Harold Ford Jr. was on WATE's Tennessee This Week and also on WBIR's Inside Tennessee today. Bob Corker was also on Inside Tennessee. You can watch Ford's interview on WATE'S Tennessee This Week here [1]. (WBIR does not have an online archive of Inside Tennessee that I can find.)

Ford was strong on both shows, and the Inside Tennessee show was the closest thing to a debate East Tennesseans will get to see here. Although the candidates were on separate segments and not together, they were both asked almost the same questions. Based on their answers, the contrasts between the candidates could not be more clear. Ford was more relaxed and confident, he displayed a better command of the facts, and he offered clearer views on the issues.

The differences in character were clear, too. When Corker was asked if he had anything good to say about Ford, Corker jokingly said that Ford is a better talker and does better on the talk shows. When Ford was asked the same question about Corker, Ford said that Corker is a decent guy and has a wonderful biography and a beautiful family. (Although he interjected that he didn't think Corker has much depth on serious national issues.)

When asked if he had made any mistakes, Corker (in a bad parody of of Bush when he was asked the same question) stammered and stalled and couldn't come up with anything. When Ford was asked the same thing, before the question was even finished he said "Clearly. I don't suggest by any means I'm perfect." When pressed to name a mistake he had made during the campaign, Ford said without hesitation that he regretted calling Corker a "wimp." (But he stood by the "three stooges" remark when asked about it.)

About the only memorable thing Corker said was in response to a question about what he thought would tip race in his favor over the next couple of weeks. Corker said "Tennesseans will want to send someone to the United States Senate who is like them." The Mrs. and I looked at each other in disbelief. My reaction was "He did not just say that, did he?" The Mrs. said "Too bad Betty Bean wasn't there." The impression we got probably isn't what he meant, but it sure sounded funny, and not in a funny ha-ha way.

TAG TEAM UPDATE: Egalia at Tennessee Guerrilla Women has this report [2] on the Ford and Corker interviews on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.