01
Feb
The Not-So-Great Debate
Hillary won by not losing. That’s the bottom line takeaway from last night’s low-risk/low-reward Democratic Party love-in… I mean, conversation…. uh, CNN debate between Hillary-Billary and Obama-Wan Kenobi. It was, in the pundits’ words (accurate for a change!) very “calm, civil, cordial, and sedate,” a non-confrontational confrontation wherein the previously sharp edges were all softened, and most of the differences blurred… There was little fire and certainly no fireworks, as the overall tone of harmony and unity on deliberate display led one to suspect that Party elders and officials from both campaigns clearly must have agreed in advance that the time had finally come to stop standing in a circle and shooting and instead turn their fire on George Bush and his presumptive heirs – where it really belonged in the first place!
Obama’s remark that he was “friends with Hillary before this campaign, and I will be friends with Hillary after it” epitomized the evening. Where there differences were addressed, they were highly predictable, focus-grouped and campaign-tried-and-true. Hillary ran out her experience trope: remember, she’s the one who will be “Ready from Day One.” Obama politely countered with his judgment mantra, nicely phrased as “Right from Day One” to underscore his anti-war street cred. Both aimed various sallies at the crucial California constituency of Latinos – with Obama repeatedly trumpeting his endorsement by Ted Kennedy and questioning Hillary on her since-corrected political misstep of supporting the ill-fated Eliot Spitzer driving- licenses-for-the-undocumented plan. She was for it before she was against it, soto speak…
When the two candidates had finally finished their restrained, wonkish interchange, CNN trotted out the “chief strategists” on both sides to reiterate their candidate’s major points once again in a thankfully truncated fashion. David Axelrod naturally and effectively hammered Hillary on her indefensible Iraq position; a less-composed and effective Mark Penn relied on clichés to tell us:
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1. Hillary will be ready on Day One (again!)
2. Universal health care is important
3. So is “comprehensive immigration reform”
4. And the economy
5. And—oh yeah – Iraq…
Penn in fact came off as incredibly lame on the subject of Iraq, thereby compounding his candidate’s problems with the issue. (Note to Hillary’s people: Why do you send out this overweight, sweating and hardly mediagenic guy to “spin” the press and the public? He’s terrible at it!)
What’s it all mean? Clearly the Democratic faithful will be happy with either of the Last Candidates Standing as their standard-bearer in November. (Of course by now, most of them are so sick of Republican rule they would welcome a corpse as a candidate if convinced it would win.) But overall, this was Hillary’s debate - and now it’s her race – to lose, and at the very least, last night was a tie. Obama remains the neophyte challenger who needs to make up ground – and not much ground shifted.
So Hillary won by not losing – and Obama lost by not winning. Simply appearing presidential—he certainly has grown into at least looking the part — wasn’t, and isn’t, enough to put him over the top. In order to continue his momentum and vault into the lead, he needed to show that there are large differences between him and Hillary on crucial issues – and other than on Iraq, he failed to do so.
So yes, Barack “won” on Iraq – but in light of the plummeting economy, the issue seems to be fading in relative importance to both the candidates and the voters. Meanwhile, Hillary obviously “won” on health care, by clearly positioning herself as the one candidate with a plan to ensure truly universal coverage. She generally “won” on substance as well; he triumphed again on style – and many argue that voters base their choices more on personality than actual politics.
Who will win on Super-Duper Tuesday? Will the Amazing Race continue to go beyond? Might we eventually see a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton “Dream Ticket?”
Stay tuned, as they used to say back in the day!
If ‘it’s the economy,stupid’ is now the ‘concern of the day’, It should be real easy to tie the Iraq/Afghanistan expenditures to why the economy sucks. Not that such spending is the root of the problem but they don’t want to discuss that and the talking heads of the media are apparently too intimidated or dumb to ask the right questions.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:40 pmI think the debate last night was a Grand Slam Home Run. For the first time I heard two intelligent persons talking serious about the God given country He has given us. My hats off to both of them.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:41 pmStay that way.
That is the kind of talk the people want to hear.
Intellegent talk and intelligent answers to what can be done to get our beautiful country back on the right direction.
Keep the good work up.
“God Bless America”
Interesting how Obama said he would be “RIGHT from day one” ( NAIVE?) and that has been repeated by many news sources. BUT then at the end of the debate when stating he didn’t want just yes people working with him but also people that could say no to him “BECAUSE I”M NOT GOING TO BE RIGHT ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE”.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pmFunny how people and the media cherry pick only what they want to hear and sell. His contradicting himself and finally speaking the truth shows he even lost the Iraq issue in the debate.
Hillary Won by Winning! She answered every question wiyth clarity, depth & savvy. Right On Hillary! I still can’t get over Obama’s praise of Republigun ideas & Reagan.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:24 pmI think Hillary just cooled her jets because her public popularity dropped after continually attacking Obama when she was desperate.
Obama, pushed into resonse vs. turning the other cheek was immediately bombed for finally sticking up for himself and his honor, as he should, but the two headed monster was armed and ready to fire!!!
They had to do something, ad I’ll bet Hillary’s camp offered a deal so she could take super Tuesday, i’ll just bet…
February 1st, 2008 at 1:37 pm (edit to #5)
February 1st, 2008 at 1:39 pmUtterly tangential, but has it occurred to anyone that not requiring driving tests of illegals potentially asks for the risk of more highway mortalities? What if they are lousy drivers? It’s not their rghts being infringed upon so much as all of ours, wherever we come from.
S
February 1st, 2008 at 1:43 pmI find it fascinating that you say “Hillary won by not losing.” Did she really win? I’m not so sure. Today, MoveOn.org members–many of whom surely watched last night’s debate–registered their opinion on which candidate the organization should support. As the press release says: “In a resounding vote today, MoveOn.org Political Action’s members nationwide voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President. The group, with 3.2 million members nationwide and over 1.7 million members in Super Tuesday states, will immediately begin to mobilize on behalf of Senator Obama. The vote favored Senator Obama to Senator Clinton by 70.4% to 29.6%.” That’s right, 70 to 30 in favor of Barack Obama. Granted, MoveOn.org’s membership probably doesn’t represent the full spectrum of Democratic primary voters, but it’s a sign that the times they are … well, you know how the phrase goes.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pmI believe that Sen. Clinton, was the winner as she is simply the better debater and smarter.
Is it not time for a women as President? I believe so. This should be a very exciting time for women in this country! Wake-up 53%.
I am a successful,very well educated democrat-not a member of the “lower-strata” democrat, often mentioned as her core supporters. There are many men with multiple college degrees that support her.
We must win, and there is no one able to think as fast on their feet as Hillary. Experience matters. Who will best debate the Republican candidate. Think about it. Remember the ‘04 debate between Edwards and Cheney. Never again!
Go Hillary
February 1st, 2008 at 3:58 pmGreat t-shirt idea for Barack’s campaign: a picture of Bush next to a picture of Killary, and then a cute little slogan…”EVERY ALCOHOLIC NEEDS AN ENABLER.”
February 1st, 2008 at 9:43 pmObama will be RIGHT from day one? That strikes me as he’s saying he will be like Bush in his decision making. Bush’s problem from day one has always been he wanted only yes men, no naysayers or fencesitters in the middle. I believe Obama realized his political faux pas when he said later he wanted people around him who would say no, “Because I’m not going to be right on every issue!” I’d hope he meant what he said because Obama sounded like a Bush in Democratic clothing. We don’t need another Bush wrecking the country, nor do we need a Bush-like presidency.
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 amIn my humble opinion Barack is starting to believe his own hype,the second coming as it were.Hillary may not be the best, but she has depth and offers more than flowery rhetoric. Barack is a powerful orator and with that he has an awesome and special responsibility a great orator can move people to action and change history and yes they can deceive and while singing the sirans song . we must be more alert to what the orator is saying and where the power of the word is leading. it is imperative to glean what what can of the nature of the person, to focus on the person and not to surrender to the power of the word. to assess and try to measure the spirit and conviction through deed as well as word. I personally feel Barack the person does not match up with the sweeping glorious hopeful speeches that seem at odds with the deeds he has used his wonderful speeches to hurl sharply barbed words at his opponent and then cry foul when he is called on it. he seems to hide in his words and feign being besieged and put upon, and then the defenders come forward and give him cover. Barack has already gotten away with as much as Bush jr. when he ran for the office those years ago. I ask in fairness can anybody criticize Obama without a knee jerk defensive reaction to protect him .Yes I see signs of racism in this campaign but it seems to be from the most liberal elements of the party who feel that he must be protected from the words and observations of others .Let him stand on his own let every subject be discussed let the American public move ahead in an open and frank process. let the chains of racism and political correctness be forever broken. let this campaign set us all free. If this is to be the dawning of a new day in America let us be sure to be direct let us not pull any punches let us exorcize the demons that have plagued us from the start and look at one another eye to eye judging only by the content of a mans soul. we can be better we can make history but we must admit conflict. we must speak the truth openly and freely without regard to pressure from the right or left. we must once again reclaim the moral high ground and wrest it from the likes of “Move on dot org.” “swift boat veterans,” “Rush Limbaugh”,”Al Sharpton,” and all the others who claim ownership of the moral high ground in America . I will listen and respect anybody who has placed it all on the line for a better nation and not a headline if that were the case Britteny Spears should be the nations Guru. I love this country and divergent thought the longer one lives the more we realize that right and wrong good and bad are balanced by honesty and truth. freedom to speak openly. without being a member of a team ! freedom to raise the tough questions and more important a willingness to Listen to the answers and grow through the conversation .I have found that however far apart we are that when people have a willingness to respect the others point of view free from the shackles of ideology open to change and belief in the ability of humans to eliminate the ego ( I am right not you ) or the artificial bonds of the collective ( my team is right not yours )We are all made better for it. what we see in politics is no different than the foolhardy who blindly obcess on a sports team to the point of injury to the non believers . this is a pivotal point in the American revolution. will we listen, debate on the merits of the issues, or shall we bond with a team and always cheer that team. Shall we chastise demonize and dehumanize the other. have we grown ? are we ready to have a true discussion, and evaluate each issue with an open mind, willing to listen and learn from each and every candidate .Shall we continue to let the media and the leeches who feed off the notoriety and ratings frame the debate for us. My friends this debate is about an evolutionary process it is about avoiding the mental and spiritual traps.It is about America coming of age. not republican bad democrat good or any other false issue it is about hearing truth asking the tough questions and in the end respect for other points of view since we all share the same needs and we may all find differing ways to help meet those needs but but when we stiffel speech we are all held back from what we are meant to be and take our place in the ongoing history of mankind .
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:15 amHow did Obama “win” on Iraq if he’s supposed to differentiate his policies with Hillary’s? They both have the same position NOW.
I can defend Hillary’s position even if she can’t. The Iraq War Resolution was a resounding success, forcing the inspectors back in who were doing their jobs and finding out the truth. Then Bush pulled out the rug from under them.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:10 pmSenator Clinton did a fine job in her debate with Barack. She was right on point. His plan to give illegals a drivers license met with a good response and good challange from Hillary. She has a plan for just about everything. The change, Barak is always harping on, would be to get the GOP to go along with the other side of the aisle and vise versa. We have a two party system and everyone in this country should have a voice. It will be nice though to have Democrat strength for a change, just to show those Rethugs how this two party system is suppose to work!
February 2nd, 2008 at 7:47 pmBarack Obama is an able spkesman for inspiration, but not change. Hillary Clinton is no John edwards; but she is the safer choice by far. Te Democratic candidate doesn’t ned a game plan–all she/he has to do s toi commit to reversing every totalitarian idiocy, fraud, lie, failure and satist tyranny committed by Republican untruths, dogma and impracticality in the last fifty years. I wish t were John Edwards doing it, who knows a good bit of what’s wrong ewihout our constitution,d ead since 1994. Hllary is much sounder on every plan. In a ahoice between competence with lowered charisma and charisma with lowered competence, I’ll take the former every time. And I suspect so will the nation’s voters.
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 pm