Each of the three Republicans running for governor in 2008 used their first debate to show off the characters they had chosen for themselves out of central casting.

Bill Graham, a Salisbury lawyer best known for his "Stop the gas tax" commercials, took his seat as the aggrieved outsider, railing against the failures of Raleigh insiders.

"I'm the outsider. I'm not the one from Raleigh, and that's what's different about me," Graham said during his opening statement.

Sen. Fred Smith, of Johnston County, showed up as the experienced executive and business owner, rather than playing up his time in the state Senate or as a lawyer.

"The governor is not a lawyer. The governor is not a judge. The governor is the leader and CEO of this state. That's what I do. That's what I've done all my life," Smith said.

In those and other remarks, Graham and Smith seemed to take rhetorical aim at one another, but largely spared former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr.

"That's why I was in the middle," joked Orr after the debate, noting he was seated between the other two candidates. He seemed to settle in as the scholarly elder of the trio, emphasizing the need for whoever is elected to work across party lines.

Orr may have been spared most of the barbs because his two opponents enjoy both a fundraising advantage and something of a lead in early polls.

In his answers, Orr sought to convince the audience that his experience winning and holding office on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court were credentials he could use to win and thrive in the executive mansion.

"The reality is the citizens of North Carolina, regardless of their political registration, are concerned about the issues and about the better ideas, the best idea, we can put forward to address" the state's problems, Orr said.

The audience in question was at least 150 mainly active Republicans, who gathered at High Point University's Hayworth Fine Arts Center. Included in the crowd were party luminaries such as U.S. Rep. Howard Coble and state party Chairwoman Linda Daves.

Many in the audience sported campaign stickers for one candidate or another, while the remainder seemed to be sizing up the three contenders in their first head-to-head-to-head meeting.

The winner of the Republican primary in May will go up against the winner of the Democratic race, right now a contest between State Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue. Libertarian Michael Mugner has also announced a bid.

When Saturday's debate turned to policy questions, the candidates found their share of common ground.

Orr was the first to answer a question to the three about which bills from the preceding General Assembly session they would have vetoed.

"Where do we start?" Orr said, drawing appreciative laughs from the crowd. He would have sent the state budget back to the legislature, he said, as well as a bill that created an incentive program to help large manufacturers like Goodyear and Firestone retool their plants.

Graham and Smith agreed with both of those. Smith added he would have vetoed the bill that created an earned-income tax credit.

On other questions, the differences were largely stylistic.

"The folks shouldn't trust the Democrats on this issue. You're going only to get bigger government, more bureaucracy, more taxes and you're actually going to get less access when it's all said and done," Graham said when asked about his agenda for health care reform.

His answer sought to contrast his reply with the approach of Democrats on the issue, going so far to refer to Sen. Hillary Clinton, a presidential contender.

Graham said the government needs to work with the insurance industry to come up with plans people can afford.

Orr prefaced his answer by saying government could not arrive at a solution on its own.

"I think one fundamental thing that we as a society and we as a state can do a far better job and that is in preventative steps," Orr said. "We know that we have an obesity problem in the schools. We know that there are numerous members of our society that put off and put off health care until it's too late."

Preventing diseases early on could help avoid more serious problems and costs, Orr said.

Smith outlined the type of insurance he offered his employees, saying he has opted to help provide insurance with a high deductible and to give employees health care savings accounts.

"Our employees become good consumers of health care. They look at what the cost is going to be," Smith said.

That approach is similar to one pitched by Republicans in Congress over the years.

On other issues, the differences among the three were more stark, such as the replies when they were asked about affirmative action as a criteria for admission to public universities.

Orr prefaced his answer by pointing to the need to reach consensus on the issue among different parties, something he had done in other replies throughout the evening.

"It's an issue that I think creates a lot of tension and antagonism between communities within our state and our nation," Orr said, adding it was "fundamentally wrong" to give admission preferences based on someone fitting a "special category."

He lumped into those categories legacy admissions, students whose parents are either big donors and/or prior graduates of the school in question.

Smith, by contrast, was direct and unequivocal.

"Affirmative action no longer has any place in American society," he said, adding that government needed to be in the business of creating a "level playing field" for everyone.

"Then leave it up to each individual as to how many points they're going to score on that playing field," Smith said.

Graham, who has been vocal on curbing illegal immigration, seemed to catch some in the audience off guard with his reply.

"I disagree with Fred (Smith) on this issue," he said. "I think there is a place for affirmative action as long as it doesn't overreach to deny otherwise qualified students the ability to engage in higher education."

Graham said there were inequities that were in some cases created by the state -- he was very critical of the public school system during the debate -- and said there should be a mechanism for addressing those inequities.

"It would take a lot of our folk and push them backward, and I don't want to do that," he said of doing away with affirmative action. "We've got to have all segments of society with the ability to engage in as high (level) of learning as they can achieve. And if they need a boost up, whether economically or otherwise...they should be allowed to have that opportunity."

Article by Mark Binker, published in the Greensboro on October 21, 2007 and available online HERE. Picture above by David Holston, The Associated Press.