Democratic candidate for Ohio's 15th district, Mary Jo Kilroy, had a strong performance in her first debate with Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce. Kilroy has done her homework. Kilroy came out the winner in the exchange.
Pryce was on the defensive on a number of areas, as reported by the Dispatch:
>.....Pryce yesterday defended the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war— while admitting that the invasion was based on faulty intelligence...
>...Pryce called Iraq a key front in the war on terror; Kilroy said Iraq had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 terrorist attack...
>Pryce was among the 296 members of Congress who voted in 2002 to authorize President Bush to go to war in Iraq...
>...Kilroy said Pryce and other Republicans have continued to defer too much to the Bush administration on Iraq. She said the United States and other nations need to devise a political solution that allows the country to withdraw its troops and focus on repairing roads and other infrastructure.
"Saying ‘stay the course’ is not a plan. We need to have a plan," Kilroy said. "We’re on the verge of a civil war in Iraq. There is an urgent need to act quickly."
>...Pryce said she was embarrassed by the size of the deficit but doesn’t believe it’s dragging down the economy. "I hope we grow our way out of it."
Pryce should wake up because wishing and hoping won't drive down the deficit. If Pryce and the Republicans would not have given tax breaks to the wealthiest people and oil companies, the deficit would not be as large. It looks like Pryce and the Republicans just can't handle governing.