Santorum vs Casey: Round 2

Last Thursday, Senator Rick Santorum and Bobby Casey Jr. went head to head in their second debate. The event, filmed at KDKA studios in Pittsburgh and moderated by Ken Rice, was the first time the two have faced off since their appearance on Meet the Press. Santorum came out swinging.

The debate exploded instantly as Senator Santorum showed us how passionate he is in fighting for this election. It was like that scene in "A Christmas Story," when Ralphie jumps on the bully and beats him to a pulp. Santorum never backed down from Casey, and while at times their arguments were inaudible, he succeeded in exposing his challenger for what he is: a pawn of the DNC without any real opinions or positions. Casey never really answered any actual policy question, and instead began to complain about the Bush Administration and saying non-answers like "I'm going to do what they haven't been able to do!"

When asked about the former-president of Iran, Casey didn't know who he was. He also didn't know how much our state is investing in companies that outsource jobs, an issue that is completely pertinent to his job as state treasurer. And Santorum made sure to point out that Casey's campaign website was actually launched before he had his State Treasurer website online--a telling sign that Casey wasn't interested in his position as treasurer, but instead wanted to continue running for various offices... six in the past four years.

The debate wasn't as much of a policy debate, like the Swann/Rendell debate weeks earlier, but rather it was more of a passionate political brawl. While there hasn't been any polls released since the debate, it will be interesting to see what the voters think of Santorum and Casey.

Friday morning saw a number of responses from newspapers across the Commonwealth:

• "The hour is as lively as a structured debate can be (mainly because the candidates so often ignore the structure) and reflected the ferocity of the Santorum campaign and the single-mindedness of Casey's."
--Philadelphia Daily News

• "Both candidates were evasive to varying degrees, but Mr. Casey more so... Mr. Santorum, as a result, appeared to have a better grasp of the issues, at least those ones that were raised yesterday." --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

• "Several Casey ads have hammered Santorum for voting repeatedly against an increase in the minimum wage. Santorum pointed out Thursday that he also has voted 10 times to increase the minimum wage, provided the change includes ''provisions to take care of small business.'' --The Morning Call

And finally, here is Fred Honsberger's radio commentary about the debate:

The debate aired on KDKA, PCN, and C-SPAN. And while I'm sure you'll find cut-up and spun versions of the debate on YouTube, I highly recommend you find the complete, un-edited debate in KDKA's Video Library

The two will debate again on Monday, Oct. 16 in Philadelphia. KYW radio at 8:00 am. The two will meet again at 7:00 pm on WPVI-TV.