Mayor Adrian Fenty and challenger Vincent Gray held a televised debate this morning on the set of NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt, where they discussed jobs, economic development, education and communication. Unlike recent forums in which the two have engaged in, the television format took a little bit of the bite out of the proceedings — it’s hard to maintain vitriol with commercial breaks every twelve minutes, after all. With such stringent time constraints, both Fenty and Gray were forced to pack as much pertinent information into as little time as possible — not that it stopped them from taking a few snipes at each other here and there.

Fenty — whose style is far more suited to the format — conceded that his issues with communication have cost him points in the race.

“It’s absolutely something I’ve got to work harder on in my second term,” Fenty said. Gray countered by noting that the recent spat over an extension to the Summer Youth Employment Program was “emblematic” of the Mayor’s continued inability to work with the legislature. The debate revealed that the two men had not had a one-on-one meeting in seven months.

A large portion of the discourse consisted of broad attempts to tackle big issues, like reducing unemployment and encouraging development east of the Anacostia River. Gray repeatedly stressed the specifics of his economic and education plans, while Mayor Fenty was quick to talk about the projects his administration had produced: various commercial enterprises in Wards 7 and 8 and new schools.