I will get to more thoughts on the debate as time goes on, but after watching the whole thing and then thinking about these opening statements, I realized that everything I saw last evening boiled down to these few moments right in the beginning. I could have gone and watched the Tigers after that.
Here are the opening statements, transcribed-
DeVos: You know, Im glad we had the second chance for a debate. I learned a few things in the first debate. You know, I came to the debate thinking that we were going to be talking about the issues that matter to the people of Michigan. And yet, what happened is that I saw the Governor of the State of Michigan...look straight into the camera... and lie to the people of Michigan. She knew better. She and her staff have been shopping that story to the news media for months... and I can't say I was disappointed... I'm furious. Apparently the Governor's willing to go anywhere and do anything, or say anything, to keep her job in Michigan. The people of Michigan deserve better. I hope we can discuss the issues this evening.
And with that, Dick's whole performance for the night was laid out for you. You really didn't need to watch much more. His plan was to attack Granholm, attack Granholm again, and, just as in the first debate, offer little to no ideas or plans of his own. "Cut taxes, increase spending" seems to be the economic message from DeVos.
I don't know why Dick chose to lead with the punch that hit him so badly last time, but it showed right off the bat that Dick was more concerned about a blow to himself than addressing the "issues". His focus, his introduction, was all about what he perceived as a slight to him.
Not the people. Not the state. Not his plans. Not the “issues”.
Doesn't that tell you something?
Granholm opened with her own reoccurring theme of the night, and that was explaining how she intends to help the people and the economy of Michigan.
Granholm: Tonight we are going to talk, I certainly hope, about our plans for the future of the State of Michigan. I have set in motion the most aggressive economic plan of any state in the country, because we need it. Our state is in a transition, and so for us, it is critical that we invest in creating jobs today, invest in diversifying our economy to create jobs for tomorrow, and invest, most importantly, in all of our citizens. I look forward to speaking to you about the specifics of this economic plan, and I very much look forward to addressing the policies that are important for leading Michigan in the future. Let's get to it.
And that is exactly what she did. She proceeded to "get to it". She spelled out her plan. She took a few shots here and there, but for the most part she stayed right on message and articulated her ideas very well.
WOOD has the audio and video right here.
More to come...