Rocky vs. Hannity

As if things in Utah weren't already weird enough, last night the mayor of SLC engaged in a two hour debate with a Republican talk show host. Rocky Anderson has been very outspoken over the Bush administration over the past year and this led to a war of words with Sean Hannity over the airwaves, and eventually to the debate at Kingsbury Hall.

This place has been crazy in preparation for the big night. Yesterday was commencement on campus, but the Rocky/ Hannity debate was the main draw to the U. Tickets were made available on Wednesday and the line stretched around President's Circle. You would have thought it was the event of the year. For those of us who didn't have tickets, Fox 13 decided to televise the debate without commercial interruption. It was labeled as Rocky vs. Hannity - the Smackdown.

The title of the debate was appropriate, as it carried on the air of a WWE event. From the onset the sellout crowd was in an uproar. As either man made a point, he was greeted by a chorus of jeers from one side and a round of applause from the other. I thought both Rocky and Hannity were a bit over the top in stating their opinions. Each was given 30 minutes to present their individual cases. Rocky was systematic in presenting the evidence against the Bush administration, Hannity was the showman - with impressions, name calling, and video clips to indite Democratic leadership. After all the rhetoric from each participant, the best part of the debate was when the audience was allowed to question both men. These answers gave us some real insight, instead of simply hearing the same repeated spin.

In the end, each man made their main points. Rocky showed that the Bush administration has covered up a lot of important information under the 9/11 umbrella and that they should be held accountable. Hannity stressed that we need to support our troops or we'll be attacked again. I don't think anyone was swayed one way or the other, but everyone was entertained. One thing's for sure - for one evening in Utah both sides of the argument were heard, loud and clear.