Hackett Strong In Final Ohio Debate

As a P.S. to my previous piece about Democrat Paul Hackett's dynamic bid to win Ohio's Second Congressional District seat in the heavily-Republican Cincinnati area, I have a couple of quotes from his final debate with opponent Jean Schmidt last night.

The local press pretty much has Hackett trouncing Republican Schmidt, who gives all indications of being nothing more than a Bush/Cheney puppet and apologist.

"I support the president in his mission to make sure the enemies of freedom stay on their shores and not on ours,"' Schmidt said. "We have to keep our eye on the ball or the ball will come back to harm us."

Schmidt said the Bush polices on Iraq are succeeding, declaring, "The seeds of democracy have been planted. Democracy is on the march."

Hackett, a former Marine, who recently served seven months in Iraq, said the reality on the ground is not what the Bush administration paints it to be.

"It's not pretty over there, it's not Hollywood, and we are not spreading democracy," Hackett said emphatically.

Hackett also ridiculed George W. Bush's promise in the 2000 presidential campaign that his administration would not engage America in nation-building.

"Guess what, folks?" Hackett said. "We're nation-building."

The election is Tuesday.