McClintock Pummels Schwartzy On-Air
Although they're not scheduled to formally debate until September 24, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock had the opportunity to engage in some verbal sparring Friday morning.I'm reminded of Mark Anthony offering Julius Caeser a crown three times. I don't know why...
The hosts of the "Armstrong and Getty" talk radio program, which airs on KSTE-AM in Sacramento, orchestrated a surprise on-air confrontation between the two candidates. McClintock entered the studio during a telephone interview with Schwarzenegger, and the two had their first public conversation since the campaign began.
McClintock immediately took the offensive, asking Schwarzenegger to participate in a debate at the state Republican convention, which starts today and runs through Sunday. "We've got a Republican convention coming up this weekend, you and I are the two Republican candidates now left in the race, why don't we get together and discuss the major issues of this campaign?" said McClintock.
Schwarzenegger replied that he'd be "more than happy" to "get together" with the McClintock, but declined to participate in a debate.
Undeterred, McClintock repeated the challenge to engage in a public face-off on the issues. "Can we do that in a debate before the convention Saturday?" he said. "We're both going to be there."
Schwarzenegger again declined, but added that he would be more than happy to meet privately with McClintock to discuss the issues facing California.
McClintock extended the invitation to debate a third time, but Schwarzenegger again demurred. "We will talk about all those things, and we will have a great time at the Republican convention," he said, just before ending the phone call.
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