Democrats made nice, not news

The Democratic candidates for governor made more nice than news Tuesday night in their much-anticipated televised debate. Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore were well-behaved and entirely civil - surely to the disappointment of those who had hoped for a more pointed exchange.
Perdue, after all, had avoided accepting a debate format for much of this campaign season, though she has participated in a lot of forums. Anyone watching the debate on WRAL would have wondered why she was reluctant to take part in a debate with Moore, who has aired ads critical of her performance on several counts. Moore cited her votes in favor of higher university tuition and for the state lottery as key differences between the two, but Perdue kept smiling and suggesting the debate focus on issues, not nitpicking old votes. I’m guessing her campaign was satisfied with her performance, though it seemed to me that Moore’s assertions and answers were crisper and quicker.
Moore’s problem was to portray Perdue as being wrong or making poor policy choices without also appearing to be a bully beating up on Perdue. He walked that thin line pretty well, but overall the tone of the debate was almost genial. The two agreed on a number of issues, including each candidate's clever commitment to make sure one of them would be elected governor in the fall. If there was any sting in this debate, that pretty much smoothed things over and left the impression these two candidates aren’t that far apart.