I watched the Charlie Crist, Jim Davis debate last night (you can watch it here). My take: Davis was more coherent and I think he came off as more prepared and more sincere (so far, I think the preponderance of editorialists agree.) Crist is very tan, and that's great for TV, but he also came off as more slick and used car salesman-like. Both were on their talking points:
Crist - Davis has had a poor Congressional attendance record this year, and his insurance and tax plans are a "risky scheme"
Davis - I am the married father of two kids ... Charlie? Oh, that's right, you're not a married father of two kids. And Charlie Crist represents the "stay the course" Republicans, while I'm the agent of change.
Advantage: Davis.
Whether or not that will help Davis in the end, I still tend to doubt. Crist has more money and he and the Florida GOP are spending it more wisely. Davis got on TV too late, and he's doing an abysmal job of rallying the African-American base in South Florida. So while I think he won the debate on the merits, he still heads into November 7 behind.
Related: Charlie Cook cautiously predicts Dems will get enough seats to take the House. A LAT/Bloomberg poll casts doubt upon the Dems' Senate prospects. And the Florida secretary of state is up to the old Republican tricks again in the Foley/Negron race.
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Tags: Florida politics, Florida, Republicans, GOP, Charlie Crist, Jim Davis |
