With all the commotion and Mittmentum last night I didn’t have a chance to register any general views about the debate. As others have noted the big news was the across the board attempt to lower the temperature of the attacks and potential racial division — something that whipped up like a brush fire late last week and quicker than I think anyone could have predicted threatened to do serious damage to whoever becomes the national standard-bearer.
More generally, I thought the debate stood out for the quality of the discussion and how well each of the candidates did. Each made a good argument for their candidacy — both in argument and tone. If there was a big loser it was pretty obviously Tim Russert who generally got disrespected by each of the candidates for his pretentious and generally feeble questions.
If I were scoring I’d possibly give a slight nod to Obama for two simple reasons. First, debates are not his best medium. And he did better than earlier ones. Second, I thought he came off as Hillary’s equal in terms of heft, experience, gravitas, etc. Hillary’s claim of an advantage on this counts — whether you buy that argument or not — remains her key advantage in this race. So in this sense, I thought Obama helped himself most.
Hillary also had a good night. I know many others think she took it; and they may be right. Edwards was also strong, though I think the polls are showing the window is rapidly closing.
Make up your own mind? Here are some highlights from last night to see for yourself …
Watch this episode on YouTube.
Late Update: TPM Read HR says … “Josh, TPM has been my first and most frequent stop for years, but I think you missed what happened last night. Clinton completely outflanked Obama on Iraq, moving the issue from one of past judgment to one of current leadership. She was also in general much more commanding and crisp. A clear win. See Ariannaâs analysis, and she is no Clinton booster.”
