Eaves Issues Statement On Non-Debate

You may recall us being the first to report that the Mississippi Press Association had changed the format from "debate" to "forum" to protect Barbour.

Or you may recall the MPA's oh-so-witty reply to our breaking news that they had changed the format from "debate" to protect Barbour.

The Eaves Campaign has issued a statement (via press release) on the matter. Here are some excerpts:

“I was looking forward to giving the people of this state a chance to really compare where Haley Barbour and I stand on the issues that affect the lives of all Mississippians,” said Eaves. “The only way to do that is through a real debate, and while some people call this race a David vs. Goliath fight, the so-called Goliath keeps running away scared!”

During a normal debate format, Eaves would have had the opportunity to rebut misleading information provided by Barbour. However, because of the change in format that apparently came at the request of the governor, there was no debate.

“Gov. Barbour wants to paint a rosy picture about Mississippi’s economy, but the truth is we have the second highest unemployment rate in the country,” continued Eaves. “Under Barbour’s administration, unemployment has gone up, and we have a higher unemployment rate than Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Furthermore, everyone knows that good jobs start with a good education, and in the last four years college tuition has gone up 25 percent.”

A debate would have allowed for Eaves to confront Barbour with the tough questions. Instead reporters at the MPA event treated him with kid gloves failing to even ask him about his niece Rosemary Barbour being investigated by the FBI and having her offices raided the day before the forum.