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Nevada Gubernatorial Race: Gibbons v. Titus

As the debate began, the CSPAN commentator stated that there is no clear favorite in the Nevada Gubernatorial race between Democrat Dina Titus and Republican Jim Gibbons. However, I think this debate should clearly give Titus an edge over Gibbons.

Regardless of the content of his answers, Gibbons appeared to be nervous, lacking in confidence, passive, and somewhat uncomfortable in front of the camera. Meanwhile, Titus made direct eye contact with the camera/audience the majority of the time and seemed extremely confident and self-assured in her answers. In terms of the content of their answers, Titus appeared extremely prepared in her responses and was ready to respond with an abundance of information. However, Gibbons seemed to stumble over his words and at times, seemed to be rambling in an attempt to answer questions. An example of this was seen in a question about curbing growth while maintaining a strong economic structure. Gibbons utilized broad ideas such as discussing his desire for everyone to live the "American Dream" as economic growth occurs. His answer seemed to beat around the bush, and was vague, at best. Meanwhile, Titus was able to dish out facts and figures about her voting record in the Nevada legislature, to attack Gibbons record in the U.S. Congress, and to propose specific plans of action for how to deal with the problem of excessive growth and the economy. Additionally, Titus confronted and attacked Gibbons' record or lack of action in the U.S. Congress on a number of issues. Gibbons seemed somewhat passive in defending himself, and rarely used Titus' voting record against her. Overall, Titus, in my opinion, appears to be the frontrunner in this gubernatorial race after this debate.

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