Crist and Davis, 1. Chris Matthews, Zero.

The reviews are in. And the big loser in Monday's goober-natorial debate bewteen Charlie Crist, Jim Davis and Max Linn was...moderator Chris Matthews.

That's because Matthews managed to deliver a performance that played down to his worst excesses -- confirming fears that he would parachute in, clueless to Florida issues, and spend too much time making the debate about his questions rather than their answers.

As anyone who read my interview with him in Monday's paper noticed, the guy talked a good game about asking short questions and getting out of the candidates' way (by the by, if any of his questions met the five-word standard he set for himself in my interview, i didn't hear them).  and for the first few minutes of monday's debate, it actually seemed he might live up to his promise.

But then -- perhaps because he was rattled by a judge's last-minute decision to force third-party candidate Linn into the mix -- Matthews let the conflict degenerate into sniping over superficial issues, as Linn broke a debate rule by addressing his opponents directly and the moderator himself compared Crist to admitted crackhead ex-mayor Marion Barry.

While Floridians are so crippled by high insurance costs they are leaving the state or losing their homes, Matthews badgered Crist and Davis about whether they would want someone's candidate choices recorded on a paper record of an electronic vote, and challenged Crist for emphasizing a reduction in most all kinds of crime in Florida except murders (which, apparently, Barry also did during an election).

If he would have done a bit of homework, Matthews would have realized some of the issues Floridians cared about were: insurance, insurance, insurance. Along with high taxes, failing schools, the FCAT system, the influence of lobbyists, the use of referendums to achieve what the legislature cannot, the growing exodus of peopel who find it too expensive to work here, the dissonance between the urbanized south Florida and countrified Panhandle, and more.

Instead, we got a confusing fight that felt more like a Saturday Night Live parody than a real debate -- right down to WFLA anchors Keith Cate and Stacie Schiable getting cut off in mid-sentence while signing off because the whole thing ran too long. My colleague, Times Political Editor Adam Smith, was much kinder here.

Here's hoping Tim Russert acquits himself better taking on Bill Nelson and Katherine Harris on Wednesday. He'll have a lot to live down.

At least, I think so. What did you think about it all? Don't save all the juicy comments for the Buzz!

Comments

[mr cynical]

didnt bother watching bec ive had to endure chris matthews in some previous debates, therefore i knew better. the man is all about me me me me....its beyond tedious. hasnt anyone ever tried to coach the idiot into talking less, being less egotistical and rude? or does some even bigger idiot at msnbc think thats what helps sell matthews? either way, ive never heard anyone ever utter a good word about the guy as a tv host. so why is he still on?

An obnoxious liberal moderator, a liberal "newspaper" acting as cheerleader for Davis, the predictable slew of "news stories" about how dire things are for Republicans... Wake me up on the 8th when Crist is the governer, Republicans maintain a slight majority in both houses, and the usual perpetual victims come out of the wood work claiming that they were disenfranchised. If, by some act of god, democrats win the house; then what? Hatred of Bush only goes so far. It's not as if democrats are out there proudly proclaiming themselves liberals and running on a pro-tax liberal agenda. they're out there saying I'm a conservative democrat!! What will that be worth when Bush and Iraq are gone? This whole thing is so tiresome. Every election cycle the media hypes the democratic party. It called gore, it all but all but called kerry, it downplayed the republican takeover in 94, and predicted democrat gains in 04. Yaaaaawwwwnnnnn....

[mstrickland]

I'm sorry, but I believe Mathews was dead on in his questioning. I'm tired of moderators in other debates letting canidates dictate how the flow goes. You need someone to take these politicians to task and if badgering them for answers is what is needed, then Mathews is the way to go.

[Jim]

Chris Matthews was toxic in that debate. He should never set foot in Florida again to moderate another debate.

The ideal panel would consist of Florida media analysts from local TV, newspaper and radio.

[Andy]

If the Republicrats can't handle a bit of badgering by a moderator, what does that say about their abilities to be governor? Max Linn hit the nail on the head with the insurance problem, but nobody wants to hear it. You can't force insurance companies to cover losses in areas where buildings should never have been allowed.

[Dan]

I used to edit Chris's work occasionally when he got his start in media with the old San Francisco Examiner. He was famously lazy and slipshod in his writing and reporting. Much later, I worked with someone who had been on the staff at his old CNBC show, and his reputation endured there. So: No surprise that he performed this way in Florida. Who had the brainwave to bring him in in the first place?

[indierik]

The real losers are us Floridians. Crist and Davis are both AWEFUL! Seeing them ramble on in their calculated answers became nearly unwatchable. It's pathetic that the best the Dems/Repubs could offer up were these two manikans.

[Brian Dufala]

A moderator should do exactly that, moderate. Meaning, they should control the debate and keep it organized. What they should not do is choose sides. It is completely misguided for other readers to suggest that it is sad commentary on Republicans, when this occurs when in fact it is quite the opposite. The winner of the debate should win based on their expression of the issues. If that ends up being a Democrat, so be it. In the case of last night’s debate, no one won.

At any rate, why would anyone be surprised by a poorly moderated debate from Chris Matthews? He makes his viewpoint known every day. He is clearly biased and proved that last night. Again, if Republican are wrong on the issues, then they won’t need any help from the moderator. So, the question still remains…Are they wrong on the issues?

Who needs a debate? Republicans favor locking up criminals. Democrats support criminals. Republicans favor personal responsibility. Democrats favor racial quotas and perpetual victimization. Republicans favor lower taxes. Democrats favor higher taxes because they think the government can better spend our money. Republicans favor an imperfect set of criteria to measure schools success. Democrats don't want to measure or hold bad schools to account, just pour more and more money into the same failing schools. Republicans want to kill terrorists. Democrats often agree with terrorists, and spend more time protecting their "rights" than they do attempting to defeat them. Pretty clear cut - you either want America or you want a European-style socialist welfare state.

[glasstique]

The continued assault by democrats that all republicans are alike and that republicans think all democrats are , and think alike is sheer idiocy and lacks any aforethought , or even thought. Reeking of biase is neither democratic in ideals , nor impressive to ones intelligence and behavior. Matthews is a showman , not a moderator.It's like asking Imus to balance the budget. Both Christ and Davis stink. But then too so does the legislators we send to Tallahassee. Anyone who believes that what we have today is a republic or a democracy must be impressed with the elections in Iraq.The candidates by corporate design already know who will be Governor and the corporations by design have set it up that it will make absolutely no difference.
Welcome to the resl world!

[Ed]

While I did enjoy Mathews posing follow up questions and pressing for direct answers (Also loved, "Murder? That's the big one!"), I thought his questions were not as relevant as they could have been and slanted unfairly against Crist.
1:35, I am a democrat, so I am pro-crime? This is exactly WHY we need debates, so you can actually see what people stand for.

[Eric Deggans]

Wow. Such despair out there. I gotta say, given the choices we could have had -- Tom Gallagher and Rod Smith as prime examples -- Crist and Davis aren't so bad. Yeah, they're both tools of the lobbyists and businessmen who run this state, but the fact is, most everyone who has held that job must coem to terms with those forces.

I just think last night's debate didn't go very far toward helping any viewer sort out which of these guys desrves to lead florida into 2010. Like cable news, it was more heat than light.

[NotBlueNotRed]

I am amazed that the center of discussion here is Chris Matthews. Whether you like his style or not, he did the job of getting the candidates to show their true colors for better or worse. I believe that what Chris Matthews did do was to faciliate a number of unscripted moments rather than allow for a series of scripted soundbites to dominate the event which is the norm of today's political world. My view is that it was good to catch all of these candidates a little bit off guard with national questions and probing follow-up questions. In the end, my choice for governor has been confirmed by what I saw and heard live last night and for that I am grateful to Chris Matthews.

Yes Ed, as a democrat you support a party that opposes three strikes laws and mandatory sentencing, as well as the death penalty. At the same time your party seeks to take guns from law abiding citizens and lessen their ability to defend themselves. I call that pro-criminal.

The NAACP is exploring legal action against a fraternity and John Hopkins university because the frat threw a ghetto fabulous halloween party. Welcome to democrat America - Orwell says hello.

During the party 3 more blacks were killed by other blacks in the surrounding Baltimore neighborhood. Always glad to see the NAACP have its priorities straight.

[Thomas Jones]

It was wonderful to see the candidates "put on the spot" rather than using those old rehearsed lines. The only thing I could not understand is why a more neutral moderator could not be found. Chris Matthews, without a doubt, favors the Dems.

[Barbara]

I have to disagree, for the most part. I was really looking forward to Chris Matthews moderating this debate because I knew he'd press hard and wouldn't stand for vague answers, and that's exactly what happened. I think he handled the last minute addition of Max Linn quite well, fighting for time to ensure the most relevant questions were not only asked, but answered. He gave Davis a hard time too (paper ballots, inappropriate FCAT prop). We know he's a democrat but his questioning seemed pretty fair to me. Davis won.

[Eric Deggans]

Great to see so much vigorous debate over the issues and the debate itself...

I will also say that concluding gimmicks like three strikes laws and the death penalty cause more harmthan good hardly qualifies as pro-criminal. And before anyone gets upset about an NAACP rotest, they might want to consider Congress' recent action granting the president power to jail anyone in this country on terrorism charges without due process.

A little perspective helps mightily. Also, Orwell wrote about government taking away freedoms, not volunteer civil rights groups protesting issues...

[glasstique]

Very true Eric.

[B. Gooding]

Pathetic excuse for a moderator, of course Chris Matthews is a pathetic excuse for anything! Why wasn't neutral Floridians picked for a moderator?

Three strikes and the death penalty are gimmicks?? Tell that to the countless families of people who have been murdered by animals with 3 or 7 or 12 felony convictions who are still walking the streets. Tell that to the families of women who were raped and executed, who thought justice was life in prison, only to see the killer happily adjust to life inside prison where he has easy access to drugs, a prison boyfriend, and continues to be a threat to those around him. You can slice and dice it and put a dress on a pig, but in the end the democratic party - particularly blacks - is the best thing thugs and criminals have going for them.