This Democratic primary is getting ugly. It was like watching a prison fight, with Hillary and Barack sticking verbal shivs in each other's ribs, and Edwards sitting there like a cheshire cat, reaping the benefits of the bickering.
- Hillary even played the Rezko card! She didn't do it very deftly, either. You could tell she's been keeping that Rezko card in her back pocket and pulled it out before she intended to do so.
- She was very weak on Edwards' challenge about why she takes lobbyist money. At the tail end of her response, it was difficult to tell what she was talking about. For all her rhetoric, she's really not that good under sustained attack.
- Obama isn't Mr. Nice Guy anymore. He showed an essential toughness and even nastiness. At one point, he went after Hillary with a snarky attack about being a corporate board member for Wal-Mart. I thought it was pretty funny. I still, think, though, that Obama is a great speaker and a politician with immense rhetorical skill, although I disagree with him on almost every policy question.
- At one point, Obama brought up a comment Bill Clinton had made about Ronald Reagan. Hillary responded that she was campaigning against him, not her husband. Obama nastily responded that it was getting hard to tell.
- Obama was great when he went after Hillary for her campaign's twisting of his various comments and votes. I like that he's decided to call the Clintons out on it.
- The media are obsessed with race. The Democrats are obsessed with race. Obama is the only one who doesn't seem obsessed with race at these affairs. Edwards had a funny line where Obama was asked something about whether blacks should vote for him because he's black, and Edwards said something about not expecting white men to vote for him. Good point! (They'll be voting for McCain).
- Speaking of McCain, the Democrats clearly think he's going to be the nominee. That throws them off because they agree with a lot of his positions.
- I would have wanted to ask John Edwards, the token white guy on the stage, if he still believes in affirmative action. If he does, then shouldn't he concede the presidency to either Hillary or Obama?
- I wanted to ask Hillary if she's the one campaigning, not Bill, then why does she keep claiming Bill's accomplishments as President as her own? She can't have it both ways.
- When Obama was asked if he thought Bill Clinton was the first black president, I think he should have simply responded, "No, I'll be."
- Edwards could have turned into a potted plant or the dateless third wheel at a dinner party, but I thought he had a great debate and was boosted by the Democratic bickering over "present votes" and Ronald Reagan. He's clearly hoping Obama and Hillary will go the way of Checota-Moody. I don't think he helped himself enough to win, but he might hurt Hillary more than she expects with white voters in South Carolina.
- The candidates climbed over one another to claim they each want to withdraw the troops as soon as they can, in response to a question that outlined the successes of the surge (revealing). Hillary refused to say she wants us to win when asked the question. She responded that she wants to bring the troops home. Apparently, saying she wants us to win would be a controversial statement on the Left.
