Who’s afraid to debate – and why?
Gov. Jim Hunt is the latest N.C. political figure to urge Sen. Barack Obama to debate Sen. Hillary Clinton before the May 6 primary. He joins Gov. Mike Easley and legislative leaders Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight in calling for the debate.
Hunt points out that while the presidential candidates have debated many previous times, the candidates have not discussed North Carolina issues.
Left unmentioned is a decision by Democratic Senate candidate Kay Hagan, running for the nomination to oppose incumbent Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, not to debate. She’s ignoring her opponents, including Jim Neal of Chapel Hill, who has not had the money to mount an advertising campaign that might help attract voters to his campaign. Hagan, of course, is following the traditional view that front-runners in a political race ought not give their challengers a platform.
The same thing is at work in Democratic governor candidate and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue’s reluctance this spring to face State Treasurer Richard Moore. Perdue avoided debates for much of the campaign, though she recently called for a debate and has accepted WTVD’s proposal for an April 22 debate. Moore prefers an alternative debate format proposed by WRAL in Raleigh which would provide a more open debate process.
Those who are reluctant to debate before N.C. voters may have their own strategic reasons for doing so. After all, they’re trying to win an election. But in declining to debate, they rob the public of an opportunity to see how they perform under pressure and how they react to tougher questions than they’re likely to get in the usual candidate forums. Among many other factors, the public is entitled to measure the candidates’ reluctance to debate when they make choices about whom to support.
