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We're always excited when Lake County folks make the papers: Winfred's top political scientist Neal McIntyre attended yesterday's DakotaFest debate between Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and GOP challenger Chris Lien and weighed in with this assessment:
The hour-long debate found the candidates alternating between subtle agreements to sharp divisions on topics ranging from energy prices to overseas conflict, leaving one audience member unable to determine a winner.
“They approached it somewhat differently and said somewhat the same things,” said Neal McIntyre of Winfred. “I guess I would call it a draw.” [Austin Kaus, "Energy Problems Among Items of Contention in Debate," Mitchell Daily Republic, 2008.08.21].
McIntyre's "draw" call has already swelled the hearts (with Lien's campaign coffers sure to follow) of PP and his conservative commenters:
If Lien debated Herseth to a standstill the first time, imagine how he'll be after he has 3 elections under his belt? [Pat Powers, "Mitchell Daily Republic: Congressional Debate..... a Draw," SD War College, 2008.08.21]
I have to admit, hearing my Democratic Congresswoman take the same positions as the Republican challenger on Hyperion (she says the refinery is a good idea) and nationalized health care (she's against it—Steph! Go talk to Dennis!) doesn't do much for my bleeding liberal heart.
Readers, feel free to debate the impact of debates (and draws) on the campaign. I want to take a moment to note that Neal McIntyre is no random man in the street. Perhaps the smartest man in Winfred, Neal is a well-read observer of politics and history. As the South Ossetia conflict broke out, he and I had an interesting conversation on foreign policy. Neal held that the United States needed to send military forces to Georgia to draw a line in the sand (or in this case, mountains) against resurgent Russian expansionism.
"Yeah, us and what army?" I asked, pointing to our troop commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Neal didn't sound worried, saying that a stand against the Russians required divisions different from the infantry we're using elsewhere. (I was keeping one eye on Madville Times, Jr., during this conversation, so Neal, feel free to straighten me out here!) Neal also said we couldn't afford not to stand against the Russians. It's the Great Game of the 1800's all over again, he said. In this century, though, the players will be the U.S., Japan, and India against Russia, China, and the Arab countries.
Uff da! Count on those Winfred folks to ask the hard geopolitical questions!
Send U.S. troops to Georgia?! That is the most insane idea I have heard in quite awhile.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I get the feeling that the American public is not getting the whole story on this conflict. Maybe I'm just too doggone skeptical of the media.
I grew up during the Vietnam era and the height of the Cold War. In my opinion, the last thing we should do is to become as paranoid as the Russians.
We can start dealing with the looming problems of the twenty-first century by getting off our addiction to foreign oil. Then we'll be in a better position to exert economic force on countries that displease us.