Please Excuse Mr. Kean to Attend a Debate

[rusty charly]

THE two men running for the United States Senate — Thomas H. Kean Jr. and Robert Menendez, the incumbent — unofficially debated this past week about whether to debate at all, and did so with such vitriol that everyone in Trenton could have gotten a doctor's note for suffering political whiplash.

It all started when Mr. Kean, a Republican, informed New Jersey Network that he might need to pull out of the scheduled televised debate on Monday in Trenton because he could be stuck in the Legislature, voting on budget bills.

The Menendez camp pounced. Steve DeMicco, Mr. Menendez's campaign manager, dismissed Mr. Kean's concern, calling him a coward. Mr. DeMicco also took the opportunity to refer to two unpolished moments in Mr. Kean's campaign: a fund-raiser with Vice President Dick Cheney in Newark at which Mr. Kean showed up late, prompting speculation that he did not want to be there; and an event in Atlantic City at which Mr. Kean declined to share a stage with Mr. Menendez and was chased by reporters into an elevator.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/25njpol.html

"We do not expect you to encounter heavy traffic on the short trip from the Senate Chamber to the studio," Mr. DeMicco wrote. "Furthermore, you will be able to access the studio without riding an elevator or coming into contact with the New Jersey press corps."

[mconvente]

1. If I were Kean, I'd try and get out of debating with Menendez too

I watched their debate on Sunday afternoon - Menendez destroyed him. Menendez is so much more personable, not to mention he's a true liberal, which I love. Kean was sooooooo scripted in all of his answers - it was almost like watching a campaign commercial rather than true debate. Kean is an awful speaker, so hopefully he will look dumb to a lot of people.

[rusty charly]

2. Oh my.

...the most dramatic exchange occurred when Mr. Kean sought to contrast his own background and record in Westfield, a wealthy suburb, with Mr. Menendez's in Hudson County.

"I invite people to come to Westfield, look at my hometown, and look at my actions. Are you willing to invite people into Hudson County, Bob, to look at this record, because we need to make sure we have real leadership in the future?"

There was a gasp from the audience.

"Are you casting an aspersion upon the people of Hudson County?" Mr. Menendez asked.

"You know better than that, Bob."

"That's the way your question sounds," Mr. Menendez said, adding, "They're hard-working, they're blue-collar people."

"You're right," Mr. Kean said, before continuing to criticize Mr. Menendez.


http://www.prospect.org/midterm/2006/06/post_193.html#002942