If you believe The Gallup Poll, the Economy rates #3 behind Iraq (#1) and Terrorism and National Security (#2). In fact, Gallup points out that half of Americans still believe the economy is getting worse, not better.

Yet last night’s debate among the Democratic presidential hopefuls offered little for viewers and voters on the economy. While the debate did seem to be more spirited than previous ones, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer didn’t ask any of the candidates about the economy and the angst Americans have over job loss and economic security.

The New York Times

Healthcare, which rates #6, according to Gallup, merited its own questions, giving the candidates a chance to offer general overviews of their healthcare proposals. Yes, healthcare is an important issue, one that is severely undermining the economic security of families and employers across the country. So, yes, ManufactureThis was happy to see the discussion.

Immigration, #5 according to Gallup, also was had its time on the stage, with questions coming from Blitzer…again, an important issue that deserves discussion.

Energy, #4 on Gallup’s list, also drew questions from Blitzer, mainly related to gas prices. Energy is definitely an important issue that needs to be discussed and debated among the candidates, as is Iraq and National Security.

Was it an error on Blizter’s part that the economy wasn’t asked about? Did he inadvertently, in the heat of the moment, skip over #3? When it came to the issues most important to voters, according to our trusted friends at Gallup, Blitzer asked about #1, #2, #4, #5 and #6, but NOT #3.

Debate organizers made note of the fact that they relaxed the rules to allow more free-flowing discussion, rather than limiting the candidates to 30- and 60-second sound bites. MT, though, thinks it may be time to impose a rule on the moderators of all upcoming debates – equal time for the issues that are of most concern to voters.

With New Hampshire holding the top spot on the list of states that has lost the largest share of its jobs as a result of the trade deficit with China – a deficit that exists due in large part to China’s refusal to follow the rules it agreed to – Blitzer had every reason to put the candidates on the spot about the economy, jobs and trade. He didn’t and MT feels it was not just a missed opportunity, but a disservice to viewers and voters.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Manufacturing in the U.S., Holding China Accountable, Economic Security, Health Security, National Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.