Published: August 22, 2008 08:18 am            

McConnell Lunsford race takes on some edge

Ego as well as politics may prompt more debates

LOUISVILLE — Some complain the race between Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Bruce Lunsford for McConnell’s U.S. Senate seat has thus far been “soul-less.”

That may be changing.

The two faced off – literally – at a forum with the Kentucky Farm Bureau board Wednesday afternoon. Board members posed carefully crafted questions about agriculture policy to each candidate in alternating order. They know in advance the sorts of questions they’ll be asked and they come prepared. But Wednesday at the end, Lunsford used his closing statement to confront McConnell directly, saying the Republican Leader has been “bought and paid for” and telling of his own childhood on his father’s farm. McConnell turned in his chair, smiling – almost as if saying “bring it on” – and faced Lunsford.

Lunsford suggested such face-to-face “debates” on a weekly basis. McConnell wouldn’t bite on a specific number, but he implied there’d be more such confrontations and said he’d welcome “real debates.” The Republican Leader in the Senate said he’s accustomed to debate – “I do it every day on the Senate floor” – and said he wants to engage Lunsford in a format in which they’d directly question each other.

Asked how many encounters he might accept, McConnell smiled and said he’ll give Lunsford more than Dee Huddleston gave him in 1984 when he upset the incumbent Democrat. Asked how many that was McConnell flashed his thin, trademark smile and said: “One.” But the next morning, at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Breakfast at the State Fair, McConnell said again “there’ll be some more opportunities” for reporters eager for such head-to-head matches.

Clearly, both men think such debates will benefit them, although that runs counter to conventional political consultant wisdom. Incumbents leading in polls often won’t agree to debate challengers because it creates an image of equal stature. Challengers yearn for side-by-side appearances and the chance to get under the favorite’s skin or get him to commit an error. Standing next to the incumbent, the challenger sometimes looks senatorial. But McConnell seems eager to face Lunsford.

That would be good for voters and might force both candidates to have serious discussions of the problems the country faces. Modern elections are fought out over the air waves with television advertising designed to highlight voters’ anxieties about candidates or to define candidates for the voters in indelible ways. As much as those who cover politics and campaigns might wish it, we’re not going back to the days when candidates frequently appeared together and in some cases even traveled together from one campaign stop to the next.

But even one or two such events, publicized and promoted in advance, would be a boon to voters and might elevate the debate however temporarily. It might even humanize candidates for the public. Reporters who cover campaigns for weeks often learn things about candidates the public doesn’t always have a chance to see and reporters can’t always convey. Real debates, where each candidate challenges the other’s ideas and positions, might reveal as much about the personalities of the candidates, their ability to think on their feet and their intellect rather than focus tested phrases and attack ads on television.

I get the feeling, however, that there’s more here than just campaign strategy. These two highly accomplished and competitive men have known each other for years. It has the feel that each wants to engage the other in a test of skill, perhaps driven by some personal ego. I want to watch them.

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.

        

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