SPECIAL PRESENTATION.

EYEWITNESS NEWS AND "THE

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL" BRING YOU

LIVE COVERAGE.

NOW A CAMPAIGN 2012 U.S. SENATE

DEBATE.

RIGHT NOW FROM RHODE ISLAND

COLLEGE, THE FIRST LIVE SENATE

DEBATE, BETWEEN SHELDON

WHITEHOUSE AND BARRY HINCKLEY.

WE HAVE A LOT OF IMPORTANT

ISSUES TO DISCUSS TONIGHT AND

WE'LL TACKLE MANY OF THEM AS WE

TRY TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT THE

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO MEN

LOOKING FOR YOUR VOTE.

OVER THE NEXT 60 MINUTES, WE'LL

BE GOING IN DEPTH.

THIS DEBATE IS AIRING LIVE RIGHT

NOW ON WPRI, AND ON LINE AT

WPRI.COM.

I'LL BE MODERATING THIS DEBATE

ALONG WITH TED NESI AND EDWARD

FITZPATRICK.

WE WILL BEGIN WITH ONE-MINUTE

OPENING REMARKS.

I WANT TO ASK EVERYONE TO PLEASE

HOLD YOUR APPLAUSE UNTIL THE

VERY END OF YOUR DEBATE SO

EVERYONE CAN HEAR THE ANSWERS.

THE ORDER FOR OPENING STATEMENTS

WAS DETERMINED BY A DRAWING.

WE BEGIN WITH BARRY HINCKLEY.

MR. HINCKLEY IS THE FOUNDER OF A

SUCCESSFUL SOFTWARE COMPANY,

PRIOR TO THAT HE HELPED RUN HIS

FAMILY'S BOAT-BUILDING OFFICE.

MR. HINCKLEY YOUR OPENING

REMARKS.

GOOD EVENING, AND THANK YOU

SO MUCH FOR SPONSORING THIS

EVENT, CHANNEL 12, AND "THE

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL."

THANK YOU ALL IN THE AUDIENCE

HERE AND AT HOME FOR TAKING TIME

OUT OF YOUR DAY TO LEARN MORE

ABOUT THESE TWO CANDIDATES.

SENATOR GOOD TO BE HERE WITH

YOU, ALTHOUGH I AM A LITTLE

UNCOMFORTABLE BEING TO YOUR LEFT

HERE.

I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS

POLITICALLY POSSIBLE.

BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO

TONIGHT.

ON A MUCH MORE SERIOUS NOTE,

TIMES ARE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT

IN RHODE ISLAND.

I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO RHODE

ISLANDERS ABOUT THE PREDICAMENT

WE FIND OURS IN.

A LAST-PLACE TEAM RHODE ISLAND

IS 50TH IN BUSINESS

FRIENDLINESS, AND WITH THAT

COMES HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HERE AND

IN OUR LEGISLATURE.

TONIGHT YOU WILL HEAR TWO

DIFFERENT PLANS TO SOLVE THE

PROBLEMS AT OUR FEET.

SENATOR WHITEHOUSE WILL MOST

LIKELY SPEAK ABOUT HIS PLAN,

WHICH IS MORE GOVERNMENT, MORE

TAXES, AND MORE REGULATIONS.

THANK YOU, MR. HINCKLEY YOUR

TIME IS UP.

NOW SHELDON WHITEHOUSE.

MR. WHITE HOUSE WAS ELECTED TO

THE U.S. SENATE IN 2006.

PRIOR TO THAT HE WAS THE

ATTORNEY GENERAL FROM 1999 TO

2003.

MR. WHITEHOUSE YOUR OPENING

REMARKS.

THANK YOU, TIM, THANK YOU

TED, AND ED, AND THANK YOU RHODE

ISLAND FOR HOSTING US, AND THINK

YOU TO THE VIEWERS FOR TUNING

IN.

LISTENING.

LISTENING IS PROBABLY THE MOST

IMPORTANT THING I DO AS A U.S.

SENATOR, AND I HAVE HEARD LOUD

AND CLEAR, AND I UNDERSTAND HOW

DIFFICULT THE SITUATION IS IN

RHODE ISLAND RIGHT NOW.

HOW HARD THE ECONOMIC TIMES ARE

FOR MANY PEOPLE IN RHODE ISLAND

THIS HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A TIME OF

SUFFERING, AND THAT NEENS WE

HAVE TO PRESS HARFOR JOBS AND

ECONOMIC RECOVERY, TO SUSTAIN

OUR COUNTRY'S ECONOMIC RECOVERY

AND ACCELERATE RHODE ISLAND'S

ECONOMIC RECOVERY.

IN DOING SO, WE HAVE TO DO THAT

FROM THE MIDDLE CLASS OUT.

WE HAVE TRIED PUSHING ALL OF THE

BENEFITS TO THE TOP AND HAVING A

TRICKLE DOWN.

THAT'S WRONG, AND IT DOESN'T

WORK.

AND AS WE DO THIS WE HAVE TO

PROTECT THE BASIC MAINTAINS OF

THE MIDDLE CLASS, MEDICARE,

SOCIAL SECURITY, AND PELL GRANTS

FOR UPWARD MOBILITY.

THANK YOU, MR. WHITEHOUSE.

GENTLEMEN LET'S DIVE RIGHT INTO

THE TOPICS AT HAND.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR AN OPEN AND

HONEST DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES.

WE ENCOURAGE BACK AND FORTH AS

LONG AS IT'S WITH THE TOPIC AT

HAND.

IF I FEEL YOU ARE GOING TOO LONG

OR NOT ANSWERING THE QUESTION, I

WILL JUMP IN.

LET'S JUMP IN.

GENTLEMEN, OUR POLLS SHOW THE

BIGGEST ISSUE FOR VOTERS RIGHT

NOW IS JOBS.

SO LET'S START THERE.

MR. WHITEHOUSE WE'RE GOING TO

BEGIN WITH YOU.

WE HAVE THE SECOND HIGHEST

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE

COUNTRY.

WHEN YOU CAME INTO OFFICE

UNEMPLOYMENT WAS 4.8%.

WE STAND HERE TONIGHT AT 10.5%.

DEMOCRATS HAVE HAD COMPLETE OR

PARTIAL CONTROL OF WASHINGTON,

D.C. THAT ENTIRE TIME.

FOR A RHODE ISLANDER LOOKING FOR

A JOB, WHY NOT GIVE THE REINS

BACK TO REPUBLICANS?

ACTUALLY DEMOCRATS HAVE NOT

HAD CONTROL OF WASHINGTON DURING

THAT ENTIRE TIME.

WHEN I GOT THERE PRESIDENT BUSH

WAS IN CHARGE AND IT WAS AT THE

END OF HIS TERM THAT THE BIGGEST

ECONOMIC CALAMITY TO HIT THIS

COUNTRY SINCE THE GREAT

DEPRESSION TOOK PLACE.

AND I THINK THAT EXPLAINS WHAT

HAPPENED TO OUR ECONOMY.

WE HAVE NOT SPRUNG BACK AS FAST

AS WE SHOULD HAVE.

THE STRATEGY WE HAVE TO FOLLOW

IS PRETTY CLEAR TO COME BACK,

INNOVATION, MANUFACTURING, AND

INFRASTRUCTURE, ARE THE THREE

AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS,

AND THAT'S WHERE I HAVE PUT IN A

LOT OF MY WORK.

IF YOU DRIVE BY THE PROVIDENCE

MALL, YOU'LL GO OVER A LAND

BRIDGE, IF YOU GO UNDER IT,

THERE ARE PLANKS ACROSS THE HOO

BRIDGE TO KEEP THE HIGHWAY FROM

FALLING IN.

WE NEED TO IMPROVE OUR

INFRASTRUCTURE, THE SOUTHBOUND

LANE, BECAUSE OF THE

[ INAUDIBLE ] IS ABOUT TO BE

RESTORED ANOTHER PIECE OF

LEGISLATION THEY WORKED FOR ONCE

FUNDED WILL ALLOW THE NORTHBOUND

LANE TO GET DONE.

WE HAVE A KNEW CRANE AND PIER AT