In their sold debate, marked by the Democrats reluctance to debate, John Fetterman showed the temporary effects of his stroke in May, and Mehmet Oz was hyper-aggressive and something of a bully. The one Fetterman gaffe may have involved fracking.
There have been two crucial and very close Senate races in which the willingness and ability of a candidate to debate has itself become a key issue. In Georgia, Republican Herschel Walker dodged and resisted debates for months amidst countless revelations of problems in his background and a tendency to speak in word salads. He finally agreed to a single encounter with Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and probably helped himself by exceeding very low expectations.
In Pennsylvania, Democrat John Fetterman, who is recovering from a stroke that nearly killed him five months ago, agreed to a single debate with Republican opponent Mehmet Oz, who had made his reluctance to debate a token of his unfitness to serve. In the hour-long encounter in Harrisburg on Tuesday night, Fetterman struggled with his health condition, but Oz probably spoiled some of his advantage by bullying his opponent and firing off points at a speed too quick for many to follow. It was like watching a smart-ass Ivy League college debater beat up on an opponent from a small school who had left his notes back home.
“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: I had a stroke. He’s never let me forget that … It knocked me down, but I’m gonna keep coming back up.
