Desperate Petro whines for debates

Read the Associated Press (AP), Dayton Daily News (DDN), Cleveland Plain Dealer (CPD), and The Columbus Dispatch (TCD) to get the impression that Blackwell is runnin' real scar'd of Petro by refusing to debate him publicly. The CPD put Reginald Field's 552-word article on page A1 of its Friday 3/24/06. The DDN put the William Hershey's 436-word article on page B1 of its Friday, March 24, 2006 edition. TCD seems to have placed Joe Hallet's 340-word article on its website but does not in its paper. The AP's 222-word links Blackwell with rejecting the non-partisan City-Club (via Lexis-nexis).

Contra these publications, the money quote in DDN comes from John Green, political scientist & head of Akron University's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics -

There's very little to gain from a debate and there's always a possibility they'll make a mistake and give the other candidate a chance to get back in (emphasis added).

The CPD has more quotes from Green:

Whatever candidate is behind tends to want debates because it gives them a chance to score points and catch up... Front-runners tend to want to avoid debates because there isn't enough to gain... And the perception is that [Blackwell, CPD] is ahead (emphasis added, EIC).

Neither the TCD or AP quote Green or any other authority. Thus they leave out the fact that Petro is L-O-S-I-N-G. TCD was the only paper to note that the debate-request came some time before March and Petro had desperately accepted by March 3. The stories leave the impression that Blackwell changed his mind, but JKB's no is his first public utterance on the matter.

Keep in mind Blackwell's endorsement by Miami County's grass-roots voters in the open primary.

Please e-mail the Editor-in-Chief with any questions.