Delegates praise candidates’ performances

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU

Nevada's congressional delegation praised the performances of their candidates after Wednesday night's debate.

Democratic challenger John Kerry heads into the final days of the campaign with momentum created by strong debate performances, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said. President Bush continues to paint falsely rosy portraits of the economy and other domestic issues and doesn't appear to grasp that the war in Iraq is worsening, she said.

"How can you fix a problem if you don't recognize that you have one?" Berkley asked.

Berkley said it was odd that Bush tried several times to steer the debate to education.

"The reality is he underfunded his own program by $28 billion," she said.

Bush rose above political rhetoric, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said in a written statement. Bush is the clear choice for president because he created a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, pushed for middle class tax relief and increased standards and funding for education, Gibbons said.

"Sen. Kerry never once tried to explain his inconsistencies on health care or his record of support for higher taxes," Gibbons said.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said the clear edge in the debate was to Bush.

"He knew the issues, he knew the facts and connected with the American people," Ensign said.

When Bush said more education was the solution to increased outsourcing of jobs, Ensign said there is no simple answer to the outsourcing problem.

"Every time I go to the Silicon Valley, all I hear about is education, education, education," said Ensign, a member of the High Tech Task Force in Congress. He said people who lost their jobs to outsourcing should take the government assistance designed to help better themselves through more training.

Ensign could not believe Kerry tried to paint himself as a fiscal conservative and liked Bush's description of the "Pay-Go" program in Congress.

"I'll tell you what Pay-Go means, when you're a senator from Massachusetts, when you're a colleague of Ted Kennedy. Pay-Go means: You pay, and he goes ahead and spends," Bush said.

"That's a great line," Ensign said. "I've been with John Kerry in the Senate for four years and he votes for every spending increase that comes around."

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Kerry's direct answers to the questions were important to Nevada, because his honest answers are the same as his promise to keep nuclear waste out of Nevada.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., addressed the Clark County Farm Bureau in Logandale Wednesday night and did not view the debate live, spokesman Adam Mayberry said.