Give Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue credit for resolving an impasse over the only real debate -- Tuesday night at 8 p.m. -- we're likely to see in the Democratic primary for governor. She's agreed to debate State Treasurer Richard Moore -- who has been pressing her for a long time to take part in a real debate where the candidates can challenge one another and debate ideas in the classic sense of the word.
Moore had agreed to a debate invitation from WRAL TV in Raleigh, which proposed a format without time limits on individual answers and rebuttals. Perdue preferred an alternative proposed by WTVD in Durham, which called for 75-second answers and 60-second rebuttals. That might have covered more topics, while the WRAL format might lend itself to more depth.
It was a stalemate until Tuesday afternoon when Perdue agreed to the WRAL format. That debate will be shown on a number of stations around the state. Their debate -- coming at a time when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has declined to debate Sen. Hillary Clinton in North Carolina -- should be helpful to North Carolina primary voters torn between two experienced candidates, and looking for reasons to support one over the other.
