Tonight's Gubernatorial Debate

Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino faced off in their only debate tonight. The two major-party candidates shared the stage with five minor candidates, including Kristin Davis (the so-called Manhattan Madame), NYC councilman Charles Barron, and Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is 2 Damn High Party. I live blogged the debate over at Daily Kos. It was my first-ever attempt at live blogging.

What struck me most about the debate was Paladino's relatively good behavior. Gone was the angry and obnoxious bigot that we had seen in full force the past week. Instead, Paladino remained relatively calm. The real characters in the debate were McMillan and Davis. McMillan concluded nearly every answer with "Rent is too damn high!" Meanwhile, Davis got in a few zingers of her own, particularly against what she termed "career politicians".

In fact, "career politicians" seemed the term of the night for everyone on-stage except Andrew Cuomo. Each of the six other candidates bashed career politicians in one form or another. Barron, at one point, accused Cuomo and his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, of racism. Paladino discussed cutting spending, although he didn't mention anything about his baseball bat.

All-in-all, tonight's debate seemed relatively tame. I was expecting fireworks, with Carl Paladino providing some more golden material. Instead, aside from the minor candidates, the debate was relatively calm and an actual exchange of policy ideas.

In the end, I think Cuomo won the debate. He clearly possessed a grasp and knowledge of policy unmatched by any of the candidates. Other candidates offered vague proposals that either consisted of pure platitudes or simply did not make any sense. Cuomo offered substantive policy proposals, which while certainly not comprehensive given the limited time in a debate, clearly indicated he possesses a serious plan, something that cannot be said of the other candidates.

Of course, I entered the debate with my mind already made up.  I already knew that I am voting for Andrew Cuomo on November 2. I merely watched for the entertainment value I expected. In some ways, the debate proved disappointing because Paladino did not provide the expected fireworks. However, some of the other candidates did provide those fireworks.