Owen Praskievicz The Diamondback, October 27, 2006
WALDORF - A Maryland senatorial debate hosted last night by the NAACP last night packed a church in Charles County, but had one noticeable absence: Rep. Ben Cardin, who canceled due to "scheduling problems."
His absence gave Green Party candidate Kevin Zeese a chance to steal some of the spotlight, and Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Michael Steele an opportunity to stump his views unchallenged. But the debate was a quiet departure from a News Channel 8 debate on Wednesday, described my most media outlets as an angry clash among Cardin, Steele and Zeese.
Sitting behind folding tables folding tables, Steele and Zeese used the small stage at the New Community Church of God in Christ in Waldorf to turn a potentially heated debate into a passionate lecture on the country's mounting problems domestically and overseas.
The two spent much of the night finishing each other's thoughts and agreeing with one another, toning down the brief moments where their views diverged on taxes, Iraq and corporate America.
The remote location and venue of the debate may have been an odd choice for one of the more prolific Senate races in the country, but the heavily Democratic Charles County is emerging as an attractive target for both Steele and Zeese as they try to pick up every vote they can before the Nov. 7 elections.
Cardin's absence, too, was unusual on friendly turf, but after Cardin lost Charles County in the primaries to former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, some speculated last night the vote of the large black community in the county was already shying away from the congressman.
"The African American community is divided in this state," Zeese told reporters after the debate, adding that Cardin made a "serious mistake" by not attending.
"They didn't like the way Mfume was treated," Zeese said. "It's almost a dis to the African-American community."
William Braxton, NAACP president for Charles County, said a formal invitation to the three campaigns was sent out on the Oct. 21, but that the debate had been scheduled long before. Zeese said the debate had been in the works since the three candidates met at the beginning of the campaign season.
The largest benefactor of Cardin's absence was clearly Zeese, who went toe-to-toe with Steele on education, Iraq, immigration and poverty. Zeese even garnered applause from the largely black crowd as he tackled race.
Describing racism as "a big elephant in the room" that no one wanted to discuss, Zeese compared years of black slavery to a Monopoly game where all the good property had been taken up before blacks were allowed to play, saying discussions on race are needed to help level the playing field.
Zeese may have held his own, but it was Steele who reveled in his opportunity to discuss race with the crowd, using inclusive words like "we" and "us" to win over the crowd.
"When Kevin and I walk into this room, they see Kevin, then they see a black man," Steele said to a crowd of nodding heads. "While that 800-pound elephant is in the room - and that elephant is not Republican by the way - there's a whole lot of mice running around that bad boy that we need to deal with."
While the race discussion injected some life into the crowd at the end of an hour-long debate, the rest of the night had a far more serious, even sedated tone, as the two addressed a laundry list of America's troubles.
Near the top of that list was the war in Iraq, which both candidates agreed needed an exit strategy, though they differed on how to get there.
When asked whether he would send his 18-year-old son to war, Steele cleverly responded that his son was of age to decide that for himself, though he did say he might advise him not to go.
Steele and Cardin, but not Zeese, are scheduled to appear Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press.
