Christine O’Donnell and Chris Coons debated tonight on the University of Delaware campus. The outcome of this debate, hosted by Delaware First Media and the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication, will be judged soon enough by the so-called experts in the world of politics and punditry… but for simple-minded folk such as myself it became clear early on who won tonight.

The People of Delaware.

We’ve heard all the talk about bearded Marxists and witchcraft. We’ve seen all the headlines about masturbation and overdue school loans and abortion and raging far-left radical progressivism. What Delaware finally got to see tonight was the clear distinctions between these two candidates…on the issues that matter to Delawareans. Whoever supported Coons before tonight will continue to do so. Same with O’Donnell. What remains is which way the undecideds and Indys will go…and each candidate did an outstanding job of making their case.

Coons told Delawareans that he supports, by and large, the Obama agenda of tax the rich and spend like a drunk teenager with Mom and Dad’s credit card. O’Donnell told them that she only worries herself with what the People of Delaware want…not what the Republican party or the power brokers in DC want.

Coons unashamedly made his case for spending even MORE money where Obama’s agenda has come up short…O’Donnell made the case for abandoning those ideas for something…ANYTHING…that is more appropriately aligned with what we actually make rather than what the Federal Government thinks it can TAKE from citizens they deem wealthy enough to hand over their money to pay for these (and future) policy initiatives.

Delaware now knows what it’s being asked to decide: elect a big Government tax and spend Liberal or a constrained Government reduce or repeal Conservative…they will make their choice, and that decision will be honored respectfully (we hope) by both of these candidates. But there’s something else…

What Delaware ALSO got tonight, was the chance to see the Christine O’Donnell some of us around here already knew; sane, normal, fierce, stubborn, strong-willed, and determined to keep in the fight until the fight is done – despite the roadblocks that have been put in her way…especially the ones from within her own party. We also saw a Christine O’Donnell who is comfortable in her own skin.

This lady’s the real deal, regardless what some of you might have heard…and despite the “she can’t win” meme the experts keep pushing on us, I suggest folks consider the alternative to an O’Donnell victory and start thinking about how to make sure she actually does. There have been bigger underdogs in our history that have ultimately prevailed when they got the support they deserved…

Any candidate can win if they have the money and the boots on the ground. ANY candidate. At issue in Delaware, and all across the country, is whether we want to double down with the Obama agenda or ask for a new deck. O’Donnell is just one card in this game, but I like the odds.

What can I say, I always root for the underdog…it’s how I roll.

[Cross-Posted]