Debate

Saying it recognizes crime as an economic issue, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce is hosting for the first time in its history a debate between the candidates for Bernalillo County district attorney.

A few good punches were thrown but there didn’t seem to be much blood on the mat after 1st Congressional District candidates Martin Heinrich and Darren White met elbow-to-elbow Wednesday night.

The mood in the room became lethal when Sen. John McCain mocked Sen. Barack Obama’s position on late-term abortion (Obama supports a ban but demands an exception to preserve the life or health of the mother). Said McCain, “That’s the extreme pro-abortion position — quote, ‘health.’” There is no doubt that if McCain had been in that Northeast Heights living room, with two dozen female Obama supporters, that he would have had reason to be afraid. Very afraid.

The nonpartisan truth factory known as Factcheck.org is as good a place as any to get your Wednesday night debate-watching detectors in gear. (It’s also a decent tool for setting some ground rules for a debate-watching drinking game, but the New Mexico Independent isn’t outright endorsing such potentially irresponsible behavior.)

Sure, you could Tivo one and watch the other live, but Mark Caro of the Chicago Tribune has a better idea.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will be in central New Mexico tomorrow to stump for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The governor from our neighbor to the west will be in Los Lunas and Albuquerque tomorrow for a number of events.

For those of you are struggling with a dangerous addiction to the presidential campaign, here is a little indulgence to feed your need, a little wrap-up of some patterns I’ve noticed over the past week. Read, discuss, comment.
Late last night, after most people had changed the channel or gone to bed, several TV networks announced [...]

The big news this morning is last night’s presidential debate. Who won? Who got a bump? Who rescued his plummeting poll numbers? Did the country’s six remaining undecided voters decide? For some answers we can turn to the Los Angeles Times, which had a reporter posted in Albuquerque last night:
Voters leaning toward John McCain found [...]

There was a little yelling, some throwing stuff at the TV and a lot of silent eye-rolling, but no changed minds among a group of mostly 30-something Obama supporters gathered to watch the second presidential debate Tuesday evening.

Tuesdays are usually not the best nights for socializing. There is a reason why many bars have $2 specials on Tuesday nights.
But tonight, there will be hundreds of parties around the nation. All to gather around and watch a debate. On TV.
The 7 p.m. town hall-style presidential debate from Nashville, Tenn., is a must-see TV [...]

To fix a problem, you must first acknowledge it exists. For me, the candidate that recognizes these are just some of the real problems we face (add health care and education costs to the list) and outlines a clear platform to address these problems should be the winner of the debate.

The vice presidential debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin was expected to get large ratings on TV. Political bloggers from the center, left and right also weighed in on who won the debate.
The answers depended on how partisan the blogger was.
Marc Ambinder, blogger for The Atlantic, gave his initial reaction.
Averaging expectations, style [...]

Well, Palin held her own and Biden kept a lid on it. Vice presidential candidates Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin both managed to avoid any disastrous screw-ups, which was pretty much all they were expected to do Thursday night.

Sen. John McCain may have suspended his presidential campaign today, but that doesn’t mean his troops are getting any time off.
The parking lot outside the McCain/Palin Victory ‘08 headquarters in Albuquerque was full and the office was buzzing with activity this morning just hours after McCain announced he was temporarily halting his campaign to work [...]

Tom Udall and Steve Pearce have agreed to a debate on YouTube.
“One of the most watched senatorial campaigns this election season is going down in New Mexico. Battleground territory, traditionally unreliable for both the Republican and the Democratic Party,” says the introductory video.