"I think Case probably expressed himself better, with more clarity, but he seemed a little pushy, a little edgy, whereas Akaka is so laid-back, so slow in his delivery. It's hard to really compare them as equals on a stage. It made me consider a few other angles I hadn't looked very closely at, but I don't know that it's going to change my opinion."

"I liked the clarity of Sen. Akaka's position opposing privatization (of Social Security). Case waffled a little bit. He kept referring to Bush without giving any particulars. I think the senator also did real well on the energy question. I think he named specific Akaka legislation proposals that address Hawai'i's energy problems."

"I think that Ed Case had a much better grasp of the issues. I think his facts and figures were spoken with much more conviction and confidence, and I felt he understood the issues. It's hard to say that Sen. Akaka doesn't understand the issues. But I don't think he articulates them well enough for us to have the confidence that he can take a position and represent Hawai'i into the next generation in a manner that it needs to be represented."

"Case looks like he's more for the big corporations. Akaka seems to be more down to earth, schoolteacher type who would help the people more, even though he cannot speak too good. He's just like me. I think both sides got their views through, but I wanted to hear more about illegal immigration and the federal debt."

"Akaka demonstrated why we need a younger and more vital young man to take over. I think that Case underlined that with his performance. What I liked about what he had to say was he was more of a centrist, he wasn't knee-jerk conservative or liberal. To me he's more of a thinker, he's thinking about these things more deeply. ... Akaka's performance was so poor that literally it put me to sleep."

"I watched the debate thinking it might be time for a change. By the closing statements I was a die-hard Akaka supporter. Ed Case was inconsistent, some times bashing the Bush administration, sometimes heralding it. I want a man who stands on issues and can be dependable like Dan Akaka, not a flip-flop like Case."

"I think that Sen. Akaka is getting slow ... he was not always able to keep his train of thought. (He) should understand the need for the transition rather than wait and perhaps have both senators leave at the same time."

"I believe Hawai'i and the nation needs Sen. Akaka ... now more than ever. If Bush's goal is to take the U.S. to war with Iran, we need people with the integrity, which Sen. Akaka possesses, to stop him. ... Many people in D.C. look and think like Case. Akaka is 'one of a kind,' and he is so rare there is no one in D.C. who can come close to his Hawaiian thinking and presentation."

"I thought Case was very focused and on point, but Akaka, I think, reached out to his constituency more on an emotional level. I am more aligned with Case's points on all the issues in general, specifically Iraq, taxes and our economy. With respect to our local economy I tend to agree with his (Case's) more moderate views than I do to the hard-line Democratic views of Akaka's in terms of taxes and other (economic) issues. I do believe Case's position on the Jones Act is really flawed. I don't think he fully understands or appreciates the impact the Jones Act has had on the United States in general, not just Hawai'i, and Sen. Akaka is fully aware of its importance to the state of Hawai'i, and he has demonstrated that in Congress."

"Case gave clear-cut answers, straight to the point, no wishy washy and he talked about things that people think about. He might have made some enemies tonight when he talked about the Jones Act; he targeted one particular company, saying why he thought it (their work in the Islands) wasn't proper. He (Case) always made sure his position was understood, clarified it, then answered the question. Mr. Akaka didn't seem to be giving clear answers to the questions that were given. Overall I think Mr. Case gave a good point of why he's running. He's thinking of the future of Hawai'i and he's willing to step in there and do what needs to be done."

"Very good format. Moderator did a very good job. Sen. Akaka was very reasonable in his comments and I liked that he answered the questions without blaming his opponent. Ed Case constantly referred to Sen. Akaka and not what he thought."

"I'm in favor of smooth transition. The part that is probably the forefront on a lot of people's minds is the unfortunate situation in Iraq. From my standpoint, Case was of the opinion that we broke it, we need to fix it. To cut and run at this point, I am not the least bit inclined to think that that is the right approach. ... He's (Akaka is) an elderly statesman and he's obviously done his best and I think we have two elder statesman right now and we need a transition. Akaka's willingness to say it's always worked in the past, it's the good old boys and this is the way to get things done; we're in a new millennium now and he's served us well, but we owe it to our families to step back and let the younger folks take a shot at it."