sbdcsierra Chapter 79 Enters the Middle Section
Chapter 79 Enters the Middle Section
Chapter 79 enters the middle section (bonus chapter for Alliance Leader "Xiaobing will always support you")
The debate has entered its middle stage.
The initial tension subsided somewhat, and the discussion shifted to more specific areas that tested the candidates' practical abilities: administrative experience and urban future planning.
This is Leo's weakness.
He was too young after all, and apart from the newly launched "Revival No. 1" project, he had no experience in managing large public institutions.
And this is precisely what Cartwright excels at.
The host posed a pointed question about the balance between municipal budget deficits and public services.
Following Ethan's prepared strategy, Leo attacked the city hall for being bloated, inefficient, and wasting taxpayers' money.
This should have been a scoring opportunity.
But Cartwright's next reaction surprised everyone.
He sighed, a frank expression on his face.
"Mr. Wallace is right," Cartwright said earnestly, looking at the camera. "Our city hall can be inefficient and frustrating at times."
"As mayor, I hate this inefficiency more than anyone else."
"But why?"
Cartwright spread his hands, his tone becoming earnest.
"Because democracy itself is inefficient."
"In Pittsburgh, if I want to build a road, I must first listen to the opinions of residents in five communities along the route, pass the environmental assessment, go through three rounds of hearings with the city council, and balance the interests of the unions, contractors, and taxpayers."
"This process is long, painful, and even ugly."
"But I have to do it."
"Because I sit in that position, I have to be responsible for everyone in this city. I have to make sure that someone collects the garbage every morning, that the traffic lights on the street corners are working, and that snowplows can get into every community when it snows in winter, even with a tight budget."
Cartwright's voice carried a sense of vicissitude.
"Mr. Wallace, it's easy for you to shout slogans outside because you don't have to make decisions or face difficult choices."
"It's like writing poetry and fixing a water pipe."
"Your poem is beautifully written, full of passion and ideals. The water pipes I repair may be unsightly, and they may sometimes drip a few drops of water, but they ensure that the city is leak-proof and that the citizens have access to drinking water."
"That's governance."
"It wasn't some romantic revolution; it was just day after day of tedious, even somewhat dirty, patching and repairs."
The studio was very quiet.
Many middle-aged and elderly audience members nodded involuntarily as they looked at the balding, somewhat overweight man on stage, whose face was etched with fatigue.
They understood.
These words struck a chord with their deepest longing for "stability".
They may not like Cartwright, but they admit that keeping this old city running is a tough job.
Cartwright successfully portrayed himself as "an imperfect adult who tries his best to maintain order in this imperfect world."
Leo, on the other hand, is portrayed as a dreamer who is oblivious to the cost of daily necessities.
Backstage, Karen Miller's expression changed.
"That old guy—what a brilliant tactic," she murmured to herself. "He neutralized Leo's attack by admitting his mistake. He disguised his mediocrity as a necessary sacrifice."
Leo, standing behind the podium, also felt the change in pressure.
The feeling of being in control of the entire situation is fading away.
His opponent was like a ball of cotton; no matter how hard he threw a punch, it was easily neutralized.
"Watch out, Leo."
Roosevelt's voice echoed in my mind.
"This old guy's got some skills."
"He's not the kind of empty-headed bum who can only read from a script."
He knew how to use the "banality of evil" to justify himself; he portrayed incompetence as helplessness and compromise as responsibility.
"If you keep attacking his details and his inefficiency, you'll be dragged into the mire and become just as petty as him, and then you'll lose."
Leo took a deep breath.
He understood what Roosevelt meant.
We can't get entangled with Cartwright on the level of "fixing the pipes".
We must elevate our perspective.
We must bring the battlefield back to the "future" and "direction".
Leo looked at Cartwright with a respectful expression.
"Mr. Mayor, I respect your honesty and the hard work you put into fixing the water pipes."
Leo spoke, his tone sincere.
"I believe that you have indeed made tremendous efforts to keep this city running over the past eight years."
""
"However, the crux of the matter is—"
Leo's voice suddenly turned sharp.
"The whole house is on fire, and you're still there fixing that leaky pipe."
"The challenge facing Pittsburgh is not whether anyone is collecting the garbage, nor whether the traffic lights are working."
"It's not that we're talking about young people leaving the city in droves! It's that our industries are declining across the board! It's that our population is shrinking irreversibly!"
"Your proud repairs and patchwork may allow this city to linger for a few more years, but they cannot prevent it from its inevitable demise."
Leo leaned forward, his gaze intense.
"We are not facing a maintenance problem, we are facing a survival problem."
"We don't need a skilled plumber to maintain the status quo."
"We need a new architect to redesign the future of this city!"
"You say democracy is inefficient because you equate compromise with the entirety of democracy."
"True democracy is about inspiring people's creativity and getting every citizen involved in the city's rebuilding, just like we did in the South District."
"That's not chaos, that's vitality!"
This counterattack was like a heavy hammer striking a drum.
It brought back the dull atmosphere of "getting by" to the exciting level of "survival".
For the next half hour, the debate reached a fever pitch.
Cartwright was steady, shrewd, and meticulous, using his extensive administrative experience and data to build a series of defenses.
Leo was ambitious and eloquent, often spouting memorable quotes. With his grand vision for the future and his deep empathy for the suffering of the people, he launched one charge after another.
This was not the one-sided crushing of the other that the two had imagined before the debate.
This was a closely contested match.
A debate about "stability" versus "change," about "reality" versus "ideal."
Viewers in front of their television sets watched intently.
Even the most critical political commentators had to admit that this was the highest-level and most brilliant debate in Pittsburgh's history.
Right now, nobody knows who will win or lose.
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