Is This The Best They Can Do?

I have to admit that I tuned in late to the Democratic debate for attorney general last evening and by all accounts I was happy to be late. Within five minutes I asked my self the question, is this the best they can do? All four candidates behaved like errant schoolboys playing tit for tat in the schoolyard. Ok, maybe it was better in the first half an hour and deteriorated by the time I tuned in and if so it is unfortunate. By far, the most prepared were Cuomo and Green and now we know why they are ahed in the polls. All the candidates behaved like they were at their local bar backslapping and handgladding one another as they consumed more beer.

In one instance, Charlie King compared himself to Elliot Spitzer when answering a question on Medicaid fraud by saying, "We were born three days apart, we both attended Harvard - I didn't stay." Could someone tell me what the hell that has to do with Medicaid fraud? Sean Patrick Maloney - the least prepared of all, seemed like he was rehearsing for a stint on Saturday Night Live and kept repeating, "I'll do my job, I'll do my job and kept insisiting that he would be independent. I don't know if Mr. Maloney knows this or not but the attoney general position is not an independent position. His smiles seemed inappropriate at times and I wondered if he thought he was posing for a magazine ad.

Of the candidates, Cuomo and Green were more prepared and actually answered questions in an intelligent manner. There were, as to be expected, swipes at one another as Green accused Cuomo, as head of HUD, of failure to comply with laws to reduce pesticides use to lessen the risks to children. He went on to say that a suit was brought by Spitzer to comply with these laws. Cuomo kept insisting that the suit was filed after he left HUD but that he would look into it. Sounds a little suspicious to me but is worth soem research.

The debate, in my opinion, is a clear indication that these candidates are not ready for prime time. In their closing remarks Sean Maloney attacked the president of the United States and his administration. I don't know if anyone told Maloney this but the attorney general position has no bearing on arresting and killing Osama Bin Laden and his attack on the president was an obvious ploy on the part of his handlers. I see whay he has only 3% of the votes.

While Mark Green and Andrew Cuomo were the stronger of the four candidates the question still stands, is this the best the Democratic party can do? It seems clear to me that the best candidate for the position of attorney general is the Republican candidate, Jeanine Pirro. Pirro is not only the best candidate for this position but could easily run circles around these guys even on her off day. For those interested here is what the Times had to say about the debate.