Carter’s missed opportunity

Michael J. Mishak

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006 | 7:32 a.m.

Like a boxer behind in points in the late rounds, Jack Carter needed to score big in his first televised debate with U.S. Sen. John Ensign on Sunday.

But he didn't seem to land any big haymakers, and with that lost opportunity, appears to have frittered away one of his last chances to tighten his race with the Republican incumbent.

Carter, who has been fighting a double-digit deficit in the polls, came out swinging with a blistering opening statement.

"I'm a businessman, and I'm fed up with this administration," the Democratic challenger said. "They have led us into a disastrous war in the Middle East. They have squandered the goodwill we had at the end of 9/11. They have sold our souls to the special interests. They are encroaching on our states' rights and trampling on our personal freedoms. And my opponent is responsible for it."

But then Carter failed to follow through effectively on those themes, keeping his answers to a few sentences, and in some cases, just a few words. The brevity allowed Ensign to monopolize the time, and on one occasion, pound his opponent on homeland security.

At various points, Carter even commended Ensign for his work on Nevada issues, including his opposition to Yucca Mountain and his sponsorship of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. As Carter's father, former President Jimmy Carter, could tell him, you don't beat incumbents by praising their performance.

Carter missed an early opportunity to draw clear contrasts with Ensign.

Asked to name two major votes on which he would have split with his opponent, Carter cited the National Defense Authorization Act, an obscure military spending bill that, among other things, gives the president authority to federalize the National Guard at home without consulting state governors. He also pointed to a port security bill that included a provision restricting Internet gambling.

Those inside-the-Beltway topics are not the kinds of issues that capture the attention of the folks in Pahrump.

Similarly, on two separate occasions, Carter failed to capitalize on the war in Iraq, a rallying cry for Democrats this year. "It is counterproductive and it is (Bush's) problem," he said simply. Later, asked about the military strategy in Iraq, he faulted Ensign and the Bush administration for what he sees as a failed policy, but did not elaborate on his own position.

The official line from the Carter campaign on the debate? "We're targeting those voters (who) are undecided," Carter spokesman Jay Jones said. "We feel that we gave those voters a clear alternative to Sen. Ensign."

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who was at Sunday's debate as part of the Carter camp's spin team, attributed Carter's underwhelming performance to his political inexperience.

"I have sympathy for somebody who's debating a very polished politician for the first time," Berkley said. "I suspect by the end of the third debate, Jack will be able to hold his own with anybody."

By then, it may already be too late.