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To the Editor:

Thanks to the miracle of the internet, today I used my computer to watch a replay of the Georgia Gubernatorial debate between Messrs. Hayes, Perdue and Taylor. I wasn't able to watch it live on Sunday, and I failed to record it, so I appreciated WMAZ-TV (Macon) making the broadcast available at their website. Predictably, Garrett Hayes, the Libertarian candidate for Governor, was the only one of the three candidates who focused on the issues. Incumbent Governor Sonny Perdue (R) and Lt. Governor Mark Taylor (D), spent most of their time sniping at each other.

When Hayes was asked if he wanted to respond to any of the personal attacks that the other two were hurling at each other, he offered a variation of the famous "There you go again" line, which Ronald Reagan used

to deflect Jimmy Carter's barbs during the 1980 televised debates. The Hayes variation was "Well, there they go again," and the audience seemed to understand and agree.

The sniping continued and when Hayes was offered a second opportunity to respond, he said, "No, I'm just waiting to get back to the issues." Often in such debates, a participant will ignore a direct question asked by a panelist, and will use the opportunity to jab at an opponent. That was the main action between Perdue and Taylor, while Hayes kept trying to bring the debate back to the issues.

I've read some print reports on the debate, and seen some TV coverage, and was disappointed (but not surprised) that most of the coverage had to do with the potshots exchanged between Perdue and Taylor, and little to do with what the positions

of the candidates are on the issues. During the debate, Hayes was able to make clear his three points, even if they weren't adequately covered later in most of the media reports:

Hayes would focus on eliminating the state income tax, working for real eminent domain reform without any loopholes, and working with the Georgia Congressional Delegation to pass the "Fair Tax." And lest anyone think Hayes was partial to Republicans because he used a variation of a Ronald Regan quote, he gave an equal nod to Democrats by concluding with a Libertarian flavored variation of a Jack Kennedy quote, "Ask not what government can do for you, ask if there is anything government will allow you to do for yourself."

Cordially, Chuck Esposito