The general consensus after Tuesday’s California gubernatorial debate was both candidates performed as expected. Democrat Jerry Brown was smoother and more comfortable behind the mike; Republican Meg Whitman was a bit stiff, but may have won over some voters simply by exceeding expectations.
Mr. Brown had the best line of the debate when he said that he would save taxpayers money because he wouldn’t be able to start drawing his pension until after serving his term. “I’m the best pension buy California’s ever seen,” he said.
A Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll released shortly before the debate found Mr. Brown leading by a margin of 49 to 44 percent. He’ll need that cushion to withstand a spending onslaught from the Whitman campaign: Mrs. Whitman recently broke a record by bringing the total of her own lending to her campaign to $119 million.
