cleveland.com: Weblogs

cleveland.com: Weblogs: "Blackwell and Petro Debate--as Mark Naymik apes the Meet The Bloggers format--

Ken Blackwell won’t publicly debate Jim Petro, but the Republican gubernatorial hopefuls squared off at the Plain Dealer this morning.

Their hour-long meeting before editors and reporters produced some long-winded answers and displays of short temper. Their disdain for one another showed during a discussion of their competing plans to cap state spending.

“Local governments have every reason to be scared to death,” Petro said about Blackwell’s plan.

Referring to Petro’s version, Blackwell shot back, “You want to talk about gimmicks? You want to talk about somebody who can’t hold a position for six months without being exhausted?”

The meeting ended with a stiff hug between the two candidates and this line from Blackwell: 'The fact of the matter is, as tough as we campaign and debate, I know that if, in fact, you would win, you will be much better than Ted Strickland -- but I intend to win.'

Click on the links below to hear audio of the full session:

Listen to Part 1

Listen to Part 2

Listen to Part 3

Listen to Part 4 "