Edward O'Reilly, the Gloucester lawyer who's running against U.S. Sen. John Kerry in the Sept. 16 Democratic primary, wants two more debates with his opponent. Don't hold your breath.
One would think Kerry would be eager to debate O'Reilly, to meet his questions head-on and to respond to the challenges of his voting record. One would be wrong.
The only public confrontation between Kerry and O'Reilly was aired on WBZ-TV-4 Sunday morning. If you didn't see it, you're in the majority — and this "debate" scarcely merited the name. It was recorded Friday morning in a television studio. There was no audience. It lasted a mere half-hour.
Debates offer O'Reilly his only opportunity to show voters what he's about. Kerry is bombing the airwaves with ads. O'Reilly is not — he doesn't have the money and, wisely, is unwilling to put himself deep in debt given the long odds he faces.
It's no mystery why Kerry doesn't want to debate. Any further encounters with O'Reilly offer nothing but a chance for the incumbent to make a colossal blunder and for his challenger to gain the visibility he so sorely lacks.
But debates aren't solely about giving the candidates a chance to get their views out to the public, and to perhaps respond to the ads of their opponents. They provide the voting public with its only real opportunities to see the candidates discuss the issues and raise their differences face to face, not merely make unilateral statements.
In the case of the 5th Essex District state representatives' race, the three candidates — incumbent state Rep. Anthony Verga, and challengers Ann-Margaret Ferrante and Astrid afKlinteberg — carved out clear differences over a span of three debates that concluded with one hosted by the Times at Gloucester Stage Co. last night. And by spotlighting those differences, the debates have likely helped voters make their decisions.
Kerry should feel an obligation to defend his record before the voters and debate the issues Congress will face in 2009 and beyond.
And we hope that, if he doesn't grant O'Reilly more debating time to exchange views, he will at least meet that obligation — assuming he wins next Tuesday — by taking on Republican Jeff Beatty in a series of forums this fall.
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