Debate, race about much more than Fetterman vs. Oz

So, how many of you watched the Pennsylvania Senate debate because you want to back the most articulate candidate?

The whole country was wondering how well John Fetterman was doing, given his auditory processing issues. He can get his thoughts across, but there aren’t going to be any oratory prizes in the immediate future.

If one of those had been given out Tuesday night, Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate, would have won. Big shock, right?

The former television talkshow star was more articulate than the guy who had a stroke.

But deep down, nothing made much difference. Most viewers knew who they were going to support before the debate began.

The most important thing about this election, by far, is that it could decide who will control the Senate. There, the big votes are almost always divided by party.

At this point, party is all that matters.

Still, there we were, trying to judge how the guys performed. On occasion, it was a little hard to tell whether Fetterman’s answers constituted normal political evasion or stroke-induced confusion.

For instance, he’d once said he’d never support the very lucrative fracking industry, which many Pennsylvania workers love and almost all Pennsylvania environmentalists hate. Then he changed his mind. On Tuesday, he said: “I do support fracking. And I don’t, I don’t. I support fracking, and I stand, and I do, support fracking.”

That was it, and a very good example of how the repercussions from a stroke can make it difficult to achieve classic dodgeand-switcheroo.

Unfortunately, Fetterman didn’t throw in a reminder of his opponent’s very recent metamorphosis into a Pennsylvania resident, or more than a quick jab about how Oz, who doesn’t seem worried about the minimum wage, is the guy with “ten gigantic mansions.”

Issue-wise, the big faux pas of the evening came from Oz, who flubbed his answer to an abortion question. The good doctor has, um, evolved since he was dispensing medical advice on TV. He was slightly vague but apparently pro-abortion rights back then. Once he became an ambitious GOP politician, he discovered he was “100% prolife.” Now that he’s running in a general election, he’s trying to jump back to the old between-a-womanand-her-doctor territory.

Sort of. On stage, he called for a decision made by “women, doctors, local political leaders.…”

Hmm, how many of you want to bring the local political leaders into this? May I see a show of hands?

Oz seemed unthrilled about being asked if he’d back Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination. Which was a little ungrateful given that he was probably on stage only because Trump had endorsed him in the GOP primary.

Bringing up the former president was yet another reminder that our main concern is about which party wins control. If you want a Senate that’s going to reject anything that comes out of a Biden White House, feel free to consider the Republican candidates. Otherwise, come on.…

I know, it’s tough. In a fair world, voters would be able to think about more than One Big Thing. What about Fetterman’s long-term prognosis? After the debate, his spokesperson said he did “great tonight for a man who was in a hospital bed just several months ago.”

But whatever his condition, don’t express your concern by helping turn the Senate over to Mitch Mcconnell.