Mayoral Debate

[GirlAfire]

Anyone watching the mayoral debate of Patrick Cooper and William Bell for Birmingham?

[Syrinx]

1. I didn't see it; how did it go?

I think I prefer Patrick Cooper over William Bell, but I'm not sure why. Not that it matters anyway, since I'm not a citizen of Birmingham.

[GirlAfire]

2. It Was...

...a bit painful to watch. I preferred Bell over Cooper going into the debate, and the debate only solidified that preference. But a look at politics in Birmingham might explain why I'm not overly excited about either candidate.

Now, Cooper mentioned some things that may or may not be lies. He accused Bell of having an ad yet to be released (or one that is too nasty to be released) that is race-baiting. When Bell was asked to address that, he responded "I don't know what he is talking about." Bell performed calmly and answered questions thoroughly (or as thoroughly as one can in 60 seconds), but Cooper was fidgety and condescending. He wouldn't look Bell in the eye, and he referred to him as "he" to the moderator, which was a Fox 6 anchor (forget his name...). They were sitting right next to each other, so I couldn't understand his referring to Bell as "he."

I say it was painful because Cooper's demeanor was so odd and, like I said earlier, condescending. And I really don't appreciate that whole commercial (don't know if you've seen it since you're not a Birmingham citizen) in which the announcer says "Mrs. Bell said that Mr. Bell had beaten her. Women, did you hear that?" It's so panderous and sexist. I'm not sure that Patrick Cooper is responsible for the ad, but he sure as hell didn't object to it. I think William Bell has released similar ads but only in kind. I wish he hadn't and wouldn't because he doesn't have to, but he did and does.

Anyway, Bell performed well (calm, patient, clear answers). Cooper did not (moved around quite a bit, threw out wild accusations, did that whole "I'm going to slightly look my opponent's way because I want him to hear this quip, but I'm not going to look at him" thing). I hope they will post some of it on al.com maybe so you can see it!

[Syrinx]

3. I'm familiar with the ads

The ones run on Cooper's behalf have been pretty bad. But like you say, Bell's are bad too. And either Mrs. Bell is lying in the ad, or she lied to the police. Either William Bell assaulted her or he didn't. And it seems to me that the only reason the Bell campaign responded in the manner that they did was to put up a picture of Cooper's ex-wife. Because she is white. They're appealing to racism on both sides, black and white.

It's really a nasty, terrible contest all around. I'm kind of ashamed of it.

I freely admit to being relatively ignorant about both candidates. But Bell has been involved in government for decades, and I can't think of any big accomplishments. I say give the new guy a try.

But I could be wrong. :)

[GirlAfire]

4. Yeah, I Also Thought...

...the photo of his wife was suspect. I mean, a candidate wouldn't waste invaluable ad time to include things that aren't persuasive, right? And of what, I imagine, would a picture of a white wife persuade Bell's predominantly black base? Perhaps that was the ad to which Cooper was referring?

I know of the Hope VI project, but other than that, I think he's just been "supportive" of other workers and their ideas, as opposed to coming up with ideas of his own. I'll have to look deeper in his political history.

Like I said earlier (or perhaps I forgot to say it), I'm not wild about either candidate, but... to me, it seems that Bell is the lesser of two evils. Even if I hadn't landed a new job that starts on next Tuesday, I don't think I would have been able to vote for either candidate on that day. I'm glad I have a reason to sit this one out!

Oh, and I think Mrs. Bell is lying. I believe the story goes that she accused him of that, Bell accused the police of lying on him, and then he retracted those accusations because they claimed it was defamation. No matter; he retracted the accusations. I'm pretty sure she's lying.