Well, the debate of the candidates for Texas governor has come and gone. Most voters probably weren't even watching, after all, they had friday night football, Texas-OU weekend, and prime-time TV vying for their attention. I doubt if many minds were changed among the few who did watch. The whole thing was pretty much a snoozer.
Each of the candidates repeated the things they had been saying on the campaign trail. Grandma tried again to paint herself as an outsider, even though she been a part of the Austin power structure for many years. Perry tried to convince folks that they had voted to approve the Trans-Texas Corridor, which they have not. Kinky was just Kinky. Bell tried to get people to notice that he's in the race too. Before Bell tries to run for political office again, he'd be advised to take a course in public speaking. He has a wonderful deep voice, but wastes it delivering speeches in almost a monotone.
Perhaps the most significant event of the night was the refusal to include all of the candidates into the debate. James Werner, candidate of the Libertarian Party, was not allowed to debate with the other candidates. This is just wrong. It's not easy to qualify for the Texas ballot, and all candidates who do qualify to be on the ballot should be allowed to participate in any debate. I know that some will say that he didn't have enough support to be included in the debate. But how is a candidate supposed to get support, if he's ignored by the media and not allowed to participate with his opponents in a debate?
But the non-event is now over, and the campaign resumes. Only a month remains before election day. Can anyone catch Perry, who is sitting on a solid base of 33-38%? That depends on how many disappointed right-wing christians stay at home, and how many new voters will actually show up at the polls. We'll know soon.
Nothing new?
ReplyDeleteWell, nothing new about Perry's arrogance, that's for sure.
OTH, Bell was poised and informed.
Strayhorn showed where the mooncalf look
Scotty McClellan used to show in press conferences that strayed from his prepared talking points came from.
Kinky stumbled, and seemed to spend a lot of time pointing to Chris Bell and saying "Yeah, what he said".
Second thought, you're right. Nothing new here at all.
I wish I could be the first blogger-for-Kinky to graciously concede that Bell won the debate hands down, but Ian and TheLongHaul and ExColl beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteIan graciously said:
I think most Kinky supporters, myself included, had assumed that the question wasn't "if" Kinky would win the debate, but instead by "how much". Perry is the perfect punching bag, and Kinky seemed well equipped to run circles around the status quo politicians. Debates are glorified battles of the one-liner, and it seemed silly to think that the Kinky, the master of the one-liner who had 30 years experience being on stage, could somehow fumble on his biggest night. But he did. ... The fact that Kinky couldn't name a single black guy from Texas on his staff was rather embarrassing. The fact that Kinky looked like the cranky old redneck from the Hill Country didn't help. ... The fact that Kinky was forced to say, "I agree with Bell" on this and that only helped to make Bell look like the only grown-up on stage. ... I watched the debate in Dallas with some of my old Kinky friends. I must admit that I was shocked that Bell actually got some scattered applause. Obviously, the Kinksters groaned and laughed when Bell said, "I'm a serious man with a serious plan." But other than that awkward line, I'd say Bell did what he had to do. ... congrats to Team Bell for hanging in there and delivering on the one night that mattered the most.
TheLongHaul graciously said:
Bell did a great job. The thing that helped Bell the most, was time limits. We all know how boring he can be, and how he can go on and on, but the best thing that happened to him was time limits. He will probably benefit the most from the debates.... Kinky needed to come out strong and present himself as a valid candidate in order to break away from the pack. I don't think he did as well as he could have, but I don't feel he will lose many votes.
ExColl graciously said:
In my unbiased, professional/amateur opinion, the winner was clearly…. Chris Bell. ?!?! Yes, I said it. While I still support Kinky, I have to say he was not his normal self at the debate. Chris Bell, on the other hand proved that he was, despite contrary reports, alive. He did have the best line of the debate. When asked if he knew whether there were term limits for the governor, his response ( I don’t remember the quote, but it was very close to this): “That is the single best reason to vote for me. There are no term limits for Governor and our current Governor has said if he wins this election, he will run again.” Snap!... Kinky got in a few zingers, but nothing new if you have been following him. Frankly, I was disappointed. I saw him speak at the Student Union this week, and basically he said the same things. Kinky lost an opportunity, albeit, considering the timing of the debate, not a big one.
I would like to lend my voice to Ian and TheLongHaul and ExColl. Bell won the debate convincingly. Kinky fell short of my expectations, especially on questions which Kinky should have anticipated. Plus Kinky didn't help matters much with his post debate comments "Right now, I'm still voting for myself" and "Jesse Ventura convinced me I shouldn't be for a wall because ten years from now we might want to be getting out of here."
The war isn't over, but Bell won this battle decisively. Congratulations to team Bell.
Nothing new?
ReplyDeleteStrayhorn proved more empty-headed than expected when not repeating her TV commercial lines.
Now Perry was nothing new - big smile, nice hair and misleading statements about corporate giveaways and lack of accomplishments.
Kinkny unexpectedly proved he wasn't ready. This was Kinky's moment to shine and show he was a serious candidate and even three of the best known Kinky bloggers themselves say he blew it.
Despite being boring as toast, Bell got off the best response of the evening and proved the most knowledgable and the most fit to be governor.
Bell gained voters, Strayhorn and possibly Kinky lost voters. Perry fans weren't watching.