More of the Same, but Still Entertaining
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RICHMOND, Oct. 9
Larry J. Sabato, the ubiquitous political pundit from the University of Virginia, gets a lot of ink, and a fair amount of grief, for his widespread musings on state politics. But the guy knows how to put on a snappy debate.
Actually, Sunday night's televised gubernatorial debate between Republican Jerry W. Kilgore and Democrat Timothy M. Kaine was a bit more like a game show. With Sabato moderating, a stack of e-mailed inquiries from voters across the state and a "lightning round" quiz not as cheesy as it sounds, the two candidates fielded dozens of questions in the hour-long contest.
Too bad so many of them had the same answer.
From Kaine, it was that he is the logical successor to popular Gov. Mark R. Warner.
From Kilgore, it was that Kaine is a big liberal.
Really, it was all there in the candidates' opening statements.
Kaine went first and rambled 22 seconds before mentioning his fellow Democrat. "I'm the right leader because I've worked in a bipartisan, fiscally responsible and pro-business way with Governor Mark Warner to turn our state around," he said. He tried to warn the TV audience of what was ahead: Kilgore, he said, "fought against every bit of progress we've made, always crying 'liberal' when we tried to move the state forward."
Responded Kilgore: "You've just heard my opponent talk about the 'Warner-Kaine administration.' But what you're going to find on the ballot this November is no Mark Warner. It's time for Tim Kaine to stand on his own record. He's the most liberal candidate to ever run for governor in the commonwealth of Virginia's history."
The rest of the evening was pretty much a variation on that.
That's not to say it wasn't entertaining and, to an extent, enlightening about the two men with the best chances of running the state for the next four years. (State Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., who is running as an independent, was not allowed into the debate, partly because he has not made enough of an impact in the polls but mostly because Kilgore will not agree to any debate that includes his fellow Republican from Winchester.)
