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Last updated on Wednesday, October 15, 2008
(BLOOMINGTON) - Barbs were also traded, in almost a one-sided fashion, in the debate. The evening started off amiably enough as Daniels and Thompson traded half-hugs jokingly as Thompson had to scoot onto her mark for TV.
But as the questions came from moderator Tom Cochrun, Daniels and Horning tried to answer them as much as a politician could, however, Thompson tried to sting Daniels on economic terms with every opportunity.
Questions were less political, and more personal, asking, for instance, who the candidates' biggest influence was.
Daniels cited Senator Richard Lugar, whose 1976 campaign he managed in his first foray into politics.
Long Thompson pointed to the pilot of a United Airlines plane which crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989. She credits Al Haynes with saving the lives of about two-thirds of the passengers and crew by refusing to give up on landing the plane, despite the loss of two engines.
Horning said Richard Nixon...but in a reverse way, saying it showed him what was wrong with government.
One question that is almost stereotypically asked at job interviews was what the candidate's biggest defeat or failure was, and how they used it to make themselves better.
Daniels recalled a night he spent in jail while in college that he said caused him much shame, but he forced himself to admit it and his willingness to face that music got him a job on Senator Richard Lugar's reelection campaign.
Long Thompson recalled how her family almost lost their farm in the ag crisis of the 1980s, and how it helped her focus on economic ideas.
Horning simply said he's had lots of failings, and though they weren't as interesting as his opponents, he would blog about them on his website.
On the issue of what government's role in society should be, Daniels says government mustn't crowd out the work of the rest of society. He says government at its best enables institutions from business to little league to function smoothly.
Democrat Jill Long Thompson says it all goes back to keeping citizens safe and secure, a responsibility she says links up to education, a strong economy and energy independence.
Libertarian Andrew Horning repeated his call for a government strictly limited by the Constitution, calling government a "junkyard dog" that needs to be kept within the junkyard.
There was a lighter moment when Cochrun asked the candidates to rate the general Assembly's competence on a scale of one to 10.
Long Thompson at first declined to give a number before giving legislators an "8 or a 9."
Horning awarded a "9 for intent but a 1 for execution."
Make sure you keep watching WBIW.com or listen in to a special edition of WBIW News at Noon for a fact check on claims made in last night's debate.
Network Indiana contributed to this report.
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