Dominion Post - Steady Key Lands Blows (front page)
National leader John Key looks to have set his election campaign back on course with a steady performance in the crucial first televised leaders' debate against the more experienced Helen Clark.
Audrey Young - NZ Herald
Before the first leader's debate Helen Clark said election campaigns bring out the best and worst in people. She was right.
The debate brought out the best in John Key. He looked human, he talked about real people, real redundancies and up against the policy supremo, he more than held his own. She was awful to begin with, talking mainly in theories and statistics. Berating him over the Springbok tour was a mistake.
She was more convincing when talking up her leadership record. She had by far the best campaign launch on Sunday but he wiped the floor on the debate.
