CA-Gov: How 'Bout that Debate?

I just finished watching the Governor's "Debate" on my local PBS station... And I didn't quite expect everything that was coming...

Of course, Ahhnuld talked his usual rhetoric... Now I DID expect that! Yes, he mentioned "tonight's the third anniversary of my election" (the recall). Yes, he constantly brough up "As an immigrant, I..." to answer at least half the question. Yes, he tried to scare us with taxes, saying "I can tell by the joy I see in your eyes that you love to raise taxes... Why don't you just say right now, 'I love increasing your taxes."' Yes, he talked about "bringing together Republicans and Democrats"... And then, he talked about Sargent Shriver's commitment to "giving back to the community" and how he shared his uncle-in-law's views on that! It's funny how he didn't want to talk about taking away rights from workers last year in his bungled special election (which he still describes as "good reform measures")...

Then there was Phil. Our Democratic candidate, Phil Anglides, talked about the failed special election last year. He reminded everyone about Arnold's attempt to privatize retirement benefits for police and fire. He reminded us of the millions of dollars Arnold has been receiving from oil comapnies, HMO companies, private developers, and other special interests that he was supposedly "free from". He reminded us of Arnold's statement to reporters a couple of weeks ago that he "has no plan" to balance the budget...

But more importantly, Phil talked about his plan to balance the budget. Angelides proposed streamlining state government and about $1 billion in waste, ending all corporate tax loopholes, and "asking the richest 1% of Californians to pay their fair share". He also compared his financial plan to Bill Clinton's in 1992... Personally, I think this is quite smart because Clinton is still VERY POPULAR on the "Left Coast"... And Bush & his cronies are not! Phil also continually brought up Arnold's special interest donors... Hmmm, so much for Arnold's "I take no crap from special interests" shtick. Overall, Arnold seemed to stick to his old rhetoric. Phil was strongly challenging Arnold on all his rhetoric and how it doesn't always reflect how he really governs. "It goes to who you can trust and whose bidding you're doing," Angelides said about Arnold's dependence on special interests. Hopefully, "average California voters" will look past the tired, old rhetoric and finally take notice of Phil's plan... And hopefully, this will be the turning point of a floundering Angelides campaign.

The AP's take (Via LA Times):

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-debate8oct08,0,2442105.story?coll=la-home-headlines