Like mother, like daughter!

Darlin' Daughter was given the assignment in Government class to write a letter to the editor about the Casey/Santorum debate with Tim Russert. I hope you find this letter as amusing and as great as I did; I am sooo proud!

To Whom It May Concern:
The recent debate between Pennsylvania's candidates for US Senate Rick Santorum and Bob Casey has left me severely disappointed. Instead of an informative discussion in which the candidates express their stances on today's most pressing issues, it seemed that this debate was more of a childish argument between two chattering idiots.
Tim Russert provided many questions that would allow Santorum and Casey to inform the public about their plans concerning issues such as Iraq and social security; however, he was often answered with a response that had no relation to the subject matter, or merely circled the answer anticipated. Some information that has come out of this debate includes that Santorum seems to always be in agreement with George Bush, the two candidates disagree on many issues, Casey has a rather prominent unibrow, and Santorum has made many impressive speeches in Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.
The best impression given by Santorum and Casey happened before the debate even began. Both were wearing nice suits and had an appearance of confidence, qualities we have come to expect of our country's lawmakers. It was also respectable that both candidates tried to connect with the target audience as much as possible. Santorum made many connections to football, while Casey reminded Pennsylvanians of the many important positions he has held in their state and of his considerable accomplishments made in these positions. Otherwise, however, both candidates left a rather negative impression on me as a voter. When Russert pressured either of the men to answer rather difficult, stuttering often resulted. Neither seemed prepared to provide excuses for past mistakes, or to even clearly explain stances on important issues. For instance, Santorum struggled to explain how it was not hypocritical for him to have criticized a previous candidate for not living in Pennsylvania, when he himself no longer lives in the state for more than a month out of the year. At the same time, Casey did not seem able to explain why he has changed his position on Iraq so many times from the stance that we should not set deadlines, to that we should be out by the end of the year, to that we should not set deadlines, but “benchmarks.” This in itself was a major weakness of Casey's, as it does not seem that he would be a trustworthy member of Congress if he cannot decide where to stand on an issue. Even more disconcerting is how, whenever questioned about his indecision, Casey merely talked around the question without ever truly answering it. Just as well, Santorum would not specify his plans for withdrawing from Iraq, constantly referring to his many illustrious speeches in which he claims to have clearly lain this out. Like Casey, Santorum often sidestepped the questions he was asked. For example, when questioned about Iraq, he promptly changed to talking about Iran and the threats facing us there. I was also intrigued by Santorum's inability to admit to incorrect judgment. While many politicians have conceded that there was no real threat from weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Santorum still insists that the defunct weapons that were eventually found were a true threat to our country.
Overall, the candidate's numerous faults and inability to converse as responsible, levelheaded adults has left us with no true winner in this debate. Neither presented plans he would initiate if elected or definitive stances on the issues important to voters. In fact, after watching this debate, it is likely that many voters will not have support for either candidate. As a result, many, in frustration, will not even bother to vote or will simply vote for the candidate representing their favored political party. This apathetic stance is quite understandable, as it seems that neither Rick Santorum nor Bob Casey would make a useful addition to the US Senate.

Sincerely,
(Darlin' Daughter)C.C.H.