Up North Progressive

It’s obvious why The Nerd agreed to do this only once.

For the entire 55 minutes of the debate between him and Mark Schauer, Rick Snyder was combative and incapable of avoiding personal attacks against his opponent. Mark Schauer on the other hand was calm, collected, and spoke clearly about his plan to help everyone in Michigan do better.

Most people don’t enjoy watching political debates, but they’re the most entertaining television viewing. How? Because the candidates in the debate have to be able to carefully craft answers that are factual and also answer the questions the moderators ask. Tonight’s debate was no exception. Rick Snyder was clearly uncomfortable and easily agitated by his body language, the inflection in his voice and the phrases he used repeatedly when he talked. Very early on he stopped sitting down while Mark Schauer gave his answers. This is a clear sign that he felt out of control, and standing was one way for him to have a sense of being the person running things on stage. Twice the moderators however reminded him he was not the guy in charge when they told him his time was up for speaking.

Mark Schauer was a sharp contrast with giving clear answers, speaking to the audience about what he wants to do as governor, and had no problem with giving up the floor when it was his time to do so. He never felt out of control and didn’t need to stand toward the front of the stage to give an impression of being the guy in charge. He also never had to resort to personal attacks, something Snyder is known for and tonight was no exception.

Snyder spent most of the night on the defensive. For a nerd who insists he’s the comeback kid and Michigan is improving with him as CEO, he seems to spend a lot of time backtracking and denying his record over the past four years. Is The Nerd aware how badly he did yet? If he’s not feeling it yet, he will soon.

Vote for the real winner, vote for Mark Schauer on November 4