CNN scripted Sunday night’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire – there are the Big Three – Senator Clinton, former Senator Edwards, and Senator Obama – and then there are the rest. The three were positioned at the center of the stage and were allotted the majority of the time to respond to questions and debate issues.
Hillary handled herself quite masterfully. She displayed her policy knowledge (particularly on the question of having English as our official language) and her political agility. She cast herself as the nominee and matriarch of the Party almost, reminding the crowd that the Democratic candidates on stage were not so dissimilar, that the real differences were between the eight of them on the one side and the 10/11/12 Republican candidates and George W. Bush on the other.
John Edwards continued to antagonize his rivals, which is emerging as part of the dual strategy of his campaign – propose big ideas and take shots at the Democratic frontrunners. He chided Barack Obama on his healthcare proposal and criticized both Obama and Clinton on their lack of leadership on Iraq. Both times, however, Senator Obama rebuffed Senator Edwards quite handily. On the question of leadership on Iraq, the junior senator from Illinois reminded Edwards and all the viewers that he had opposed the War from the start, unlike Edwards who had voted to authorize it, and so Edwards was “4 ½ years late on leadership.”
Obama had a much stronger performance than he did at the first debate. He dealt with policy details well, especially on healthcare, responded forcefully when attacked, and showed some passion that has been lacking (indicative of his more reserved, contemplative Midwestern style) at times on the campaign trail. If he continues to show such improvement, Hillary had better watch out. His political skills have been a bit of a sleeping giant thus far on the campaign.
Kucinich and Biden did the best among the rest to distinguish themselves. Biden flexed his foreign policy muscles in a major way and also showed the most passion of any candidate when he addressed the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Kucinich continued to chastise Democrats for showing a lack of leadership on Iraq and healthcare. His calls for Democrats to cut off all funding did not seem totally crazy as he made a strong case for his reasoning. He still however comes off across as wimpish with his incessant calls for peace (perhaps an indictment on America and perhaps humans in general). And I still cannot decide whether his proposal for a “Department of Peace” reminds me of doublespeak or if it just seems like he is living with his queen Tinker Bell as king of the Faries along with Captain Hook, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys in Never Never Land.
Richardson continues to fail to impress, which is a problem for him. He is perhaps the one candidate who was not part of the trinity that could have broken into the top-tier. However, he also should be making a strong play for the vice president slot, but if he continues to stumble, it will become less and less likely. The good news for him is that there are still a lot of months left to pick his game up.
Hillary handled herself quite masterfully. She displayed her policy knowledge (particularly on the question of having English as our official language) and her political agility. She cast herself as the nominee and matriarch of the Party almost, reminding the crowd that the Democratic candidates on stage were not so dissimilar, that the real differences were between the eight of them on the one side and the 10/11/12 Republican candidates and George W. Bush on the other.
John Edwards continued to antagonize his rivals, which is emerging as part of the dual strategy of his campaign – propose big ideas and take shots at the Democratic frontrunners. He chided Barack Obama on his healthcare proposal and criticized both Obama and Clinton on their lack of leadership on Iraq. Both times, however, Senator Obama rebuffed Senator Edwards quite handily. On the question of leadership on Iraq, the junior senator from Illinois reminded Edwards and all the viewers that he had opposed the War from the start, unlike Edwards who had voted to authorize it, and so Edwards was “4 ½ years late on leadership.”
Obama had a much stronger performance than he did at the first debate. He dealt with policy details well, especially on healthcare, responded forcefully when attacked, and showed some passion that has been lacking (indicative of his more reserved, contemplative Midwestern style) at times on the campaign trail. If he continues to show such improvement, Hillary had better watch out. His political skills have been a bit of a sleeping giant thus far on the campaign.
Kucinich and Biden did the best among the rest to distinguish themselves. Biden flexed his foreign policy muscles in a major way and also showed the most passion of any candidate when he addressed the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Kucinich continued to chastise Democrats for showing a lack of leadership on Iraq and healthcare. His calls for Democrats to cut off all funding did not seem totally crazy as he made a strong case for his reasoning. He still however comes off across as wimpish with his incessant calls for peace (perhaps an indictment on America and perhaps humans in general). And I still cannot decide whether his proposal for a “Department of Peace” reminds me of doublespeak or if it just seems like he is living with his queen Tinker Bell as king of the Faries along with Captain Hook, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys in Never Never Land.
Richardson continues to fail to impress, which is a problem for him. He is perhaps the one candidate who was not part of the trinity that could have broken into the top-tier. However, he also should be making a strong play for the vice president slot, but if he continues to stumble, it will become less and less likely. The good news for him is that there are still a lot of months left to pick his game up.
The most important thing that needs to happen before the next debate is that the Dodd and Biden campaigns need to get together to coordinate wardrobes. If you did not catch it, both candidates were wearing the same tie.
No comments:
Post a Comment