Fetterman must do better than 1 debate
In a lengthy interview with
The New York Times last week, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said he was running a normal campaign and living a normal life since his stroke in May.
So why won’t he agree to debate Mehmet Oz, his opponent in the race for Pennsylvania’s open seat in the U.S. Senate, until six weeks from now?
Fetterman committed Wednesday to a debate with Oz on Oct.
25. That’s too little, too late.
That’s 15 days before the Nov. 8 midterm election. Mail voting will be well underway by then.
And one debate is insufficient. In a race of this magnitude, which could determine the partisan makeup of the Senate, voters deserve to see at least two debates.
Fetterman, a Democrat, has more to prove in a debate than most candidates. After his stroke, voters need to be able to see him in a situation where he is under pressure and required to think on his feet, just like the setting he would face in the Senate.
That said, the demand by Republican Oz for seven debates is ridiculous. Before the May primary, Oz wasn’t interested in attending every debate opportunity. I bashed him for skipping one at Villanova University.
Fetterman also skipped a debate during the primary.
Oz is desperate to debate because he is trailing in the polls, for good reason. He’s a carpetbagger who lived in New Jersey until less than two years ago. He needs something to jump-start his campaign, and he’s counting on being able to make Fetterman look weak during a debate.
As of Thursday afternoon, it was uncertain whether Oz would participate in the Oct. 25 debate that Fetterman committed to.
His campaign said he would attend if three conditions were met, including that the debate be extended from 60 to 90 minutes. Fetterman’s camp has rejected that condition.
Fetterman is doing what many
front-runners do, which I have always considered to be disgraceful. He’s playing possum. He has more to lose than to gain from being in the spotlight of a debate, regardless of his health.
During his 40-minute video interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Fetterman acknowledged he suffers from lingering speech and hearing problems. But he was adamant he is capable of serving in the Senate.
“I’m running a perfectly normal campaign,” Fetterman said.
“I keep getting better and better, and I’m living a perfectly normal life,” he added.
It’s unfortunate that Fetterman had a stroke.
But keep in mind that the stroke very well could have been averted. Fetterman acknowledged
that in June when he revealed he had been diagnosed with a heart condition five years ago but didn’t stay on his meds or pursue follow-up care.
“I want to emphasize that this was completely preventable. My cardiologist said that if I had continued taking the blood thinners, I never would have had a stroke,” Fetterman said in the statement.
Choices have consequences. It’s unfortunate that he is in this position, but Fetterman must find a way to manage those consequences and finish his campaign, including participating in multiple debates.
The accommodations he has requested for the Oct. 25 debate are reasonable. He wants to use a closed-captioning system — Oz would have one as well — and
wants to practice with the equipment in the Harrisburg television studio where the debate would occur.
Debates are important in every election, whether national, state or local. Debates in this race, though, are especially significant. The partisan makeup of the Senate could be determined by who wins. It’s a 50-50 split now.
In a statement Wednesday, Fetterman’s campaign attempted to justify debating late in the race.
It said previous Senate debates had occurred in mid-to-late October. That’s true. But this is the first debate during the mail voting era. Many people already will have voted by then.
Fetterman’s campaign counters that mail voters have a track record of voting late in the campaign, with 83% of mail
ballots cast in the two weeks before the election in 2020.
That’s not a good reason to refrain from debating until the very end. As previously mentioned, this is not your typical Senate race. And the polls don’t have Fetterman in front by an overwhelming margin.
Candidates in other races are not waiting until the last minute to debate. The Lehigh County League of Women Voters has three debates scheduled in state legislative races between Sept. 29 and Oct. 10.
It’s good to hear Fetterman say he is recovering from his stroke. Now it’s time for him to prove it.