border isn?t between Herndon and Fairfax.
On abortion issues, Jerry Kilgore clearly frustrated Tim Russert by refusing to answer whether or not he would ban abortion and criminalize doctors and women if Roe v. Wade were overturned. Which is puzzling, because Jerry Kilgore has clearly come out in favor of criminalization in speeches he has given elsewhere in the state.
Overall, Tim Kaine was thoughtful, respectful, and could think on his feet, while Jerry Kilgore was angry, divisive, and clueless. When asked about Hurricane Katrina, and what he would do to in the event of an emergency (particularly what he would do to ensure the rescue of poor citizens without means of transportation), Kilgore answered the first part of the question, but forgot the part about how to help the poor citizens without means of transportation! Tim Russert had to ask the question again, and even then, Jerry?s response was short and vague.
Perhaps one of the more interesting questions asked during the debate was whether or not Tim Kaine would support Hillary Clinton if she ran in 2008. Tim?s response ? I?m supporting Mark Warner.
Kaine v. Potts ? Potts says ?I?m am Warner II?
If you are looking for ?Warner II,? vote Russ Potts? Yes, the second debate of the day was a Mark Warner love-fest, with both candidates wanting to be seen as a continuation of Warner?s success over the last 4 years. Clearly, Tim Kaine made a better case than Potts by the end of the day.
This debate was far more amiable than the one between Kaine and Kilgore, but there was certainly some dissent in the room. Potts hung onto the notion that he was the best friend of education and that he already had a clear $2 billion transportation plan and Tim Kaine did not, although Potts neglected to elaborate on any details of the plan during the debate. (I guess you?ll have to check out his website or something.)
Potts was clearly a more compelling candidate than Jerry Kilgore, but he gave off that Ross Perot quality of both honest and fair but a little crazy and detached. This was evident when he called Kaine ?immoral? for making promises about providing pre-K education for 4 year olds, without a clear plan to pay for it all. (Although I?m still waiting for details on how Potts will pay for his transportation plan.)
Perhaps the most pointed criticism of Jerry Kilgore during the debate came from Russ Potts, who repeatedly claimed disgust for Kilgore?s refusal to participate. He called Kilgore ?Casper the Ghost? for being absent in a debate where the first 30 minutes were devoted to education, with questions asked solely by students, parents, and teachers. Both Potts and Kaine clearly have a solid record on education, whereas Jerry Kilgore does not. The fact is that Kilgore wants to use education funds to pay for transportation projects. As if that's not bad enough, Kilgore also opposed all measures to increase k-12 education funding during the Warner-Kaine Administration.
In both of these short debates, it was obvious who was the most Gubernatorial. While you have to admire Russ Potts for being straightforward, on message, and certainly no slave to the Republican Party, you doubt his ability to be calm when he doesn?t get his way. He often answered questions with the temperament of a Head Coach in the fourth quarter.
Tim Kaine, however, was impressive. He repeated his claim that he wanted results and accountability. He emphasized that he wants to bring people together from both parties to make tough decisions, and that he wants to continue the success of the last 4 years of Warner-Kaine.
After watching Jerry Kilgore debate, I can?t believe he could be ahead in any poll. Hopefully, he will show himself more often, because today he certainly didn?t look like an individual capable of running the best managed State in the Nation.
To be fair, I do have a criticism of Tim Kaine. Fortunately, Raising Kaine isn?t officially attached to the Kaine campaign, so I am free to criticize, and the criticism I have is that Kaine didn?t offer anything particularly new, nor did he confront Kilgore on the issue of his capitulation to the pharmaceutical companies on Methamphetamines. Granted, the audience was small, and there will be other opportunities for debate, but the press core was obviously disappointed that Kaine didn?t have a silver bullet lined up that could knock over an obviously shaky Jerry Kilgore and energize the crowd.
I personally hope that other issues, like the environment, health care, and energy will be addressed by Tim in future debates, but overall I think he did an excellent job and appeared worthy of the office of Governor of Virginia.
Overall, here are my grade for the candidates' performances in today's debates:
Tim Kaine: A-
Russ Potts: C+
Jerry Kilgore: D-