mhasten@lafayette.gannett.com

After starting off saying nice things about each other in a radio debate Thursday, gubernatorial runoff candidates Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette and Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge wasted little time getting into squabbles over who is conducting a negative campaign.

The candidates accepted Gov. Mike Foster's offer to use his weekly radio show for a forum. Jindal was in the New Orleans station studio where the show originates; Blanco was in Lafayette.

Host David Tyree asked each candidate to state the best qualities the opposition would bring to the office.

Blanco said that Jindal has "a beautiful family" and that he would "stand as a good example of what a family man should be." Jindal said Blanco had "done a good job representing the state" in her 20 years in elected office with "not a hint of scandal."

The tone changed when listeners called in questions on a variety of subjects, especially when a woman asked Blanco how she expects Louisiana voters to trust her after charges of Jindal conspiring with "the Republican Truth Squad," the Republican Governors Association and other groups to attack her during the runoff proved to be untrue.

"The truth is, the Republican Truth Squad ran a scam on me in the primary," Blanco said. "There are so many various groups launching attacks on me that I can't keep up with them."

Following the debate, Bob Mann of U.S. Sen. John Breaux's office played for reporters a scratchy recording of what he said was a message left on a Lafayette resident's telephone answering machine. What sounds like a computer-generated voice says the call is from "The Republican Truth Squad" urging voters to choose Jindal or fellow Republican Hunt Downer on Oct. 4 because "Kathleen Blanco is not a Republican. She's a Democrat" who supported Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Edwin W. Edwards.

"You should be truthful," Jindal told Blanco, outlining a series of claims she made about attack ads that she later retracted when it was shown the ads didn't exist. "I haven't seen the first third-party attack ad against you."

Blanco countered "It's been a beautiful strategy turning the attack on me." She said Jindal's offer of no negative campaign ads "was a ploy" and "I'm reluctant to go along with anything you propose."

Jindal pleaded "Let's be honest with voters." He said he has pulled all ads mentioning her name and the Republican Party has discontinued the mailing of a campaign flyer criticizing her "attacks" on him.

He again asked Blanco to pull an ad on black radio stations that says he and the Republican Party don't want black people to vote Nov. 15.

"When you're asking people to go out to vote, it's not negative," Blanco said.

"You can energize people to vote without telling people we don't want them to vote," Jindal said. "Everybody should vote. Sometimes when politicians get desperate, they'll say anything to get elected."

The candidates agreed that the juvenile justice system needs to be reformed.

On the state's charity hospital system, Jindal said he would propose a constitutional amendment so hospitals and higher education aren't the primary targets when the state budget has to be cut; would allow local leaders to decide how hospital funding would be used; establish a three-year base funding so hospitals can plan; and provide more health insurance so patients will use physicians instead of emergency rooms. Blanco said she wants more available insurance and a summit of health-care professionals and insurers to develop a plan for state hospitals.

Both candidates said they will try to bring more insurance companies to the state so competition could bring down the high cost of homeowners' insurance.