In between innings of the Phillies-Dodgers playoff game, I switched over to watch a few minutes of the 4th Congressional District debate between Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave and her Democrat challenger, Betsy Markey.  To my surprise, I watched the rest of the debate and didn’t get back to the game.

Let’s just say that anyone who thinks Sarah Palin is a lightweight better not be caught saying good things about Betsy Markey, whose biggest concerned seemed to be her annoyance that many of her campaign speeches are recorded by Marilyn’s campaign staff.  (Gee, Betsy, did you get the nasty footage of Marilyn for your commercials from the Tooth Fairy?)

Marilyn provided substantive answers, compared to Markey’s sweet nothings. Moreover, the “lightning round” questions, designed to illicit yes/no answers to key policy questions left me wondering if Markey realizes that despite the millions spent to bash Marilyn in elections past, the 4th CD is still very conservative.

Here were a few key differences, straight from both candidates during the “lightning round,” that truly should make this an easy choice:

• Drilling for oil in Alaska: Marilyn YES, Markey NO.
• Does Congress spend too much on ethanol?:  Marilyn NO, Markey YES.
• Support Amendment 46 (which bans preferences or discrimination based on race or sex): Marilyn YES, Markey NO.
• Support Amendment 58 (Gov. Ritter’s energy tax hike): Marilyn NO, Markey YES.