Public needs gubernatorial debate

For the first time since 1990, when Democrat Ann Richards and Republican Clayton Williams ran for the governor's office, there may not be a an official Texas gubernatorial debate during this election year. Gov. Rick Perry says he will not participate in a public debate with his opponent Democrat Bill White until White releases his 15-year-old personal tax records. This is a ridiculous, thinly veiled attempt from Team Perry to avoid a debate and paint White as a shady businessman.

It should be clear that Perry is not actually accusing White of having done anything illegal or corrupt. He just says that the public would benefit from knowing how much money White earned "serving the public" in the mid-1990's. It's a nice sentiment, but the public would benefit from a fair and open debate between the candidates that allows for a side by side comparison on the issues.

Other than the "I know something you don't know" attitude coming from Perry and his campaign, there is little reason to believe that these documents would reveal anything other than the fact that Bill White is really, really rich. That's no secret, and Perry is wealthy too.

The Perry camp continues to insist that the governor would love to debate White.  However, putting aside the fact that Perry is the one refusing to attend the debate over ancient and likely underwhelming tax documents,  no one on Perry's re-election campaign could seriously want to see Perry on stage with White.

Both candidates on stage together will invigorate the White campaign and put Perry in a position where he has to debate the issues. Issues such as the state's deficit, the uncontrollable inflation of tuition and the rising unemployment rate.  All of which took place on Perry's watch.

Obviously attending the debate is not in the best interest for Perry, but debates are not held for the candidates. They are for the voters. The public deserves a chance to hear both candidates talk about issues side by side in order to decide who to vote for based on what is important to them and not based on the TV campaign ads we are sure to start seeing anytime now.

Perry has an edge over White in the polls. Not only is he the incumbent, but he has held the office longer than anyone in history. Maybe the debates will give White a bump. Maybe Perry will say something stupid and have to walk it back afterward. He should do it anyway because the people deserve to see it.