Sink scores on substance in first prime time debate, but wil it matter?

When it came to explaining if they supported SB6, the education bill sponsored by GOP state Senator John Thrasher that was bitterly opposed by the teacher unions as well as most parents (and ultimately vetoed by Governor Charlie Crist), Scott said he supported it.  However, later on he said that with a daughter who taught special needs kids, he believes those instructors need to be treated differently — which is one argument Crist used when he did veto the legislation.

Sink was put on the defensive when asked about her role in administering the state's pension fund. That's when she tried to turn the tables, bringing up an inconvenient truth that the state of Florida had sued Scott personally for insider trading.

Scott dismissed that lawsuit (one of many he's been involved with), saying they were fishing expeditions, "frivolous lawsuits by trial lawyers, the same trial lawyers backing my opponents."

St. Pete Times political editor Adam Smith asked several piercing questions, but his attempt to put the candidates on the spot by asking them to try to find something positive about their opponents fizzled, when both blandly talked about how their opponents had lovely families.  Snore.

Sink then criticized Rick Scott for blowing off editorial boards, where he would need to come up with something more beyond vapid sound bites. But Scott scored in his retort, when he said that he's chosen to spend his time directly with the voters. Point to the bald CEO, as most people loathe the media and may actually cheer that he's blown off the press.

Scott was asked about his proposal to drug-test welfare recipients, red meat for social conservatives. Sink said she would consider the proposal, but wanted to see how much the plan would cost the taxpayers.

On the volatile issue of property insurance, Scott incorrectly blasted Sink for failing to deal with the situation, criticizing the fact that Citizens Insurance has now 1.2 million policy holders, and sounded sympathetic to insurance companies, many who have gouged the Florida populace, even though it's five full years since there's been any major hurricane in Florida.  Sink said she would oppose Scott's plan to deregulate insurance rates.  "There needs to be a way to keep insurance companies honest, deregulation is not the answer, " she said.

Perhaps Scott's worst response was when he was asked what he would do to deal with the foreclosure crisis. He said that through his 7-7-7 plan, he'd help that foreclosed homeowner with a job, and then home value will go up.

Hey, that sounds pretty good! Maybe Charlie Crist could do that now to cure our ills.

Some analysts estimate that Florida loses as much as $2 billion every year on such internet purchases from out-of-state retailers who don't collect and remit the tax, and one of the biggest business groups in the state, the Florida Retail Foundation, advocated earlier this year for such a tax.

But that word can be toxic, so both Sink and Scott said they were against it, though Sink expressed sympathy for retail businesses who are being hurt by the unfairness of it, and added that "down the road," she would work with the Legislature to address it, a remark that conservatives on Twitter pounced on, as did Scott, who said "she's going to impose some tax."

That led to Sink channeling Ronald Reagan circa 1984, saying "There you go again," and said it was just more dirt being flung by the former Columbia/HCA executive.

On substance, Sink was the winner.  But on style, calling your opponent an Obama-lovin' tax-increasing, anti-business liberal (actually, Scott didn't use the L-word), might be just enough for Florida voters, since the polls clearly show that Scott's checkered business past has not had any real impact on what voters think about him — not a majority anyhow.