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It was a surreal moment in the midst of a surreal news cycle. The governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf (D), and his Republican opponent, Scott Wagner, were sitting on the stage, their faces fixed and their hands clasped. And Alex Trebek, the host of "Jeopardy!" And moderator of Monday night's debate, joked that the only thing with a lower approval rate than the Pennsylvania legislature was the Catholic Church. .
The polite laughter of the audience quickly turned into a hue. Trebek, dressed in a purple-flowered tie with a matching clutch, looked at the crowd as he watched the two candidates face each other in an upscale hotel in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
"Do not go there," says the white-haired television host, waving a finger. "I was born and raised in the Catholic Church, and I am so taken aback that everyone is finished with what happened to the church."
He continued, unperturbed at the countdown and the fact that the debate was almost halfway. "When I was a young teenager, I attended a Catholic boarding school run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Two hundred and fifty students, other boys and myself, spent three years in the same home 24 hours a day with 44 priests and none of those three years was characterized by deplorable sexual behavior. Now the boys are strong enough, we speak, we would have known. So I think there are Catholic priests who can serve their congregations without attacking – this is the P-R-E-Y – the young people. "
The comments on the live broadcast of WNEP-TV were ruthless. "Where are you going?" Said one. "When can we hear the candidates?", Added another. A third spectator summed up: "Alex, shut up."
It was not the only time that the beloved host of the long-running game show was rewarded for his performance in the only Pennsylvania governor's debate. "The moderators of the governor debate are horrible for $ 1,000," joked Mike Stratford, Republican strategist in Pennsylvania. "Who is Alex Trebek?"
Trebek, who lives in California and hails from Canada, was not an obvious choice to moderate the forum. Joking at first that he was drunk when he accepted the request from the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he went on to explain that he had agreed on the condition that he could do things his way – by having a "conversation" and not a traditional debate.
Moderator Alex Trebek, in the center, speaks at a governor's debate between Democratic governor Tom Wolf, on the right, and Republican Scott Wagner in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Monday, October 1, 2018. The debate is hosted by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (AP Photo / Matt Rourke)
"What did I think?" He said. "My God, I'm not as bright as some of you, among the audience, think.This is not a game show tonight.It's serious stuff. And I can not begin to tell you how much pain and stress I have experienced in these many months because I accepted this invitation. "
The celebrity of Trebek may have attracted viewers who would not normally spend their Monday night watching a political forum. But in the face of the frustration of those who had watched the candidates on key issues, his frequent monologues and lengthy questions occupied a large part of the 45-minute debate. Trebek addressed a question by informing viewers that California has 40 senators and 80 assembly members, representing a legislator for 325,000 citizens – an anecdote that is not particularly related to the race of the governor of Pennsylvania. He began another by describing a car he had brought from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, to Wilmington, Delaware, several years ago. he presented candidates with lectures on civility and the pitfalls of a negative campaign. And he advised viewers to look for problems and vote accordingly.
John L. Micek, an opinion writer at the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, later wrote in an editorial: "That's what he did not do, it was giving candidates a chance to speak." Instead, Micek writes, the TV personality had "devoured most of the oxygen" in the play, joking with an innocuous question about the Philadelphia Eagles and then interrupting the debate to pronounce his speech. improvised speech on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
The host of the game, who donated to Republican candidates, but who was critical of President Trump in 2016 and considers himself politically independent, did not hesitate to share his thoughts on politics in Pennsylvania. He accused lawmakers of "interrupting education in this state for decades" and discussed with Wagner, the Republican candidate, state pension obligations. With only a few minutes left, he began to discuss with the public whether a separation tax on natural gas could benefit the state's economy.
"The separation tax would bring in a lot of money," said Trebek, after a concert of disagreements. "No, no, it would not be – who said no, it would not be – you have the impact tax that has brought in $ 1.2 billion over the past 7 years, and you're telling me that A departure tax of 6% would not bring money back?
Jill Greene, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, told Reading Eagle that Trebek's tone of conversation was "problematic" and criticized his frequent interjections and reversals.
"Mr. Trebek is to be congratulated for his rigorous preparation for this event, but he is not running for the governor of Pennsylvania," she added. The opinions of Trebek and the public should have played no part in this debate, and the Pennsylvanians did not gain anything from this exercise. "
On Twitter, the consensus was unanimous: Trebek had to stay true to his work. "It's not really serious, but the debate was terrible," concluded Ryan Deto from the city of Pittsburgh. "Hardly a politics, hardly a description of what the state government does."
"The problem with this #According to the PAGov debate, Alex Trebek does not seem to know how to formulate a direct and concise question, commented Adam Bonin, a Philadelphia election lawyer who writes for the liberal DailyKos blog. "Which is as ironic as anything I've ever seen."
Trebek had a fan in the local media: Steve Esack of Morning Call, who wrote on Twitter, "Alex Trebek did his homework. Wow! What questions and maneuvers about Wolf and Wagner? What debate up to now. "
And the critics of the viewers were not entirely negative. A Philadelphia resident called Trebek is "essentially the only reason to watch" the debate, while a Mechanicsburg viewer commented that it was "very cool to see him in a different role".
But a larger contingent – or at least more vocal – he went on, convinced that Trebek had achieved something rare: a bipartisan consensus.
"Alex Trebek did the impossible" joked an anonymous user of Twitter. "He gathered everyone in Pennsylvania to collectively agree that he had done a terrible job in moderating this debate."
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