On The Ninth Congressional District (The Debate)

(Photo Illus: CA) Revised.

UPDATE (7/15): The latest FEC filings were posted today, and Cohen has a substantial advantage over Tinker.

So, looking at the filings, why does Cohen have so many multiple max contributions from international poker players just like Tinker has plenty of contributions from lawyers? We know Tinker is a lawyer, but is Cohen a gambler?

*MDN. WREG.


UPDATE (6:30PM): Watch the debate. However, The Flyer's Jackson Baker gave a pretty good recap of the event, including this excerpt:

One issue that remained unexamined was that of abortion, on which Cohen has long been known as pro-choice, while Towns has just as resolutely proclaimed his pro-life views. Tinker's position has been shrouded in mystery, though she received an endorsement -- and presumably the promise of funding - from the pro-choice group Emily's List.

CA columnist Wendi Thomas, originally scheduled to be a panelist for the debate, wrote a column speculating on the dilemma of Tinker, many of whose supporters are virulently anti-abortion. One result of that was apparently a negative reaction from the Tinker camp, who in any case saw her column as over-critical and, according to debate organizers, requested that Thomas be replaced as a panelist.

One result: Moore was there in Thomas' stead. Another result, inadvertently or not: No question about abortion was ever asked.

Also, in the mail: The Memphis Democratic Council has endorsed Nikki Tinker for the Ninth Congressional District seat. It also endorsed Joe Towns but for his state rep seat only.

*Tha MATT.

ORIGINAL POST (7/14): OK. This photo is clearly biased.

It does not accurately represent the seating order inside the WREG studio last night. Nikki Tinker was the one sandwiched between two men but that fact really wouldn't fit into the Commercial Appeal's agenda to focus solely on the issue of race in the Ninth Congressional District election.

Also, this photo only makes Tinker look bad when U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, state Rep. Joe Towns, WREG--heck, the whole debate format including the audience--were beyond horrific as well.

A few quick notes:

*Richard Ransom and Claudia Barr were terrible as moderators, which makes one wonder how long it took to put together this debate. None of the candidates (or even the journalists on the panel) seemed familiar with the format. Ransom came across as being especially anal with his timekeeping that cut the candidates off in mid-sentence.

*Then again, in his defense, that wouldn't have been necessary if the candidates, themselves, were prepared to answer questions in a minute or less for the most part. All of them rambled, though Cohen seemed to get to the point quicker than the others.

*Why have an audience when only two people had time enough to ask questions?

*It's always bad when the candidates ask tougher questions than the journalists on the panel

*Isn't 2Shay everywhere?

*Joe Towns reminded me of John Willingham--only he had a better suit but isn't as smart or as well-read as Willingham.

*Tinker had an opportunity to do something special but she was clearly rattled. It's like she tried to channel Hillary Clinton--right down to the pants suit, the feigned surprise of going first when outnumbered by men, feeling disrespected etc.--but failed. I'm just sayin, Hillary being Hillary didn't work for her and Tinker has little time left to find a new message. At one point, Tinker seemed to be yelling, which might have generated some sympathy if her points were clearer.

*Next week, the Commercial Appeal plans to examine Cohen's voting record. Too bad, Otis Sanford and Linda Moore didn't get a real chance to do that last night. (They should also talk about how shallow and insignificant all those House floor speeches on YouTube really are.)

*Tinker seems dependent on the senior vote. But how sizable is that demographic?

*Cohen keeps talking how he created The MED, but he hasn't said a word about what he's doing to keep The Med alive? And as bad as Tinker was about reminding folks about her grandma, Cohen sounded equally old with his constant spiel about the state lottery and the Hope scholarships. I mean, geez, how long does he expect to reap credit from that?

*Lastly, the Cohen campaign sent out this note after the debate:

From: Rick Maynard, Cohen For Congress [mailto:rick_maynard@cohenforcongress.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 10:04 PM
To: Rick Maynard, Cohen For Congress
Subject: Cohen For Congress - 9th Congressional District Debate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2008

Congressman Cohen made his triumphant return to the realm of political debate on Sunday, July 13th during the televised debate at WREG-TV Studios.

In contrast to his opponents, Cohen articulated his stance on the issues with absolute clarity.

“I appreciate the endorsement of Miss Tinker and Representative Towns on my voting record,” Cohen said when neither challenger could present a substantive issue on which they disagreed with his job performance in his first term.

“I’ve lived in Memphis almost all my life… I never say I’m unavailable for comment when the press has a question for me,” Congressman Cohen said.

Sunday night’s debate will be the only one before the August 7th Congressional Primary as one challenger refused to agree to any others.

The last one, huh? Again, that's bad.

This debate shouldn't be the lasting impression that voters have on these candidates who seemed ill-prepared to truly speak on the issues. (OK, they didn't really have time.)

They need to do better.

After all, practice makes perfect, right?