Highlights from the Second Debate

Press Release

Highlights from the Second Debate

Riki Parikh

Yesterday's debate further proved that Governor Warner is the most qualified and most capable candidate to be Virginia's next U.S. Senator. Here's what Washington Post's Marc Fischer had to say:

"I'd give the edge to Warner, who was more detailed and forthcoming on the economic crisis and who seemed generally more confident and senatorial. Gilmore has an air of desperation about him these days, and he was way too defensive and brittle about his own record as governor."

On the issues, Governor Warner proved that he has a grasp of the real, common sense solutions challenges that face our nation. At yesterday's debate, per the Washington Post:

Warner argued that he has the experience to end years of partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill and that Virginia voters are ready to embrace his philosophy of seeking common ground on issues such as energy, the right to join a union, and taxes and spending. "At the end of the day, Virginians do have a choice," Warner told a crowd of 400 Northern Virginia business and political leaders. "A senator who's produced results, or one who's about more partisanship."

Before the crowd in Northern Virginia, Governor Warner also got a chance to address the ongoing problem of transportation, highlighting his record in helping to solve the problem.

Citing a letter from U.S. transportation officials, Warner said the federal government threatened to withhold money for the Springfield Mixing Bowl project because of mismanagement and a politicized transportation department when Gilmore was governor. "There was no part of Virginia that was more broken when I become governor than Virginia's transportation efforts," Warner said.

The Governor also showed that his business background and strong fiscal record as governor make him uniquely qualified to handle the current financial meltdown:

Warner said, "Being an entrepreneur and having a 20 year background in business, really is one of the differences between us. I can read a balance sheet." "This is a result of too many people asleep at the switch -- in Washington, on Wall Street -- where everybody was looking at next quarter profits and nobody had a long-term financial plan," said Warner, who earned a fortune in the cellular telephone boom and as a venture capitalist before his 2001 election as governor. Warner suggested that a single federal regulator overseeing all of the markets could provide better oversight than the "mishmash" of agencies that oversee financial institutions, and argued that "a lot these excesses have really taken place the last six to eight years."

On energy, Governor Warner said (per the Roanoke Times):

Warner said he favors a comprehensive energy policy that includes offshore drilling but also emphasizes alternative sources and new technologies. Warner said the energy crisis demands "a national call to arms" that also could reap economic benefits. "I think there will be more jobs and more wealth created in the energy sector over the next 25 years -- even more than cellphones," Warner said. "And that's hard for me to say."

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