Good morning, Netizens...

Ah, yes, cartoonist David Horsey takes on the battle of the political ads, particularly Patti Murray and Dino Rossi. There has been a fine political brouhaha unfolding on prime-time television, with each candidate calling the other all sorts of nasty names and casting vile innuendos in all directions. Of Murray and Rossi, were the election held today, I would vote for none of the above.

However, last evening we finally got to hear 5^th Washington Congressional District candidates Darryl Romeyn and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers square off with a debate well worth the price of admission. Well, that is when either candidate actually answered the questions put to them by the panelists. There did seem to be a lot of evasion, dodging and fancy footwork going on, but after all, this was a political debate.

The panelists, Jonathan Brunt of the Spokesman-Review, Robyn Nance of KXLY News and Doug Nadvornick of Northwest News Network, were moderated by Nadine Woodward of KXLY News. For the most part, the panelists questions were quite direct and to-the-point, and Nadine Woodward did a workmanship job of keeping the candidates within their time limits and on-topic.

Still, the political campaign ads between Romeyn and McMorris-Rodgers have been pretty decent, overall.

The talking points were mostly about JOBS and thus the ECONOMY, and each candidate brought their own particular flair to the discussion. McMorris-Rodgers neatly evaded any responsibility for the Bush-era policies. She also was vague over how much time she actually has spent in Eastern Washington, a fact that Romeyn was quick to jump on.

We are down to just a few weeks before the election, during which we may see even more foul shot advertising.

Dave

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