* Greg Hinz thinks Gov. Quinn got the best of Aaron Schock on the “Morning Joe” program earlier this week…

The two men who some think will be their respective party’s 2014 nominee for governor shared a TV platform this morning, and thanks to some self-inflicted damage, I give the verdict to incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, over potential rival Congressman Aaron Schock, R-Peoria.

Here’s why…

Mr. Schock started off well and achieved the prime goal of anyone in such matches: hogging the microphone. In fact, Mr. Quinn didn’t even get a word in until halfway through the 9-minute segment.

But after making his points how the GOP’s Mitt Romney is running even in the polls with President Barack Obama, Mr. Schock stumbled when Mr. Quinn challenged him on the inability of House Republicans to get their act together and pass a multiyear funding bill for road and transit projects.

“We passed a five-year highway bill, the Senate passed a two-year bill, and we’re now working out the differences” in a conference committee, Mr. Schock countered. “I think the House passing a five-year highway bill is a step in the right direction.”

The only problem is, the House didn’t pass a five-year transportation funding bill. And it appears highly unlikely to do so.

Speaker John Boehner did propose one, but he never called it for a vote after his caucus became divided over exactly what projects to fund and how to pay for them. Nor would Mr. Boehner call for a vote the two-year bill that passed the Senate with a wide bipartisan majority.

* Ted McClelland also thinks that Quinn won…

Schock was elected to Congress when he was 27, and doesn’t seem to want to stop there. When asked about his ambition for higher office, he uses this line: “In politics, you never know who’s going to die, retire, or — in Illinois — get indicted.” It’s hard to imagine him leaving Washington, where he’s become one of the most celebrated congressmen, for Springfield, where he won’t be able to maintain his tan or buy designer suits. If he does run for governor, though, he’s already lost his first debate with Quinn.

But McClelland also wrote this…

The two politicians were interviewed together on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Tuesday morning, speaking from the NBC Plaza in Chicago. Schock appeared tan, fit, tailored and eager. Quinn appeared whiter-shade-of-Irish pale, bloated, rumpled, and grumpy. He was either irritated enough to poke Schock in the temple or hungry enough to use him as the filling for a Breakfast Buddy.

* The video…

* Unlike Quinn, Schock effectively countered the governor’s talking points. Quinn said that President Obama “saved” the auto industry and added that Ford was doing much better here now. Schock acidly pointed out that Ford didn’t get a bailout. Quinn, on the other hand, didn’t say a word about Schock’s blatantly false statement about the transportation bill.

But Quinn did effectively counter Schock after the young Republican said he wouldn’t accept ten dollars in federal budget cuts in exchange for one dollar in revenue increases. Quinn claimed that Ronald Reagan, who’s from Illinois, wouldn’t be successful in today’s Republican Party because Reagan raised taxes and closed tax loopholes. Schock then countered that the Republicans want to close loopholes. Apparently, that doesn’t count as new revenue under Schock’s construct, though.

* Quinn has done a much better job of pushing back against Schock since that appearance. He whacked the Republican but good on Don & Roma’s show yesterday, for instance…

Click to download

* Schock is firing back as well…

Gov. Pat Quinn’s critique of House Republicans as focused only on obstructing the White House is “nonsense,” U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock said Wednesday. […]

“The president knows what he’s doing when it comes to reviving the economy,” Quinn said on MSNBC. “He’s got to have some cooperation, Aaron, from the House of Representatives. All you’ve been is obstructing the president. You can’t even pass a transportation bill, which we did in our own state of Illinois.”

On Wednesday, Schock said that criticism was “nonsense.” For example, the House has at least tried to pass a transportation bill, while President Barack Obama has sat on the sidelines without his own proposal, Schock said.

“The only reason we’re discussing a highway bill right now is because the House put forward its version, the Senate put forward its version, and now we are negotiating between the two bodies to try and come up with a compromise,” Schock said. (Congress faces a June 30 deadline when current highway funding expires.)

Schock also downplayed any interest in running for Illinois governor – talk that surfaced previously but has flared after his run-in with Quinn. Schock said Wednesday he’s not “running for anything other than for Congress.”

“Well, I haven’t ruled anything out, but at this point, I’m not worried about it,” Schock said.

* Schock effectively hogged the microphone, got away with a major falsehood and looked more relaxed on TV. He does talking points with ease. Quinn looked rumpled, slouched in his chair and sounded like he was repeating an Obama press release.

I can’t see how you can give the “debate” to anyone but Schock. Quinn, however, marginally won the post-debate, but I’ll bet a whole lot more people watched the “Morning Joe” segment than saw the resulting Internet coverage of Quinn’s push-back. And instead of solely focusing afterward on Schock’s falsehood about the transportation bill (that nobody cares about in the abstract anyway), he should’ve also continued to hammer Schock on the Reagan angle. He’s right. Reagan would be a liberal socialist to today’s DC GOP crowd.

So, Schock wins this round. And Quinn really needs to up his game if he plans to continue going toe to toe with the kid.