September 5, 2008 — U.S. Sen. John Kerry and challenger Ed O’Reilly of Gloucester squared off in a debate at the WBZ studios, hosted by political analyst Jon Keller.
Kerry and O’Reilly, both Democrats, are on the ballot for the Sept. 16 primary. The winner will face the lone Republican challenger Jeff Beatty in the Nov. 4 election.
During the 30-minute segment, Keller posed questions to the candidates. Each were given one minute to respond, and there was an open period for rebuttal and cross talk for each question.
When asked if they would vote to authorize putting U.S. troops in harms way, Kerry reminded all that he was once one of those troops, and said he makes decisions based on the security of the country.
“We have a Department of Defense, not of Offense,” O’Reilly said when he got his turn. He cited Kerry’s 2002 Senate vote to authorize the military to enter Iraq, and said Kerry had not read the National Intelligence document.
“I would make sure I read that,” O’Reilly said.
