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The debate was aired live tonight on WOSU, but in case you missed it, it’ll be re-aired at 8 p.m. Oct. 14th (Saturday) on WOSU Plus (instead of the regular WOSU channel.) FYI it’s channel 99 for Time Warner customers, 766 for Insight, and 153 for Wide Open West viewers.

Now here is my random, scattered, and certainly not comprehensive or objective review of the debate.

First, some character observations.

Most obvious to me is that Pryce is in a perpetual state of anger. And there’s a high possibility she has a large flaming stick up her you-know-what because the woman is constantly pissed. Her blood pressure has to be through the roof. I’m all about having passion for politics and what you believe in, but some calmness and sanity needs to be balanced in. At least Kilroy managed to keep her composure the entire time, not raising her voice even once. Yes, sometimes Kilroy can be too calm and you want her to just hurry up and finish her sentence. But Pryce is so inflamed and with the constant fiddling with her pen, I can barely pay attention to her cookie-cutter GOP talking points. Isn’t that a public speaking no-no? Darn you Deborah, put down the pen so I can pay attention!

Gee, never heard that line before.

Within the first 90 seconds of Pryce’s opening statements she spit out some of the GOP’s favorite war-justification lines, first saying Al Qaeda wants to kill us and our children, and then the good old stand-by: “we have to fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.” FEAR FEAR FEAR! She also said the Arab world is easily angered, “remember the Danish cartoon?” Actually Pryce, I think the anger stems from a little bit more than a cartoon. There’s a possibility it may also have something to do with our disrespect for their religion, rampant colonialism and attempts to Americanize nations that don’t want anything to do with us. But hey what do I know.

She’s a LIBERAL! ::queue ominous music::

Pryce uses the word “liberal” like it’s synonymous with “Satanic.” It really is the worst possible thing to be in her eyes. She put Kilroy down for supporting Howard Dean and according to Pryce, Kilroy is as far left as you can go, an “unabashed liberal.” When Kilroy pointed out Pryce’s zero ratings from groups like the Children’s Defense Fund and the PTA, Pryce responded “well of course I’m not gonna get good ratings from such liberal groups like that.” Umm ok, I didn’t realize children’s welfare and education was just a liberal concern. By the way, just for kicks let’s check Merriam-Webster’s definition of liberal: “one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways.” Right, so we think outside the bun. Is that really so bad?

Listen to your mom

There was a question about all the negative campaign ads being shown and how Pryce felt about using them. Pryce said her mom is mad at her for using them and “I don’t like them but Kilroy started it.” Kilroy’s response: “maybe you should listen to your mom.” Mary Jo actually managed to sneak in a few laughable moments like this, including something to the effect of “Pryce likes to rubberstamp and label so much, she oughta get a job at UPS.” Oh Mary Jo, how you make us chuckle!

Another one of Bush’s sheep

When asked about her record of supporting so much of Bush’s legislation, Pryce’s best answer was “but I opposed his stance on stem-cell research.” Wow, good job, one thing that you opposed out of how many destructive Bush policies? Another Pryce favorite came out of this same question, she ended her rebuttal by saying “I’m gonna vote the way I want.” Now wait a sec, aren’t our Representatives supposed to vote the way their constituents want? Here I thought it was “by the people, for the people”, who knows where I got that silly phrase from…

Oh! Almost forgot. That little Iraq war thing.

Pryce said we will stay there until we “defeat all terrorism” and if we set any kind of timetable for withdrawal than our enemies like Iran and Syria will save up their resources and wait til that time to make their move. And once again, she used a GOP favorite, “when the Iraqis stand up, we’ll stand down.” Okay but how are they supposed to stand up when we’ve dissolved their Army, destroyed their infrastructure, and they’re being killed by the hundreds of thousands? Our soldiers are having a hard time standing up too, what with all the limbs they’re losing…

All in all

I was happy with the debate’s questions, they addressed everyone’s main concerns, Iraq, healthcare, economy, the current administration, etc. And they also acknowledged problems some voters have with each candidate, like asking Pryce about her connection to four corrupt Republicans and the campaign contributions they made to her.

Go Mary Jo!

Lastly, I think it’s worth pointing out that only Kilroy mentioned student loan interest rates rising, the rising cost of college tuition, raising the minimum wage, balancing the budget, taking big money out of politics, helping the middle class, becoming energy independent, and healthcare for all. Pretty much everything I worry about. Sorry Deborah, I could give a crap if rich people keep their tax breaks and I hope everyone else feels the same come November 7th.