The Garde debates remain the people's debates. Increasingly, debates for major office in the state are moving into the sterile, controlled atmosphere of TV studios or hosted by small venues with select audiences. At the Garde, all the people are invited in and for Thursday's gubernatorial debate, they came close to filling the theater.

In what has become a tradition in the hours before debates begin, the corner of State and Huntington streets outside the Garde theater was again the site of political rallies prior to both Tuesday's and Thursday's main events.

The side that first gets the loudspeaker permit from local police enjoys the opportunity to amplify its message. That usually means pro-Democratic Party union organizers, but not last Tuesday, when it was supporters for Republican congressional candidate Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh who had the flatbed truck stage to make their fiscal austerity, pro-Second Amendment case, punctuated with patriotic songs.

It was left for Democratic supporters of Rep. Joe Courtney to boo the conservative commentary, but not the patriotic songs, of course.

Meanwhile, on another corner, Green Party candidate Bill Clyde and Libertarian Dan Reale, not invited to the event inside, tried to carry out their own debate over the major-party din.

It was chaotic, messy and wonderful.

The intensity was turned up several notches on Thursday night, with the Garde hosting the first three-way (and possibly last) debate of the gubernatorial campaign between Democratic incumbent Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Republican Tom Foley and petitioning candidate Joe Visconti.

More conventionally that night, the union folks had the stage and the microphone to blast their pro-Malloy, anti-Foley message. They brought out the inflatable rat for the rally, along with frequent references to Foley's past management of companies in Georgia and Pennsylvania, well familiar by now to anyone who has been watching TV and not fast-forwarding through attack ads.

This time is was Foley supporters left to do the best they could in response to their amped-up counterparts - "Malloy's killing this state!" came one shout. Republicans did have a bagpiper playing that most implausible of instruments, which demands to be heard, regardless of the noise it might be competing with.

Passions were running high, and the rhetoric at times turned needlessly nasty, a tone unfortunately set by the steady stream of attack ads being run by the two campaigns. Inside to get ready for the gubernatorial debate itself, I learned only later that there were some physical altercations requiring police intervention. There is no excuse for that behavior.

As for the debates themselves - you can visit theday.com to view them and read the coverage - they were lively affairs covering plenty of policy ground. I had the privilege at both debates to ask questions, along with my partners, WNPR business desk reporter Harriet Jones and moderator John Dankosky, also of WNPR. CPTV stations carried the gubernatorial debate live.

Live TV from a remote location is a technical challenge in making sure candidates get equal time and the debate wraps up by the designated hour.

While I could concentrate on questions, John had to maintain focus while listening to the technical folks talking into his earpiece. He did a great job. It got interesting as the clock ran down, however, and Foley was still making the final, closing statement. Would he end in time before the moderator had to cut him off? Foley did, just seconds before John gave his sign off.

The everyman audience also adds to the Garde debates. Yes, there were a few violations of the instructions to be quiet during the debate - sporadic applause and a few guffaws - but democracy is not always neat and tidy.

I have speculated before whether, in an age when campaign supervisors like to control everything, will they someday dissuade candidates from taking part in the less-than-predictable live Garde debates. I sure hope not, because these debates have become a great tradition that deserve to remain a part of Connecticut politics.

Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor.