Earlier this week, Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Greene challenged front-runner Kendrick Meek to a debate.
Actually, many debates. In a press release issued Tuesday, Greene said he wanted to engage Meek in a "bi-weekly series of debates between now and the primary election, " adding, "Voters deserve a real debate about our ideas and the future, not Kendrick Meek’s dodging questions about his ties to a corruption scandal and his desperate personal attacks.”
Somewhat predictably, Meek responded in typical front-runner status by saying essentially, yeah, we'll do something down the line. Well, officially he said:
I am looking forward to the opportunity to discuss the critical issues facing Floridians with Jeff Greene and am more than happy to debate him. However, I am focused on spending my time speaking with everyday Floridians about how we can create a better Florida and build up what others have torn down," said Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
He then said that his campaign manager, Abe Dyk, would try to sit down with members of Greene's campaign to discuss a date or dates in the future.
That sounds rather typical. And at this point, Kendrick Meek can no longer do typical. He needs to break out of the box and do the unorthodox. Now, debating Jeff Greene (and former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre should also be included in the mix) is hardly the most daring thing in the world, and we're sure we'll see at least one debate scheduled before the August 24 primary.
But Meek needs to debate Greene and Ferre soon. Why? Because he's currently mired in third place, well behind Republican Marco Rubio and former Republican Charlie Crist in the battle to become the next U.S. Senator from Florida. And there's no indication in any way that he'll soon break out of that third place finish come November.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.