Last night's debate was witness to Tom Daschle's "I voted for it before I voted against it" moment. When the issue of Tom Daschle's conflicting votes on partial-birth abortion came up, Daschle actually said "there are times when you vote for and against things." Amazing. Daschle seemed to actually be saying he was both for and against the partial-birth abortion ban.
Throughout the six debates between Thune and Daschle this year, one thing stands out. Daschle is overconfident. He can't quite believe that he might actually lose this thing. He's been noticeably less prepared than Thune in every debate, and Thune has scored many more points than Daschle has throughout the debates. Even the liberal Manchester (UK) Guardian has conceded that Thune has been "a nimble and aggressive debater, arguably stronger than the soft-spoken senator." Perhaps much of the reason Thune has scored more points than Daschle is because Daschle's record is incredibly target rich, while Thune's record is not so target rich. I've been told by those in the know that Daschle has continually showed up late to the debates, and when they're over, can't duck out of there fast enough.
The best moment in the Senate debate last night was Thune's response to Daschle's assertion that his test for every bill is whether it's good for South Dakota. Thune responded by pointing to a story in the November 26, 1991 edition of the Washington Post quoting Daschle as saying the following:
"I dare say the first thing that comes to my mind in a vote is: Can it [the issue] pass the 30-second test, how successful will my opponent be in applying it to a 30-second ad? It's a screen that comes up whenever there is a vote," said Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.).
It was devastating. All Daschle could do was say he couldn't believe Thune would say that. That's a microcosm of the Daschle psychology: he can't believe someone would actually scrutinize the things he's said and done in the past, much less bring them up in a campaign.
Finally, for this last debate, it seems Daschle's opposition research people finally did their homework. Daschle got a good whack in tonight by pulling out a letter Thune had written to Daschle asking him to pass country of origin labeling (COOL) after Thune had been unable to get the provision in the House.
Still, there were many instances where Thune pointed out Daschle's record on a host of issues that Daschle simply did not respond to, not even bothering to mutter his trademark "that's not true, John, and you know it's not true." When Thune brought up the fact of Daschle's mass fundraising e-mail on behalf of NARAL, during which Thune said Daschle was a "poster-boy for NARAL," Daschle just let it go.
DVT has much more under a post headlined "Somebody Stop the Fight!", and thinks Daschle took a pounding in this debate.
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