Mr. Hanna and Mr. Arcuri squared off in their debate for the 24th District congressional seat at MVCC last evening . . . What a difference a lack of five superfluous candidates makes! It was much more informative than that circus Monday night at Hofstra ... although the adage that "There is no such thing as a stupid question" was disproven when someone asked "We have a Department of War, would you support creation of a Department of Peace?"
Everyone has their own opinion of who "won" or "lost." To me the debate was a "draw" -- both men were prepared -- both delivered their points well. Both seemed to agree on many issues. Both appeared capable. Where they differ is on philosophy.
The decision will come down to what the voters believe should be the size of the role of Federal Government in their lives.
If you believe in more Federal involvement, Mr. Arcuri is your man. If you believe in less government involvement and more reliance on the private sector to satisfy needs, Mr. Hanna is your man.
It's that simple.
3 comments:
Both candidates illustrate the poor quality of the representatives the area now produces. Prepartion was sparse and presentation mediocre, at best. Both seemed ill at ease. Using a bsaeball analogy, like rookies when we need pros.
It is amazing how two people can look at the same thing and come to completely opposite conclusions. But I see it happen every day. :-)
Regardless of their politics, one can't seriously compare today's candidates with the likes of Al Pirnie, Don Mitchell and Sherwood Boehlert from an image and presentation perspective. In that sense the area's political stock has fallen along with its population base. Neither Arcuri nor Hanna project inspired leadership in most ways associated with being a Congressman. They both appear weak, defensive and not terribly well spoken. Their positions on most issues are also fairly similar. The only thing one can say is that Hanna may impede the Obama/Pelosi agenda to a greater extent. It's too bad he himself did not stress that more. It is no small matter and we don't need a "moderate" to rise to the challange. But, One guesses a hold the nose vote for Hanna is the only choice given the national condition.
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