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 For all their policy differences in the battle for the nation's
largest swing state, the squabble over a small ground-level fan at
Crist's legs will likely be the most remembered moment of an
otherwise forgettable debate.
Both candidates seemed more concerned about scoring points against
their rival than answering a dozen question from a panel of veteran
Florida journalists at Broward College in south Florida.
The debate was produced by a local CBS-TV affiliate and the second
of three scheduled between the two candidates, and followed by a
Spanish-language debate last week on the TV network Telemundo.
It got off to a bizarre start as only Crist took the stage with the
broadcast already live. The moderator announced Scott would not come
out due to a disagreement over the fan at Crist's feet.
Scott's campaign said the debate rules allowed for "no electronics
on the podium," according to one panelist, presumably a reference to
equipment that might be used as cheat sheets or prompts for the
candidates.
 Crist was asked by Rosemary Goudreau from the Sun Sentinel if he was
in violation of the agreement.
"Are we really going to debate about a fan or are we going to talk
about education, and the economy and the future of our state. I mean
really!" Crist replied.
That prompted cries of "Follow the rules," by some Republicans in
the audience.
When Scott finally appeared, moderator Eliott Rodriguez remarked to
the audience; "Ladies and gentlemen, that has to be the most unique
beginning to any debate, not only in Florida, but I think anywhere
in the country."
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After the debate, Scott's campaign manager Melissa Sellers issued a
statement saying, "Crist can bring his fan, microwave, and toaster
to debates - none of that will cover up how sad his record as
governor was compared to the success of Rick Scott."
The Crist campaign issued its own fund-raising email after the
debate, which stated: "If you're as amazed as I am by what you just
saw, chip in a few bucks right now to make sure this guy doesn't get
to stay our Governor."
Once the debate got underway a few minutes late both candidates
wasted no time attacking each other, despite warnings from the panel
that the public was upset with the negativity of the campaign so
far.
The two candidates stand on opposite sides of a number of key
issues, including education funding, same-sex marriage, medical
marijuana, Cuba policy and raising the minimum wage.
Polls show the two candidates neck and neck in the race in a state
that Scott won by only 60,000 votes in 2010.
(Editing by Bernard Orr)
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