Did Kansas City really deserve a U.S. Senate debate if it wasn't going to take it seriously?
Sen. Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill went head-to-head for the fifth and final time tonight and noone will see it in the Kansas City area until tomorrow -- because tonight, the ABC affiliate had to protect an episode of "Dancing With The Stars."
Fair enough. But why would they schedule a debate on that night in the first place if they had any inclination of a programming conflict?
The media outlets sponsoring the debate sent out a confusing memorandum of rules, including an embargo. Below is from a KMBC release:
The broadcast of the debate is copyrighted by KMBC-TV and Hearst-Argyle Television Stations, Inc. Broadcast of the Debate within the Kansas City DMA is limited to the sponsoring media partners. With that exception, all media are granted permission to record, broadcast, print or otherwise use all or part of the Debate within their news coverage, under the following guidelines:
THE ENTIRE DEBATE OR ANY PARTS OF IT WILL BE EMBARGOED FOR BROADCAST UNTIL OCTOBER 19TH, 19:00 CST.
Well, I guess that doesn't include the Associated Press, which is out with a report on the debate.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Democratic Senate challenger Claire McCaskill is calling for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to be fired. McCaskill and Republican Senator Jim Talent met in Kansas City tonight for their final debate. McCaskill says Rumsfeld failed to give a single shred of correct advice about the war in Iraq. Talent defended President Bush's war policies, but he declined to say whether Bush should retain or remove his defense secretary. Talent questioned whether McCaskill's family has paid all of its taxes and her effectiveness as a Kansas City area prosecutor in 1990s. McCaskill claimed Talent was running what she calls -- quote --"a campaign of innuendo."
Not to talk smack, but it looks like KY3 in mid-market television is the only station that knows how to run a professional, live debate that serves voters without constraint.
Go Us!
2 comments:
If it was a professional debate you would have included the third parties!
They do that in other states... Arizona had three Governor candidates in their debate.
At least we get invited to local candidate forums... thank God for the League of Women Voters.
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