Talent-Carnahan debates important to voters

Jim Talent, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is anxious to debate Jean Carnahan, the Democrat who is completing a two-year stint to which she was appointed after her husband, Democrat Gov. Mel Carnahan, was elected to the post in the 2000 general election -- three weeks after he died in a plane crash. In the election this coming November, the winner will serve the remaining four years of the full six-year term.

This Missouri race is considered to be one of the handful of crucial contests this year that could maintain the Democrat's one-vote Senate majority or return the Republicans to the majority they held until one GOP member decided to become an independent. As a result of the intense interest, both candidates have been attracting sizable campaign donations. Carnahan has $3.5 million on hand, and Talent has $2.1 million.

For Talent, who proved to be an able debater in his contest for governor two years ago against Bob Holden, the debates are an opportunity to lay out his ideas and proposals in a way that gets lots of attention and publicity. C-SPAN, for example, has already agreed to live coverage of a Talent-Carnahan debate being organized by Southeast Missouri State University, which was the location for one of the Talent-Holden debates.

Talent says he is ready to come to Cape Girardeau -- or just about anywhere else -- for a debate, but Carnahan has made no debate commitments. Members of her campaign staff say she won't be agreeable to any debates before the August primary, at which time both she and Talent are virtually assured of becoming their party's official candidate.

Carnahan has the campaign advantage of using her Senate votes and press releases to promote her legislative agenda. Her staff has clearly indicated she doesn't intend to miss many Senate votes, which would allow her to become a target of criticism from the Talent camp.

But it would be easy to schedule campaign activities, including debates, and not miss much of the action in the Senate.

Sen. Tom Daschle, the majority leader, is faced with strong pressure from senators to avoid scheduling votes on Mondays, Thursday afternoons and Fridays so senators can return to their families at home.

In addition, a third of the 100 senators are campaigning this year to keep their seats, and they would prefer a Senate schedule that allows them to attend campaign events.

As a result, the Senate's heaviest days are Tuesdays and Thursdays -- although Daschle says he intends to schedule more votes on other days to force senators to stay at work in Washington.

Debates are important in races like this. They are the best way for voters to see the candidates in person and hear what they have to say about important issues in a forum that allows for instant rebuttal. In addition, the guaranteed media coverage of debates helps spread the candidates' messages.

Instead of squabbling over when and how many times to debate, both sides should agree to a respectable schedule as soon as possible.