So the first DFL U.S. Senate debate is done, it's being debated (and ripped) in the blogging world. Despite lots of bloggers speculating that no one was watching on a summer weekend, we had a healthy audience. The ratings were comparable to some of our fall debates much closer to an election. Let me say that we think dedicating half of the show to this race more than a year away from the election was totally appropriate. We've never dedicated the whole hour to an intra-party debate that any of us can recall. Sure we could have managed the clock a bit better, that's why we were pushing the candidates to move on, and that pushed our State Fair questions to the end and we only got to the global warming issue. It's live TV and often difficult to predict, but that's what makes it fun.
Now to some interesting behind-the-scenes stories. The mood was pretty tense beforehand. Ciresi surprised me with how loose he was. He was smiling and joking before and during the debate. He's apparently learned how to soften his personality. The Ciresi camp was playfully throwing down cash in their holding room, apparently wagering on the debate. They seemed pleased afterwards and a lot of the blogs and dozens of people I've talked to thought his performance was strong, aside from the confusing gay marriage answer. Franken was serious, as he has been thus far in this campaign. A lot of people I talked to were disappointed he didn't show much humor and his delivery was a bit slowly paced. He showed he could talk about the issues intelligently, but he did talk around them a bit on the gas tax and mortgage issue. Many people before thought Franken was nervous, walking the hallways repeatedly. Some were surprised he was nervous since he's broadcast before many, many more people on live TV before a national audience. This was just statewide TV. It was his first debate so there's bound to be some nerves. Cohen was mad he didn't get enough time. I don't know of any other media that have given him nearly that much time. Before the debate Cohen was wondering if his feet would show and concerned his socks were too short (a common concern on the couch).