Friday, October 10, 2003
Reader panelists weren't swayed
Demo debate seen as lacking in substance
By Mary Vandeveire
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Sam Ritchie
Maria Elena Sotomayor
Richard G. Carter
Larry A. Sakin
Stephen Chovanec
Daniel Turner
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Here's what the Star reader panel had to say about Thursday night's debate:
The panelists agreed that the economy will be the biggest issue in this election, and that voters will be looking for change from a candidate with clear leadership abilities. They also said the candidates' talk about immigration seemed hollow; and there wasn't enough attention paid to domestic issues, especially education.
* Sam Ritchie, 26, Green Party
Ritchie said he would have liked to hear more about funding for education before college, but instead, it was "Iraq, Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. That war was a mass distraction, and they're falling for it."
* Maria Elena Sotomayor, 50, independent. Sotomayor said the candidates seemed eager to talk about immigration, but none had a clear position. "What they're doing is they're pandering. Substance is what I'm looking for."
* Richard G. Carter, 62, Democrat
Carter said he gives the candidates credit for getting into the race and braving close media scrutiny. "I think what Americans are looking for is a passion about the country." The Demo-crats have an opportunity to seize on the mistakes of the Bush administration, particularly the tax cuts, which he said haven't helped the economy."
* Larry A. Sakin, 43, Democrat
"I remember the passion and the fire of people like Bobby Kennedy, even as a child. It seems like now these candidates have found all the right empty phrases to say, but they don't have the fire in the belly. That's what people desperately want."
* Stephan Chovanec, 43, Democrat, said the candidates jumped on questions about immigration, but they seemed merely to be recognizing the large voter bloc represented by the fast-growing Hispanic population of the country.
Chovanec also said the tax breaks aren't working. "Whoever comes up with the best plan to deal with the economy is going to be the next president."
* Daniel Turner, 23, Democrat
He didn't see a difference among the candidates. "I feel the same president we have now is going to be there still."
