Take out the trashing: Candidates should shape up

Wednesday's gubernatorial debate in the historic Capitol Theatre was OK as debates go, but voters who care more about issues than partisan, sound-bite sniping had reason to be disappointed.

Maybe Gov. Chris Gregoire, the Democrat, and challenger Dino Rossi, the Republican, took the presence of a stage and television cameras too seriously and opted for performance over substance. In the final analysis, the result was a head-to-head showdown that was long on sound bites and rhetoric and short on detailed answers to the questions presented to them.

For example, asked about immigration reform, the closest either got to definitive positions was that both agreed people should be citizens before they can get a driver's license. Granted, the broader issues of immigration reform and border patrolling are federal jurisdictional issues, but we expected more of what role the state should play in determining who gets what state services.

Too many questions went unanswered, while potshots between them were plentiful and obviously rehearsed. From Gregoire, it was what Rossi didn't do four years ago as chairman of the budget-writing Senate Ways and Means Committee. For his part, Rossi turned around virtually every substantive question asked of him and his positions to slam the incumbent's four-year record as governor.

As we continue toward the Nov. 4 general election, we'd suggest more of what the two candidates are for, not what their opponent is against. Let's see detailed positions, not pull-the-string-for-a-campaign-slogan.

Still, it's in the public's interest any time the candidates are brought together on the same platform so voters can get some idea of who they are and where they're coming from. The side-by-side approach is one we routinely use as an editorial board in questioning finalists for elected offices because it does offer an opportunity for at least some simultaneous separation on important issues.

We were very pleased to sponsor this event, along with the folks at the Capitol Theatre and KYVE-TV, which provided the feed for a live statewide audience on public television. It will also be available on TVW and both English- and Spanish-speaking public radio. Since information is critical to informed voting, this debate -- the third of five between Gregoire and Rossi -- is an important part of the overall campaign dialogue.

We thank both the governor and Rossi for coming to town and discussing issues of importance to the people of Central Wash-ington in a format that allowed the rest of the state to get some input on those issues, too.

While we have some criticisms of the way the candidates used the time available to them, we do think it was time well spent by all of us.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.

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