I ask because of this:

Will the Vermont gubernatorial race between Republican Brian Dubie and Democrat Peter Shumlin be all about missteps and mudslinging?

The tone and tactics Monday both during and following their first debate suggested voters should expect a lot of rough-and-tumble politicking from these rivals for the state’s top job.

I listened to that debate.  It was civil, polite and issue oriented.  The only personal comments were positive, with Shumlin talking about what a great guy Dubie is and Dubie talking about how great it was that Shumlin loved his kids.  

They challenged one another on issues and made their points of view clear.  They also challenged one another on facts.  To be fair, the Free Press piece did eventually address the substantive aspects of the debate.  It just waited thirteen paragraphs to do so after the headline “Dubie, Shumlin grow testy in first debate.”  Contrast this with the Rutland Herald coverage, which focused primarily on differences between the two campaigns, and only spoke to personal issues towards the end of the article.

It’s not as though the Free Press doesn’t have the opportunity to report the facts of the debate in a fashion which is helpful and of value.  They just, apparently, prefer to push the narrative of nasty squabbling, despite the extremely tame debate that was just held.

Maybe we should all just listen for ourselves.