Hassan, Bolduc meet for final debate in key U.S. Senate race — and both got one-on-one with Obama
Hassan, Bolduc meet for final debate in key U.S. Senate race — and both got one-on-one with Obama
September 17, 2010|By Elizabeth Schulte of The Hartford Courant
With just a few hours to go before polls closed, and Barack Obama and Joe Biden going back and forth with little of the back and forth that usually dominates a presidential election, the two Senate candidates in Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate race met in a debate that featured two questions from the Obama camp and one from the Biden camp.
The former vice president and his chief of staff, Rob Portman, and one of Biden’s most outspoken friends on the right, Dick Morris, sparred on the same subject, the economy.
The two campaigns have taken different approaches to how to confront Obama as he seeks re-election, raising issues that might help him with swing voters who want change, or that could help Biden win over liberal voters like Obama.
In fact, both men are seeking to draw contrasts.
“The economy is what drives the entire debate here,” Biden said. “And the president’s biggest problems are with the fact that you’re not doing it right. That is the biggest issue here.”
His former opponent, former Rep. Mike Pence, countered with a question about how far Obama’s health care plan would go.
“This is a huge economic challenge. The president’s policies have not been strong,” Pence said. “This is a national challenge.”
Despite that, Obama’s campaign was clearly hoping that Biden would be willing to answer the economic questions. Biden and Portman, after all, are longtime friends who are close to Obama. The pair have spoken often about how badly things have been going for the Democratic candidate.
