[StBernard] 'Debates' don't help voters much

[Westley Annis]

'Debates' don't help voters much

By MARK BALLARD
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Oct 14, 2007 - Page: 9B 

This time next week we'll probably know who the next governor will be or at
least have narrowed down the field of 13 to two finalists.

And though this was supposed to be the most important election in the
state's history, we still probably won't know what that next governor plans
to do with our state.

"What you're getting are only vague ideas of what they'll do," said Barry
Erwin, of the Council for A Better Louisiana. The group was one of many
publishing reams of analysis on the big problems in hopes the candidates
would dig down and discuss just how they planned to address those issues.

Erwin, like many others, is disappointed with the results.

CABL, whose board is comprised of executives from large manufacturers,
insurance companies and banks, was one of several that churned out hundreds
of pages of background on everything from competing tax philosophies to
worker training programs used in other states. Even the East Baton Rouge
Parish Medical Society, a trade association for local doctors, used its Web
site to post extensive information on health-care issues and the candidates'
answers to its members' questions.

But the biggest disappointment has been the televised debates, in which all
the candidates - except Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell - seemed
to pretty much agree on most issues.

CABL sponsored - and Erwin helped organize - the first of only three forums
in which frontrunner U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal agreed to participate. The LPB
debate Sept. 27 involved all four of the best-financed candidates and was
broadcast statewide. KTBS-TV in Shreveport broadcast the second forum to
north Louisiana on Oct. 4. The third and final televised event is Thursday
and will be televised by CBS affiliates around the state.

Erwin said the organizers structured the forum in way that would elicit
detailed responses to the issues.

"I don't know how successful we were," Erwin said.

Not very, say Jindal, Campbell and state Sen. Walter Boasso, D-Arabi.

"We're accomplishing nothing," Boasso said. He'd prefer sitting around a
table with a moderator to exchange ideas and argue specifics about why this
idea would work better than another idea.

Jindal said, "The voters want to know specifics. They want to get beyond the
general platitudes. For example, I'd love the opportunity in the debates to
talk more specifically, whether it's economic development or health care."

Actually, Campbell says the word "debate" is a bit of a misnomer.

The forums are set up by organizers to ask questions and to give candidates
a limited time to respond. Candidates are specifically warned not to
directly engage their opponents, a rule Campbell says he follows - but says
is stupid.

"I can't ask any specifics. It's a shame," said Campbell, a Democrat from
Bossier Parish. He is a utility regulator whose PSC district covers most of
north Louisiana.

Campbell has grilled Entergy Corp.'s chief executive officer Wayne Leonard,
requiring the head of one of the nation's largest corporations to explain in
detail how he used the company's airplanes and whether any of those expenses
found their way onto customers' monthly electric bills.

Campbell said his job is to study issues in far more depth than an everyday
taxpayer has the time or expertise to do. Then, armed with that knowledge,
to pick through the seemingly logical positions that utility companies take
and ask pertinent questions that ensure that ratepayers really are getting
the best deal.

It's those nuances, which affect the bottom line, that are not being
addressed in the forums, he said.

Campbell blames Jindal for keeping the conversation superficial.

"Bobby Jindal can't take a punch and he doesn't want any direct questions,"
Campbell said. "He gets shook when you ask hot-and-heated questions."

Jindal disagrees, pointing to his multipoint position papers and his travel
throughout the state. Jindal also said he's willing to change the format if
it means voters get better information.

"Anything we can do to cause more specifics to be discussed is better and
would be a good thing for the voters. Either format is fine with me but the
reality is I don't think the format causes that. I think the candidates
themselves have to be willing to talk specifics," Jindal said.

That likely won't happen Thursday.

Mark Ballard is editor of the Capitol news bureau
 

  
 
  
 

  
Find this article at: 
http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/10526992.html?showAll=y&c=y