The WTTW-11 public TV debate between Tammy Duckworth and Peter Roskam was short. The material, for those following the 6th congressional contest, was largely well-tread. I am struck by how the early responses tell much of the story. Asked by Chicago Tonight host/moderator Carol Marin to give their most important characteristic, Tammy Duckworth cited her independence. Peter Roskam touted his ability to work in a bipartisan manner. Where Tammy’s response emphasized policy change, Peter’s emphasized legislative experience.
Likewise on the next question dealing with the Iraq War, Tammy Duckworth showed her independence in policy, stating that it was a mistake to enter the Iraq War because it took America’s military might away from the terrorists in Afghanistan, the ones like Osama bin Laden who had actually attacked American soil, and left that important military goal unfinished. She suggested that we should draw down American troops in Iraq, tied to replacing them with Iraqi units coming in, and demand monthly progress reports from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and quarterly appearances in front of congress by the secretary. Then, she argued, we should turn American military might, that of our allies and that of the Afghan government towards those in Afghanistan who attacked America, like bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
Peter Roskam also stayed true to form, suggesting that despite a diversity of opinion in the 6th congressional, he believed that the war in Iraq was, by implication, the right war (if not fought well) and that America needed to “finish well” - something he described as a “goal” not a “policy.” He cast blame for the failure in Iraq on the Iraqi government’s inability to properly handle military assets on the ground and our allies not living up to their obligations, avoiding direct blame of the Bush Administration for any role in the failure, despite acknowledging that America should have gone into Iraq with more troops.
There is no doubt that Peter Roskam is a skilled and practiced politician, as the smoothness of his delivery and seamless integration of his talking points showed during the debate. There is no doubt that Tammy Duckworth is not a trained politician who, while acquitting herself well in the debate, did not get in as many “hits” on her opponent as Roskam. In the end voters watching the debate were left with some of the significant policy differences that moderator Carol Marin helpfully pointed to finding on both candidates websites (see Roskam here and Duckworth here). Voters were also left with significant stylistic and party differences that in this election speak volumes. For those comfortable by and large with the way things are going, and interested in supporting President George W. Bush, their candidate was clearly Peter Roskam. For those who believe like Senator Barack Obama that “we need to change Washington” - those who are disturbed about the direction our country has taken in the Bush Administration years - their candidate is clearly Tammy Duckworth.
In the end WTTW-11’s 6th Congressional debate was not heavy on the issues - but it did not lack substance.
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