There was no Brain Suck moment for Culver, but it was odd during the Arizona immigration law question, that Culver claimed "Illegal is Illegal" and then criticized Branstad for wanting to fill up the jails with detained illegals.
Branstad scored when he said only 34% of flood money that has been allocated has reached businesses.
Culver tried to claim that it took Branstad 12 years to close the books on the 1993 flood.
Twelve years would be 2005 and almost to the end of the second term of The Pickle, Governor Vilsack.
Culver became annoying by wanting to go back several times to answer previous questions, on unemployment and preschool, when the debate had moved on to the next question.
At one point the crowd turned on him when he tried to go back to Terry Branstad not rebutting the preschool question.
Numerous times Culver tried to circumvent the format by wanting rebuttal time after he'd had a rebuttal.
I'm not sure why he just didn't use time from the next question to revisit the previous question, like he'd been doing.
I thought Terry Branstad scored when he highlighted how free preschool for all had actually hurt K-12 and College education, especially in lieu of Culver's 10% budget cuts.
Branstad hit a home run here when he said -- “Now we now know what I-JOBS is, It’s Illinois jobs”.
Branstad further drilled the point home when he mentioned the people from Illinois that marched with Culver at the University of Iowa Homecoming parade.
Culver lamely turned it into having support from all over including his sister here from New York.
Must be here to help him pack up Terrace Hill.
Is part of Culver bringing IBM, Google and Microsoft to Iowa include constant name dropping?
They must have required numerous free plugs.
Culver has also increased the total number of jobs created by 5,000 in one month, from the first debate figure of 16,000, to 21,000.
Culver continues to be no mathlete when he criticized Indiana as having unemployment at 50% above the U.S. average.
Indiana's August rate was 10.2%, during the same time period the U.S. rate was 9.6%.
I loved Branstad's shot at Staci Appel-sauce for brains and her Supreme Court sitting husband, Brent, when Branstad mentioned how partisan the judicial nominating process has become.
In his closing remarks, it sounded like Culver was claiming Branstad was Governor in the 1920s and I know during the debate I heard Culver call his opponent Blanstad.
Lastly, I felt sorry for the people that had to shake the hand Culver used to mop the flop sweat after the debate was over.
I did like Branstad's "You've tried hard, but the results speak for themselves. The status quo is not good enough" line, but he went to the well with it one too many times.
It only took about 5 minutes into a debate "focused on the future" for the Big Lug Nut to take us back to the '80s and it was about that time I noticed Culver had a sheen going on his face, but he wasn't sweating.
Culver was again name dropping IBM, Google and Microsoft, just like in the previous debate.
Chris noted that Culver criticized Branstad being for big business and wondered what Culver considers his trinity.
It must be okay for Google because they, along with Microsoft, are part of an industry that funds Dummycrats to the tune of 66 percent.
It was odd that Culver quoted Wall Street 24/7 as having Iowa seventh best in education and then saying we have the "best schools".
The online publication is actually named 24/7 Wall St and is based in New Rochelle, New York, but is incorporated in Delaware because it's a tax haven.
It was false for Culver to claim that the $90 to $180 dollars he's trying to by votes with would put fuel in people's tanks or food on their table, as Culver is proposing aNON- refundable tax CREDIT.
At the 34 minute mark is when Culver started to break into Sweaty Chetty, with his hand to the upper lip/mouth area before and after a question from Dean Borg.
I thought the "Yes or No Lightning Round" was a failure, with hardly any questions being answered with a simple yes or no.
What the hell is, "You need to look in the mirror before you start throwing stones"?
Does Culver mean, Let he who is without sin cast the first stone?
It's okay to say it that way Chet, after all you served as an Elder at Central Presbyterian Church.
Culver evaded the question of how he would re-invent himself, so I'm going with skinnier and less sweaty for him.
You can tell the Big Lug Nut is behind, because he had no sense of humor when asked about how he's been caricatured over the years.
At least Branstad handled it with humor when he kidded about cartoonist Brian Duffy making him look really short, and it was a nice zing at the Ragister's expense as they laid Duffy off nearly two years ago.
I agree with a Branstad supporter who said the fall election will be a contest between a man who's an ambassador for the state versus an embarrassment.
Now that's a first, because he previously blamed Attorney General Tom Miller for not allowing him to fire Lynn Walding at the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Divison.
A year later, Culver has still never fully come clean over his role in the film office fiasco involving the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED).
There are still problems lingering from his second term as Secretary of State, that may cost the state $576,000, and he wants another term as Governor?
The BLN brags that its only a half a million dollars, and in the scam of things it is only a drop in the bucket when compared to his $875 million (plus interest) I-JOBS program.
Dave Price, WHOHD, questioned the BLN on how many jobs have been created by his borrowing scam, it's a quest they began two months ago (No Controlling Authority?) and the Culver Crew still can't come up with an answer.
I've never been a fan of the Bill Clinton thumbs up
Culver seems to have got it down pat.
Branstad should have been more clear on the debate format, wanting response time, especially after the moderators had just gone over it with the viewers.
Culver stumbled over Sioux City seeming to call it Sewer Water City.
I love how Branstad shot down Culver's AAA bond rating by noting how Enron and Lehman Brothers both received the same rating from Moody's.
Culver used a majority of his time regarding the judicial selection process to go back to a previous question about bonding.
Culver seemed to be bragging about the 30,000 Iowans collecting extended unemployment benefits, but because Culver did not seek a change in the state's unemployment law roughly 18,000 Iowans have missed out on an 13 weeks of benefits paid for by the federal government.
When questioned by Branstad, Culver could not name one (let alone the three asked for) of his biggest mistakes, yet said he takes full responsibility for his mistakes.
That lends credence to the belief that the mistakes he's admitting to making are just an insincere campaign ploy.
When Culver was given a chance to question Branstad he just talked and talked before finally asking him to admit I-JOBS was being funded with gaming revenue.
Those revenues continue to fall and I-JOBS could end up being paid back from the state's general fund.
Branstad scored with the 300,000 jobs he created as Governor versus the 50,000 jobs Culver has lost.
Education came up and Culver brought up his two "amazing" children.
Those kids have made a commercial for him, Clare seems to take after her dad and John after his mom, Mari.
Culver also claims preschool could be the defining issue in the campaign, which makes me wonder what happened to embryonic stem cell research?
Just last week it was to be a key to Culver winning re-election.
Branstad pointed out that preschool should not be an entitlement, funded by taxpayers for everyone, but should be paid for on the basis of need.
Congratulations to Culver on not breaking out Sweaty Chetty until roughly half way through the debate.
When questioned about what he would have done different about the floods of 2008, Culver started off his response about the tornado that hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch and then mentioned being to Cedar Rapids 100 times.
When asked again what he would have done different, his response was nothing.
I loved how Branstad tied Jack DeCoster to the Dymmycrats with his $10,000 campaign contribution to Attorney General Tom Miller and to Culver via a $400,000 donation to the Democratic Governors ASSociation, which has funded Culver's campaign.
Thankfully nobody called Decoster a bad egg or a rotten egg.
I'm not sure what to make of Culver's claim that the "facts are getting in the way of the truth".
On the topic of economic development, Culver's plan to end brain drain in Iowa is with BRAIN SUCK.
As my lovely and talented wife pointed out to me, brain gain would have been more appropriate.
In his closing statement, Culver claimed Terry Branstad is against civil rights?
Larry is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and when you say that about someone in broadcasting it is quite a statement.
Larry and I worked for the same company when he was in news at WHO TV and I was at KLYF Radio.
Larry organized the company basketball team and just a couple years ago organized a successful (and fun) reunion of onetime WHO TV/Radio and KLYF employees, where I reminded him that my grandmother (98 this month) was the house mother at his Iowa State fraternity and Larry shared nice memories of that experience.
I'm trying to figure out if the look on Sweaty Chetty's face is one of dazed because of dehydration, or if there's a beer sign up ahead and he's dreaming of double fisting.
The Big Lug Nut is trying to scare us out of a "past we can't repeat" with Terry Branstad, but it is painfully obvious that Chet Culver is a future we can't afford.
From his $875 million (plus interest) I-JOBS borrowing scam, to the IDED film office fiasco and the IABD (Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Divison) bender that makes the RIO $19,000 carpet look like a wet spot.
How is it that the Governor can help three top level state employees find the exit sign over IDED, but can't get Attorney General Tom Miller to agree that one of Miller's former assistant Attorneys General, Lynn Walding, needs to be canned after improperly spending tens of thousands of dollars?
If all of this hasn't taxed your patience, there's also the more than $133 million increase in property taxes.
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