Senate race square-off in Spokane

SPOKANE -- Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican opponent Mike McGavick disagreed about what the United States should do in Iraq and how to address the North Korean nuclear threat at two face-to-face forums here Thursday.

Neither candidate landed any crippling blows during the two polite face-offs -- a televised half-hour debate before the Spokane Downtown Rotary Club and a 90-minute session with The Spokesman Review newspaper editorial board. That wasn't good news for McGavick, who needs something to boost his lagging poll numbers.


		Joshua Trujillo / P-I
	Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican rival Mike McGavick pose for Robin Fontaine of Spokane on Thursday.

Although the two disagreed sharply about federal tax cuts, immigration reform and other domestic issues that have been the most contentious aspects of the campaign so far, their divergent views on Iraq were more a matter of differences in emphasis. Neither offered a clear-cut solution to the military and political morass.

The Democratic senator said the Bush administration must "change the course" of its Iraq war policy, develop a plan "that makes sure we hold the Iraqis more accountable" for the security of their country and make more of a commitment to seek help from the international community -- even countries that opposed the U.S. invasion -- to help stabilize Iraq.

"I've said to President Bush, 'send your father (former President Bush) and Bill Clinton' to seek the cooperation of other nations in stabilizing Iraq," she said.

McGavick said he "will stand second to no one in wishing the troops home. I want them home with victory."

At the Rotary Club debate, McGavick warned, "if we leave a vacuum behind, the terrorists will fill it ... they will follow us home." He pledged that he "will never vote for a war that I will not see through to the end."

McGavick observed that both he and Cantwell -- who voted for the Iraq War resolution -- "both would have voted to go there, based on what we knew at the time." Both, however, have said they would not have readily voted for invasion if they knew then what is known now.

Cantwell said the United States shouldn't rule out direct talks with North Korea in response to the Stalinist nation's apparent testing of a nuclear device. McGavick, however, sided with Bush's refusal to engage in direct talks, saying "it's important to keep China at the table," because it props up North Korea economically.

He said "the only silver lining in this horrible cloud is it has finally upset the Chinese."

The debate was the first of only two televised public face-offs that Cantwell has agreed to hold with McGavick -- who trails her in public opinion polls, fundraising and name familiarity -- although a couple of joint appearances before newspaper editorial boards will also be televised. McGavick had sought nine debates.

The only other debate will be at KING/5 studios in Seattle. Tuesday's debate will include underdog Libertarian candidate Bruce Guthrie, who met the station's criteria for a serious candidacy by mortgaging his home and depleting his savings in order to loan his campaign $1.18 million. Guthrie acknowledged he did so to qualify for the KING debate.

Guthrie showed up Thursday at the Rotary debate and The Spokesman Review forum, asking to be included. He was turned down for both.

The 30-minute Rotary Club event was so abbreviated that the candidates had little opportunity for expansive answers, but the editorial board forum let them flesh out their differences on such topics as these:

Medicare: Asked about the Medicare drug-benefit "doughnut holes" that cost recipients thousands of dollars, McGavick said "it is too early ... to decide exactly how to remedy it. The health care system itself must be reformed," the former insurance company executive added. "I happen to have expertise in this area."

Cantwell said that while the Veterans Administration requires it to give "a 28 percent discount right off the top," the Medicare drug benefit law "says that the government can't negotiate a price and can't help get discounts" from drug manufacturers.

Tax cuts: Asked if the temporary tax reductions should be made permanent as Bush wants, McGavick said they should be. He said growth stimulated by the tax cuts is outpacing budget needs.

Cantwell said she has worked -- unsuccessfully so far -- to make permanent the sales tax exemption from the federal income tax and to shrink tax brackets at the lower end of the income scale. She said the Bush administration has seen record budget surpluses turn into record deficits, and yet "we gave tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans."

National security: Asked if the Iraq war has made the United States more secure or less so, Cantwell said "We're not winning the war of ideas" worldwide because of Bush's lack of adherence to "the rule of law." And she said the United States must have cooperation of other countries in order to ensure its own security. McGavick noted that the United States hasn't experienced a successful terrorist attack since 9/11, but said the Iraq War hasn't made us safer "because we haven't figured out the winning strategy yet."

Immigration: McGavick said he favors the Bush-supported construction of a fence along the country's southern border.

Cantwell said "we do need border security ... but I do not support a $7 billion physical fence all across the miles of our southern border" or the northern border.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

ELECTION 2006

To watch a replay of Thursday's Senate debate, check out TVW (www.tvw.org) Monday at 7 p.m.

On Tuesday Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Republican Mike McGavick and Libertarian Bruce Guthrie will debate each other. The event will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on KING/5 TV.

P-I reporter Neil Modie can be reached at 206-448-8321 or neilmodie@seattlepi.com.

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