Debates are one of the best ways for voters to get to know candidates for office, especially when they are not well known to the electorate.
So we commend Attorney General Martha Coakley for finally agreeing this week to participate in back-to-back televised debates next month. The first will be held Tuesday, Dec. 1, sponsored by WCVB-TV (Channel 5); and the second on Tuesday, Dec. 2, sponsored by the Globe, NECN, WBUR-FM, and WGBH-TV.
Coakley is the leading Democrat in all the polls heading into the Dec. 8 primary election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. She is opposed by Congressman Michael Capuano of Somerville, Boston Celtics co-owner and venture capialist Steven Pagiluca, and City Year co-founder Alan Khazei. The winner will face the top vote-getter in the Republican primary, which pits state Sen. Scott Brown against perennial candidate Jack E. Robinson.
Statewide, voters don't know any of them well. While both Capuano and Coakley have served in elective positions, Coakley has never been a legislator and Capuano is not well known outside of his district. Thus the debates will be critical in helping voters decide who's best suited to represent Massachusetts in Washington.
These debates are among the very few events that cannot be entirely scripted or tightly controlled by the candidates and his or her handlers. Just about anybody can look and sound good when reciting from a prepared text, having staff members issue press releases, issuing focus-group-tested position papers or glad-handing supporters at a fundraiser. It is only when they are being challenged by questions they haven't seen in advance, or are challenging one another, that voters can see how they think on their feet, how they respond to pressure and how well they can defend their views.
It's a little more than two weeks until the primary, and with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the middle of it, there's not much time for voters to focus so they can make an informed choice. So make sure you're paying attention and watch at least one of the debates scheduled for the first week in December.
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