The Vice Presidential and CT Senate Debates

Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:12 pm

For the Vice Presidential Debate, I felt the overall "winner" in total points was Mr. Biden. He had the more accurate information and grasp of the international situation. Mr. Ryan did better than I expected but his attack on foreign policy was not accurate and Mr. Biden called him on it. It is a fact that our image abroad has improved during the Obama administration. We have more allies on common issues.

I also prefer to have the candidates sitting at a table because I think it allows them to be slightly more relaxed and focus on the issues more easily. And it is perfectly OK to take notes in a debate....

As for aggression, it was evident on both sides. Perhaps this was in reaction to the first Presidential debate, where Mr. Romney was very aggressive and frequently interrupting while Mr. Obama seemed more composed. Apparently, I am in the minority that prefers order over chaos....

As for the Connecticut Senatorial debate between Mrs. McMahon and Mr. Murphy, I felt that Mr. Murphy came out ahead on points and was correct when he stated that the debate should focus on the issues and not personal, negative attacks. His grasp of the financial issues within the state seemed more knowledgeable.

And although both candidates have had financial issues, it became obvious that the McMahons recently paid back some creditors only because the issue became public. Moreover, we continue to receive large quantities of negative and misleading ads against Mr. Murphy by the McMahon organization. For example, Mr. Murphy actually has a 97% attendance record for floor votes in Congress itself. This is independent of committee or subcommittee hearings. Mrs McMahon's literature tries to suggest otherwise.

And I do confess to a bias...I feel the wealthy should not receive tax cuts. The concept of "trickle down economics" has not worked very well, has it?