Missouri Debaters Battle for the Suburbs (Senate race)

Washington Post/Pravda DC Bureau ^ | 10/9/06 | Shailagh Murray

[freespirited]

Sen. James M. Talent of Missouri and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill sparred over the war in Iraq, stem cell research and the House page scandal in a feisty debate yesterday, as the candidates fought for an edge in a race that polls show is a dead heat.

Talent's challenge is to win moderate suburban voters who have grown disillusioned with GOP leadership, while rallying the more partisan-minded social conservatives who live in rural southern Missouri. ..

Tim Russert, who moderated the debate on NBC's "Meet the Press," noted that Talent sided with Bush on almost every major issue and counted four times that the president had visited Missouri on Talent's behalf. He then asked Talent to evaluate Bush's tenure.

"Certainly, he's going to end up better than Jimmy Carter, probably not as good as Ronald Reagan," the senator replied...

McCaskill, now serving as the state auditor, also is juggling constituencies. She is vying with Talent for suburban voters and some rural support, while counting on a huge Democratic-base turnout in St. Louis and Kansas City. She was drawn into an exchange on abortion, one of the many divisive social issues that she has steadfastly avoided throughout the campaign.

"I certainly believe that abortion should remain safe, legal and rare," McCaskill said. "But why don't we concentrate on prevention? None of us want abortion, none of us support abortion." ...

McCaskill, meanwhile, has sought to paint Talent as a conservative extremist on the issue of embryonic stem cell research. Missouri voters will consider a proposed constitutional amendment on Nov. 7 to safeguard early stage stem cell research...

On Friday, a USA Today/Gallup survey of 577 likely voters, showed McCaskill leading Talent 48 percent to 45 percent, with 7 percent undecided.

[pawdoggie]

I notice they had to mention the House "scandal" in this article. Talent has been fighting back of late, after being pummeled by a ton of (virtually unanswered) McCaskill negative advertising in the months prior to Labor Day. The Republican "paradigm" for election campaigns ("nobody pays attention 'til after Labor Day") may need to be reviewed after this election.

[Bombard]

Why??? I think it is very true. Most voters are finishing up their summer fun before the weather changes and it time to go back to school.

[no dems]

I'll catch this on the MTP late rerun tonight at 12 midnight Cetral Time.

This is probably the most crucial Senate race in America this year. I belive that the control of the Senate depends on Missouri.

And, Don't forget, it's the Senate that confirms Supreme Court nominees. We MUST hold onto the Senate. Losing the Senate would be worse than having Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House; for real.

[bybybill]

This might be just a rumor,but, is the election still scheduled for Nov or has it been canceled? I keep watching/reading the news and I`m not sure. HELP

[pawdoggie]

Why??? I think it is very true. Most voters are finishing up their summer fun before the weather changes and it time to go back to school.

Do voters not watch TV while they're "finishing up their summer fun"? Sure, voters may not focus too much on a commercial, but they might take away soundbites; like the McCaskill commercial that must have aired one hundred times before Talent's people figured out they had opponent in the race. The commercial talked about how much money Talent had received (in campaign contributions) from the oil companies (at a time when gas was still upwards of $3.00 a gallon). Ads like that, when not challenged by the incumbent, can amount to the death of a thousand cuts. By the way, a lot of these commercials were shown during "Oprah" time, to reach a very specific target audience.

[pawdoggie]

And, Don't forget, it's the Senate that confirms Supreme Court nominees. We MUST hold onto the Senate. Losing the Senate would be worse than having Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House; for real.

You're preachin' at the choir. Tell Karl Rove, and the boys. I'm really coming to the conclusion that the "fix" is in, and that Rove has told his people: "it just aint our night, we're gonna take a dive". And do you know why? Because of Karl's screwball, f....d up theory about why we just have to make eleven million illegal aliens citizens if the GOP is going to survive. He knows that if he gets a Democrat controlled House, amnesty will happen.

[BOBWADE]

cool Talent ads here:
http://www.nrapvf.org/Multimedia/VideoLauncher.aspx?id=77

&
http://www.nrapvf.org/Multimedia/VideoLauncher.aspx?id=78

[pawdoggie]

Thanks. Good stuff.

[no dems]

I watched the debate on C-SPAN early this morning (Monday) and even though I really, really, really want to see Talent win, he was not that impressive. On the other hand, even though I disagree with her political philosophy, McCaskill came across as knowing what she believes and not afraid to say it.

Talent refused to say that George W. Bush was a great President. McCaskill said that she thought Bill Clinton was a great President, except for his personal life.

[no dems]

You might know that the Washington Times put it this way today:
"Talent distances himself from Bush".

Like I said, I was really disappointed in Talent's performance. I thought he was a stronger Conservative than he showed yesterday; wishy-washy, dodging the questions, and just letting McCaskill beat up on him.