http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/newsstory/catfight24.htmlCandidate debate has unfriendly end
11/24/02
By Bill Walsh
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
BATON ROUGE -- An already-bitter U.S. Senate campaign got personal Saturday afternoon at the conclusion of a taped debate between Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican state Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell.
After a tense 30-minute segment finished taping at WDSU's studios in New Orleans, the two candidates were preparing to leave. According to witnesses, Landrieu looked over her shoulder and told Terrell, "This is your last campaign."
A stunned Terrell replied, "She threatened me."
No other words passed between the two New Orleans women, but moderator Alec Gifford said Landrieu appeared peeved.
"She just kind of stalked out of the studio," Gifford said.
A Landrieu spokesman, Rich Masters, said the comment wasn't a threat, but a prediction that after running such a negative campaign, Terrell would no longer be viable as a candidate in Louisiana.
A Terrell spokesman said Terrell was shocked at what happened and saw it as a sign of Landrieu's desperation.
The bad blood has been a long time coming. During the primary, the National Republican Senatorial Committee financed a bare-knuckled campaign against Landrieu, claiming she had turned her back on Louisiana.
In the runoff, Landrieu has begun to strike back. In a new television ad, she says Terrell favors tax relief only for the wealthy.
Gifford said the two barely looked at each other during the debate and that although the candidates shook hands, "It was very perfunctory."
The debate will air today at 10 a.m. and Thanksgiving Day at 4:30 p.m.
11/24/02
That's because Terrell cleaned her clock. I rarely watch much of a debate because of all the weasle phrases most of them use but I watched this to the end. It was a lot of give and take. Terrell really pressed the time clock to the max.
A stunned Terrell replied, "She threatened me."
If played right, this arrogant and ungracious comment by Landrieu could be her death knell. Recall how Hillary played up the Lazio paper waving as a threat to great advantage--some commentators likened it to the brandishing of a gun.
The arrogance and mean tone of the Wellstone rally was a turning point in that race.
Landrieu broke one of the cardinal rules of campaigning--don't give voters a strong reason to come out and vote AGAINST you.
Mary's really losing it, deport. Every day she sounds more and more desperate, as Suzie gets more endorsements every day. In the last few days, the NRA and the National Right to Life Action Committee have enthusiastically endorsed Suzie. But everyone told Mary she couldn't lose this race, and so she built her multi-million dollar mansion in Washington and said good-bye to Louisiana. She apparently thought that Louisianians would fall for her election-year reinvention as a moderate and wouldn't look at her liberal voting record. Louisiana is now ready to say good-bye to Mary.
Gee Rich, even if she wins the election?