First things first – please come back to JerseySmarts.com tomorrow when I will post a full review and some thoughts on the Lieutenant Governor Debate. I was on Monmouth University’s campus tonight and I watched the debate in Anacon Hall (the overflow room…which seemed unnecessary). Tomorrow’s fuller review will include information from the five pages of notes that I took, too!
Some quick thoughts…
Frank Esposito. Dr. Esposito had the biggest opportunity to make a strong case for his and Chris Daggett’s candidacy and I don’t think he made as much of that opportunity as possible. That’s not a knock on Dr. Esposito, though, but rather an observation that New Jersey’s (and America’s) two party system is ruining our political debate. Dr. Esposito had to spend more time reminding everyone that there were bigger issues to worry about than political attacks than actually talking about his and Daggett’s platform! Sad…
Kim Guadagno. In the event that anyone wants to declare an official “winner” in the debate tonight, I think that Sheriff Guadagno is the clear choice. Between Dr. Esposito constantly having to speaking in generalities and Senator Weinberg speaking in politician speak, the Sheriff was the one who came out on top. Also, she also gave some pretty clear answers and was forceful in her responses – which New Jerseyans want to see in this election year.
Loretta Weinberg. If there was any candidate who didn’t have a “good” night tonight, I think that it was State Senator Weinberg. However, that doesn’t mean that she came off horribly. In fact, I think that Senator Weinberg did a good job doing what she knows how to do best, which is act and respond to questions like a seasoned politician. Again, there is some value in that, but I think that New Jersey voters want something different.
The Venue. I’m not sure why Leadership New Jersey and Monmouth University didn’t let more people into the Pollack Theater – there were certainly enough empty seats that could have been filled if more people were let in. The audience was out of control and while that makes for good radio listening and television viewing, it doesn’t quite help in a forum format.
The Moderators. While strong, the moderators (at times) seemed to steal the spotlight from the candidates. That’s never a good thing, but it is certainly understandable when you are dealing with a Lieutenant Governor debate.
Overall, I wasn’t jumping up and down at the end of the debate. Hearing Dr. Esposito say that he supported in-state tuition for illegals stopped any chance that he and Daggett had of getting my vote. Student loans and the cost of going to college is my issue and that’s not what I want to hear.
More on all of this tomorrow…
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