After a day of televised campaign ads questioning Andrew M. Cuomo’s manhood and countercharges emphasizing Carl P. Paladino’s “total lack of substance,” one thing is now certain:
The two candidates for governor will meet in a debate Oct. 18 at Hofstra University on Long Island.
Paladino late Thursday accepted the Hofstra debate offer after purchasing three minutes of airtime on all three Buffalo television stations to again suggest that Cuomo had an affair when married and challenge him to discuss campaign issues face to face.
But almost as he spoke, Hofstra, the Long Island newspaper Newsday and News 12 cable television announced that Cuomo and five minor-party candidates accepted the debate invitation, causing Paladino to accept and put to rest one of the nagging issues of the campaign.
“Andrew Cuomo is playing games with the voters. His fear of addressing the issues has been clear for weeks, and he accepted the Newsday debate only when he heard Carl had a scheduling conflict,” said Paladino campaign manager Michael R. Caputo. “Well, that’s no problem. We’ve changed our plans to accommodate Cuomo’s busy schedule hiding from the voters.”
Full Story: Carl Paladino gets his wish for a debate – The Boston Herald