The great debate

It's going to be a freak show tonight. The fringe candidates will be out in full force trying to push their agendas. I think that's pretty cool. However, I think Status Cuomo will use it to say even less (if that's possible) than he already has. ...

And while many eyes will be on Cuomo's principal rival, unpredictable Republican candidate Carl P. Paladino, the minor-party candidates are already vowing to make things interesting. "I will chew them up," Jimmy McMillan said of Cuomo and Paladino. "I can't wait for the debate."

McMillan, also known as Papa Smurf, is the candidate of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party. In his minor-party gubernatorial bid in 1994 -- the year George E. Pataki defeated three-term incumbent Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, father of Andrew -- McMillan walked from his home in Brooklyn to Buffalo to highlight the need for affordable housing.

Then there's anti Prohibition candidate Kristin Davis, who's clearly looking for the female vote. As the only woman on stage, you can't blame her...

"I'm not really preparing. I'm working out, doing my nails, doing my hair," said Davis, who said she already knows well the issues she is pressing -- including legalizing marijuana and casino gambling and permitting gay marriage.

Davis called the event a "good opportunity" to point out problems with Cuomo, who she called "a career politician."

"But I'm going to let the boys play in the mud," she said. "... Voters are sick and tired of the negative campaigning. They're sick and tired of these men behaving badly."

And how would she stand out on a crowded stage in 90 minutes?

"I'm the only woman up there. ... I'll be the one in the skirt," Davis said.

With 7-way debate, potential is slim for much of substance - Politics - The Buffalo News

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