4/30/07
Last Thursday night, the Democratic Presidential hopefulls had their first debate. 8 candidates were invited; Sens. Hillary Clinton (NY), Barack Obama (IL), Joe Biden (DE), and Chris Dodd (CT), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), Gov. Bill Richardson (NM), and former Sens. John Edwards (SC) and Mike Gravel (AK).
Topics varied, but the big one was, of course, the War in Iraq. This favored Obama, who was the only one of the Big Three to oppose the War from the beginning. In fact, Obama had the best night overall, as all of his answers were well-thought out and multi-faceted. A lot of people believe that Rep. Kucinich was the big loser of the night, as the most vocal radical leftist was Sen. Gravel, but I think that Gravel's presence made Kucinich, who was the most radical candidate in '04, look more mainstream in comparison. Kucinich, however, lost big when he challenged Barack Obama on the perceived inconsistency of voting to fund a War he did not support, but Obama handled his challenge gracefully.
Hillary Clinton got through the evening without any major bumps, which is always the goal of the front-runner. Joe Biden came off as affable, but wasn't able to get into the specifics of his Iraqi plan, which is unfortunate, as he probably has the most realistic handleon that situation. Bill Richardson was all over the map, coming off as very leftist on some issues, very rightist on others; and he reiterated his comments that he was late on jumping on Alberto Gonzales because he was Hispanic (although, to be fair, he also pointed out that he has now called for his resignation).
John Edwards came off reasonably well, but some of his anti-intellectualist rhetoric ("it takes more than high-fallutin' words to become President") sounded unnatural. Chris Dodd was eminently forgettable; he'd do himself a big favor getting out of the race before he wastes any more money.
Final Scorecard:
The Big Winner: Barack Obama
Winners: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards
Neither Winners Nor Losers: Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich
Losers: Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd
The Crazy Guy: Mike Gravel
This week the Repubs have their debate, and no less than 10 candidates are on the billing. More on that Wednesday.
Last Thursday night, the Democratic Presidential hopefulls had their first debate. 8 candidates were invited; Sens. Hillary Clinton (NY), Barack Obama (IL), Joe Biden (DE), and Chris Dodd (CT), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), Gov. Bill Richardson (NM), and former Sens. John Edwards (SC) and Mike Gravel (AK).
Topics varied, but the big one was, of course, the War in Iraq. This favored Obama, who was the only one of the Big Three to oppose the War from the beginning. In fact, Obama had the best night overall, as all of his answers were well-thought out and multi-faceted. A lot of people believe that Rep. Kucinich was the big loser of the night, as the most vocal radical leftist was Sen. Gravel, but I think that Gravel's presence made Kucinich, who was the most radical candidate in '04, look more mainstream in comparison. Kucinich, however, lost big when he challenged Barack Obama on the perceived inconsistency of voting to fund a War he did not support, but Obama handled his challenge gracefully.
Hillary Clinton got through the evening without any major bumps, which is always the goal of the front-runner. Joe Biden came off as affable, but wasn't able to get into the specifics of his Iraqi plan, which is unfortunate, as he probably has the most realistic handleon that situation. Bill Richardson was all over the map, coming off as very leftist on some issues, very rightist on others; and he reiterated his comments that he was late on jumping on Alberto Gonzales because he was Hispanic (although, to be fair, he also pointed out that he has now called for his resignation).
John Edwards came off reasonably well, but some of his anti-intellectualist rhetoric ("it takes more than high-fallutin' words to become President") sounded unnatural. Chris Dodd was eminently forgettable; he'd do himself a big favor getting out of the race before he wastes any more money.
Final Scorecard:
The Big Winner: Barack Obama
Winners: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards
Neither Winners Nor Losers: Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich
Losers: Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd
The Crazy Guy: Mike Gravel
This week the Repubs have their debate, and no less than 10 candidates are on the billing. More on that Wednesday.
posted by k - L - g at 12:02 AM
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