It’s the question being asked this morning by everyone who watched last night’s debate between Dr. Mehmet Oz and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman: What in the world were Democrats thinking in allowing their candidate to get up on that stage?
Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, and obviously that’s nothing anyone would have wished on him. It’s not a proper subject for scorn or mockery, and anyone who thinks it is should be recognized as part of the problem with American politics in 2022, not part of the solution.
That said … What in the world were Democrats thinking in allowing their candidate to get up on that stage? Because that decision by Fetterman’s campaign staff is a proper subject for scorn and mockery.
I’m not the only one raising the question. Reporters from The Hill and Time began asking — or at least implying — the same question last night.
Democrats are asking the same thing post-debate: Why did Fetterman’s team allow him to take the stage tonight? No one I’m talking to on the left has a good thing to say about what just took place.
— Al Weaver (@alweaver22) October 26, 2022
I spoke to Fetterman recently, and I expected him to be very bad tonight. But he was much much worse than I expected (and much worse than in our one-on-one conversation.)
— Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) October 26, 2022
Even left-leaning Politico, which, trust me, would love to do whatever they could think of to prop Fetterman up, had to face up to reality.
“Let’s state the obvious: John Fetterman struggled to effectively communicate during his one and only Senate debate with Mehmet Oz Tuesday in Harrisburg,” they wrote.
Did Tuesday’s debate hurt Fetterman’s election chances?
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
“And then Fetterman failed to meet even the low expectations his own campaign set for him Monday in a memo that predicted ‘awkward pauses, missing some words, and mushing other words together’ as well as ‘temporary miscommunications at times,’” this morning’s Playbook noted.
“There are two well-worn cliches about debates,” they added. “(1) They are rarely won but can sometimes be lost. (2) They are decided by the coverage in subsequent days rather than on debate night itself.
“Fetterman clearly lost last night.”
As Chris Stirewalt might say: Woof. When a Democrat has lost Politico, it’s hard to see where they’re going to go from there.
You can watch the entire debate here:
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And yes, Politico then tried to offer a ray of hope to disappointed leftists by saying that Fetterman was beating Oz on the issue of abortion. Too bad abortion isn’t really a voting issue this year. And anyway, it’s not only Politico who recognized how bad last night was for the left.
VIDEO: Some of what “Morning Joe” aired on Fetterman’s struggles last night. pic.twitter.com/KRzy7k7kuH
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) October 26, 2022
That’s right: MSNBC ran a montage of Fetterman’s debate stuggles. MSNBC. Double woof.
In fact, one of their best-known talking heads, Joe Scarborough, may have summed up the evening best.
This is painful to watch regardless of one’s politics.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 26, 2022
Scarborough did, however, get one prediction dead wrong.
John Fetterman’s ability to communicate is seriously impaired. Pennsylvania voters will be talking about this obvious fact even if many in the media will not.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 26, 2022
Actually, many in the media, even left-leaning establishment sources like Time, The Hill and Politico couldn’t ignore how bad last night was for the Democrats and their chances of holding on to their razor-thin majority in the Senate after next month’s midterms.
Even The Washington Post weighed in.
“Fetterman sought to head off a shaky debate performance from the very first question,” The Post wrote in a story at the top of its homepage this morning.
“The debate came amid polls showing a tightening race, with Fetterman leading, but by a smaller margin than he had over the summer, and facing a steady stream of attacks from Oz and his allies. Democrats view Pennsylvania as their best chance to flip a seat; it is now held by retiring Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R).”
They’re probably re-thinking that view after last night.
