HILLARY'S DEBATE TO LOSE - SHE DID JUST OKAY
Dem debate went o.k. American politics is so relentlessly bland, that some of the exchanges will cause wildfires in the weak minded.
Lot of punches landed.
I wish that John Edwards would listen to what the Republicans are saying on poverty. It would be interesting to hear him take on Huckabee's most recent comments about it, instead of preaching to the choir with the same stuff.
Hillary really fought hardest for making health care her signature issue. She's still winning that, I suspect.
The best ducked punch (and coup) went to Edwards, who brought up the Ronald Reagan quote on the trail most visibly and still got to rise above the others on the same issue during the debate ... {bow}
I think Obama made a mistake saying that Clinton-42 wasn't factual. Bill is too smart not to get the facts. [I'll use "Clinton-42", with its tacit sequencing implied, just to irk AS, who is "slipping" into "the Clintons"]. What he should have attacked is the shading of the facts. [Update: It does appear that Bill did over-reach, with "all the good ideas". Something that Barack did not say.]
I didn't think Obama deflected Hillary's attack on his credibility well, especially after I gave up the Clinton-42 play book (it's an open book for anyone who looks it up) - doesn't everyone read BootstrappingAS? LOL. Example: "The reason, Hillary, that you cannot make sense of some of these parts of the record, is that you tell yourself a story about what something means. Then, you don't seek or accept the explanations offered. So, of course, you remain stubbornly confused and that's why you won't be ready from day one, but behind. I'm trying to bring people past all that." [that's how you bring it].
On the barbs: they both tried them and handled them well. What neither of them did was handle the rebound shot well, either spontaneously or otherwise. One ought to keep one in the pocket ... (e.g., "I spent 5 hours on the case you mention, how many hours did you spend helping Walmart from day one to provide healthcare?").
NO KNEECAPPING - THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR
I came away with a broader sense that Obama does live up to the the high tenor of his message, fairly well. Unfortunately, political debate - real take-the-floor-debate - has evaporated in America, in favor of the 30-second sound bite and Sunday morning talk shows. And that's important to a degree.
Taking and responding to questions in an important political skill, because it is all part of communicating (and ultimately persuading). It's hard to weigh Barack's other, sizable communications skills, which are also important, in a different field of competition, perhaps.
Perhaps that difficulty is what underscores some part of the reason that the support in the field is close.
NEXT STEPS
I think Obama should do the morning shows, just as Hillary did. He has to continue to show he has nothing to "hide".
p.s. if he does, he might want to drop "fulsome" from his characterization of Hillary's own Reagan comments. It's clear form the context he used, but that five-dollar word is ... too expensive and not emotive.
p.s. if you know you are going to be attacked on something, bring your exact quote to the debate. Heck, Hitchens can quote Marx verbatim to keep from getting distorted in the endless rounds of "clarification" that lawyers try to draw you into, until they make a coherent position look inconsistent.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Watching Lawyers Argue
