Harry Reid, Sharon Angle Debate: Highlights and Full Video

by the Left Coast Rebel

Senator Harry Reid and republican senate nominee Sharron Angle debated for the first and only time last night, October 14. Early this morning I watched the full video between the two and came away quite shocked at just how poorly Harry Reid performed. His performance, replete with gaffes, misspoken data and general awkwardness was quite unbecoming of a three-decade, veteran senate 'leader.' I was surprised at just how focused and on-point Angle was. For every Reid awkward moment, Angle went right for the jugular.

A vocal critic of Sharron Angle, the Las Vegas Sun, conceded that Angle flatly won the debate on several counts:

Sharron Angle won The Big Debate.

Angle won because she looked relatively credible, appearing not to be the Wicked Witch of the West (Christine O’Donnell is the good witch of the Tea Party) and scoring many more rhetorical points. And she won because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid looked as if he could barely stay on a linear argument, abruptly switching gears and failing to effectively parry or thrust.

Whether the debate affects the outcome — I believe very few Nevadans are undecided — it also perfectly encapsulated the race: An aging senator who has mastered the inside political game but fundamentally does not seem to care about his public role (and is terrible at it) versus an ever-smiling political climber who can deliver message points but sometimes changes her message or denies a previous one even existed.

Politico:

Even more puzzling, with the polls deadlocked and his career on the line, the four-term senator largely avoided engaging Angle. For a hard-nosed politician who prides himself on his youthful boxing exploits, he threw surprisingly few punches.

The former state assemblywoman and tea party favorite was, in her halting fashion, the aggressor of the evening, going after the incumbent with a series of tough attacks.

Part I - Highlights - Angle comes out of the gate fighting, (3:00) "I'm not a career politician, Harry Reid lives in the Hilton." (6:00) "Every state should have a Joe Arpaio."(10:00) Harry Reid "English is already the official language.":



Part II - Highlights - (1:00) Angle against insurance mandates, "America is about choices." (2:00) Harry Reid, "You see the baseball players wearing pink shoes, the football players having pink helmets....colon cancer, because you snip off the things that they find when they go up, no more." The segment (at 3:15) seals the deal on Harry Reid's defeat. He simply cannot answer a simple yes/no question. Ouch:



Part III: Highlights - Angle (2:40) "Man up Harry Reid, you need to understand that we have a problem with Social Security." (10:00) Angle makes a great case for de-funding the Department of Education and stands her ground. Harry Reid (11:25) follows, calling the Department of Education, the "department of energy." No kidding, this guys is the leader of the United States Senate?:



Part IV - Highlights - Angle continues 1-2 punches at every point, note Harry Reid fumbling through his notes (9:00):



Watch the segments and drop some highlights of your own in the comment section.

Special shout out to readers of the Las Vegas Sun! Wish I was there! -ed.

Mickey Kaus Debates Box, Not Boxer

Kaus vs. Box

Gadfly blogger Mickey Kaus, who is running in the Democrat primary against Barbara "Bouncer" Boxer, can't get any respect. At least, not from Babs.
Barbie knows that as the incumbent and front runner she can only lose by exhibiting just how stupid she is in any debate against anyone with the intelligence of a rutabaga or better. Hence, she refuses to debate Mr. Kaus.

Not to be ignored, Mickey held his debate not against Boxer, but against a box. Yes, it was a gutsy move, considering the box was at least two to three times more intelligent than Barbara Boxer!

Senator Barbara “Don’t Call Me Ma’am” Boxer (D-CA) has been dodging her opponent in the U.S. Senate race all primary season. But her opponent, Mickey Kaus of Kausfiles and Common Sense Democrat fame, decided to hold the debate without her.

Some in the audience professed not to notice that Boxer was absent.

-DBKP

Another good reason to defeat Prop 14, is front runners who feel that they are not obligated to debate their opponents. How can one possibly pick the two best candidates when the front runners know that it is in their best interest to hide their views and keep their mouths shut until after they have the job?

Cross posted at Say Anything