O'Donnell, Coons face off in first debate before packed house

[Geee]

The Hill:



O'Donnell, Coons face off in first debate before packed house
By Shane D'Aprile - 09/16/10 10:51 PM ET

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Just two days after her upset of Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) in the state's Republican Senate primary, Tea Party-backed Christine O'Donnell shared a stage with New Castle County Executive Chris Coons (D) in their first meeting of the general election contest.

Thanks to the format of the yearly candidate forum sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Delaware, the stage was shared by eight candidates, but the main attraction was the impending battle between O'Donnell and Coons. The result was a standing-room-only crowd in a packed auditorium.


The forum was an early test for O'Donnell, who despite having run for federal office before has never endured anything close to the national media storm that has descended upon her since she defeated Castle on Tuesday.

At times the pressure showed, but O'Donnell appeared to hold her own Thursday despite the intense glare. She repeatedly emphasized her concerns over the growth of government and stressed "private-sector solutions" on a range of questions.

[AceRimmer]

DeMint continued: "Well, I've been in the majority with Republicans who didn't have principles, and we embarrassed ourselves and lost credibility in front of the country. Frankly, I'm at a point where I'd rather lose fighting for the right cause than win fighting for the wrong cause," the senator wrote.

 

This guy is skyrocketing in my books. If he and Palin both run for POTUS in '12, it's going to be a hard call when I walk into the voting booth.

[Valin]

At times the pressure showed, but O'Donnell appeared to hold her own Thursday despite the intense glare. She repeatedly emphasized her concerns over the growth of government and stressed "private-sector solutions" on a range of questions.

 

Good for her.