As in the preceding post, congratulations to ABC on the best debate format of the cycle. Now, if they could get some debaters . . .
My impressions of the Democratic debate:
Barack Obama ~ Clearly the winner. He stayed above the fray, acting statesmanlike without being overly condescending. He's playing to his winning themes and spouting his vague but positive generalities effectively. Obama may be the perfect proof that, to be a serious contender for the Presidency in modern politics, one need not BE a leader, but only appear leader-like.
Hillary Clinton ~ She came across as tough and combative, but perhaps also a little scary. You just knew that at several points Bill was backstage flinching, ready to duck a flying lamp. Still, in a debate lacking real substance, she supplied almost all of it.
John Edwards ~ A surprising strategy of ignoring Obama and attacking Hillary didn't help him. Obama is the guy he needed to weaken if he aspires to be the "NOT Hillary" alternative. It's almost as if he is playing to be Obama's Veep choice, which will never happen. The anti-corporate rhetoric is tired old '60s radical shtick, but playing on the fears of the ignorant and the resentment of the underachievers is proven liberal Democratic boilerplate. We won't have to listen to his ranting much longer, I expect.
Bill Richardson ~ In 2003, I declared him the most formidable Democratic candidate, and I still think he might have been - then, before tacking left early in this cycle and falling off the edge of the earth. He's deteriorating before our eyes. It's almost as if he felt the need to channel the absent Kucinich.
The verdict: Obama wins, Hillary breaks even, and Edwards and Richardson confirm their irrelevancy. If Obama can win NH, he will win South Carolina, too, and Hillary's chances will be starkly diminished. She better hope few NH voters were watching. ADDED: I should have noted that all the Democrats looked worn out, probably from the nonstop campaigning. Edwards did seem to show the most energy, but the impression was one of residual anger, not confident enthusiasm.
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Filed under:
2008 Presidential Race, Democrats, New Hampshire, Primaries, debates
Tags: debate, Democrat, presidential campaign, primaries
