Maine delegation favor own party candidates

WASHINGTON – Members of the Maine congressional delegation saw vastly different results during the debate between President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry held on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., Wednesday night.

Rep. Tom Allen, a Democrat, said that he watched the debate at his home in Portland. Kerry “was speaking to what’s happening in people’s lives,” he said. “Bush kept talking about Kerry. That was the most dramatic contrast.”

Allen said that he disagreed with Bush’s assertion that the majority of his tax cuts have gone to lower and middle-class people. “That is flat-out not true,” he said.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, called it for the President. “I thought that this debate was the President’s strongest performance yet,” she said in a written statement sent just after the debate. “His responses to questions were thoughtful, his views were clear and consistent, and he drew a sharp contrast with Senator Kerry.”

Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat, said in a written statement that the debate further convinced him that Kerry has a better plan to stop the outsourcing of jobs, lower health care costs and provide tax relief.

“The current administration simply has not shown leadership on these important issues,” he said.

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said, “Tonight the President presented a clear and convincing case detailing his views and accomplishments on those key domestic issues of education, lower taxes and a long overdue Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors. The American people have a clear and positive choice with a president who has demonstrated leadership and a proven record on the issues.”