Best debate answer I’ve ever heard

I probably recorded 25 hours of candidate debates this spring, and I wanted to share the two-minute piece of audio above, which might be the best answer to a criticism I’ve ever heard in a debate at any level. I couldn’t post it during the campaign without seeming overly partisan. This was a race stocked with impressive, qualified candidates.

The audio is from an April 29 debate in Philadelphia’s 56th Ward among three Democratic candidates for the 13th Congressional District in Philadelphia and Montgomery County. In this recording, state Sen. Daylin Leach responds to a statement by Valerie Arkoosh, an obstetric anesthesiologist and first-time candidate.

Arkoosh was the only candidate in the race who’d never held elective office. She said Congress is full of career politicians who aren’t getting much done, and that she would bring the problem-solving perspective of a doctor and work with physicians of both parties to address the nation’s problems.

Play the audio above to hear Leach’s response.