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.
In case you missed the C-Span broadcast Nevada Governor Debate from Bally's in Las Vegas last night (Oct. 10) the drama that colored coverage occurred as the MC took the stage to introduce candidates Dina Titus (D) and Jim Gibbons (R). (Video-C-SPAN) Chris Hansen stormed the stage shouting his demand to participate in the debate. After the awkward moment, in which candidates shifted uneasily at their podiums, and the moderator admonished the intruder, security bodily removed Hansen from the stage.
Print reports addressed the debate's issues, reporting mid-story the altercation (e.g. most widely distributed coverage was AP story), but TV stories favored the visual drama, placing the flag clothed candidate as their lead (e.g. KVCB Las Vegas).
The second Governor's debate begins with one of the candidates for the state's top job getting kicked out of the building. Independent candidate Christopher Hansen ran onto the stage at Bally's, demanding that he participate.
There is an ongoing debate about the wisdom of excluding third party candidates from debates. Typically hosting authorities invoke some level of polling support to legitimize
Las Vegas Review Journal Despite candidate and campaign handlers best efforts most every political debate contain many potential gaffes. Most "slips of the tongue" never become egregious--the folklore of a given campaign--rather they simply disappear into the background.
Everyone remembers President Ford's failure to acknowledge Russian influence in Poland, VP candidate Benson reminding Dan Quayle that he was "not Jack Kennedy" and Al Gore's Boston sighs. In this election cycle, George Allen's (Sen-VA) reticence regarding his maternal linage (Jewish Grandparents) qualifies as a gaff that alters the course of a campaign. For every gaff that has post-debate-media-legs there are dozens that do not draw even a mention. Why is it that some gaffes resonate and others evaporate?
My answer has little to do with the actual mistake and everything to do with how the "blunder" fits within the prevailing narratives that define an election. What candidate's say and do have meaning in a context and that context is often defined by media coverage or explicit or implicit standards of the candidates own making.
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