The Political Universe: Debate Wrap Up Edition
Posted by Jason Easley on 07.23.2007
I have a complete wrap up of last night’s CNN/YouTube Democratic debate. I’ll give you all the highlights and lowlights. I’ll cover who did well, and who needed to do better. I’ll also talk about who I think won and lost. All this and plenty more is in the Tuesday edition of this column.
The CNN/YouTube debate wrap up
I have to be honest. I didn't have very high expectations for this debate. What troubled me was the combination of journalistic light weight Anderson Cooper as moderator, and the fact that CNN was going to cherry pick the viewer questions. I was only half right to be concerned. Anderson Cooper did a great job. At least on three occasions candidates tried to duck questions and he kept pressing them until they gave him an answer. Good job, Anderson. On the other hand, the CNN producers decided that they were going to go for quirky and fun instead of informative questions. Many of the questions were a waste, and bundling four health care questions into one, really shortchanged an important issue that many people are concerned about.
Does anyone really care where the candidates' kids went to school, or if they had the sex talk with them? How is this important to the job of being president? There were a ton of questions asked in this debate, so instead of covering it all, and believe me a great deal of it was fluff, let's limit ourselves to the good questions and the highlights. The candidates were first asked how they would be different from the White House and the Democratic leaders in Congress. Obama said, "One of the things I bring is a perspective ... that says Washington has to change." Clinton answered, "The issue is which of us is to lead on Day One." John Edwards had a good moment when he talked about the Iraqi Parliament taking a vacation in August because it is too hot to work. "While the Iraqi parliament is on vacation, is George Bush going to be on vacation in Crawford, Texas?" Edwards asked. "What we need to do is turn up the heat on George Bush and hold him responsible, and make this president change course."
Sen. Hillary Clinton was asked if she was a liberal, and she answered by dodging the question. Clinton said, "I consider myself a modern progressive. Someone who believes strongly in individual rights and freedoms, who believes that we are better as a society when we're working together." Perhaps Hillary needs to read this column that I wrote over a year and a half ago on the true definition of progressivism. Clinton did do well when she talked about the Pentagon's response to her question about if they had a plan to withdraw the troops from Iraq. "I asked the Pentagon a simple question. ‘Have you prepared for withdrawing our troops?' In response, I got a letter accusing me of being unpatriotic, that I shouldn't be asking questions. Well, one of the problems is that there are a lot of questions that we are asking but we're not getting answers from the Bush administration."
Sen. Joe Biden had a really strong night. He shined when talked about taking tax breaks away from those who don't need them. "My dad used to have an expression, don't tell me what you value, show me your budget. We need more revenue to be able to pay for the things the governor (Richardson) and everybody else talks about. And there's only one way to do it. You either raise taxes or take tax cuts away from people who don't need them. I'd take them away from people who don't need them." One of the best questions of the night came from Cecilia Smith who asked, "If you're elected to serve, would you be willing to do your service for the next four years and be paid the national minimum wage?"
Mike Gravel said yes, and the other candidates followed suit, except Sen. Chris Dodd, which prompted Obama to say that all the people on the stage have done really well and they can afford to work for minimum wage. "I mean, we don't have, we don't have Mitt Romney money," Obama said, which led Joe Biden to say, "I don't have Barack Obama money either." Sen. Biden, who isn't wealthy, said that he would be president for minimum wage, if he was allowed to get a second job.
When the topic of Darfur came up, Bill Richardson advocated using diplomacy. "United Nations peacekeeping troops," Richardson said. "That would primarily be Muslim troops. We need a permanent U.N. peacekeeping force stationed somewhere. If we get U.N. peacekeeping troops authorized for Darfur… It will take six months for them to get there. Genocide is continuing there. Two-hundred thousand have died. Close to 2 million refugees in that region. America needs to respond with diplomacy, with diplomatic leadership," Richardson said.
Sen. Biden got emotional when he was asked a question about Darfur. "Absolutely, positivlely. I'm so tired of it. Let's get right to it," Biden said. "Why Darfur? Because we can. We should now. Those kids will be dead by the time diplomacy is over. I'm not joking. I've been to that camp." On the other hand, Sen. Clinton had to be asked 3 times before she answered that she would not support the use of ground troops in Darfur. Rep. Dennis Kucinich shined when asked a question about gay marriage. "If our Constitution really means what it says, that all are created equal. Our brothers and sisters who happen to be gay, lesbian or bisexual or transgendered should have the same rights accorded to them and that includes the ability to have a civil marriage ceremony," he said. Kucinich was also the only candidate to support reparations for slavery.
Sen. Chris Dodd pointed out that the federal response to Hurricane Katrina was, "one of the dark and shameful moments in recent past history in our country. I think if it occurred in a majority white population, we would have seen a more rapid response." Once again, Mike Gravel said that the Democratic Party long ago sold itself out to special interests. "The Democratic Party used to stand for the ordinary working man. But the Clintons and the DLC sold out the Democratic Party to Wall Street," Gravel said. "Look at where all the money is being raised right now, for Hillary, Obama and Edwards. It's the hedge funds, its Wall Street bankers; it's the people who brought you what you have today. Please wake up." It was also interesting that 6 of the 8 candidates took private or charter flights to the debate in South Carolina. Only Gravel and Kucinich did not take a private flight. "I took the train," Gravel said. "Maybe one of these guys will give me a ride someday."
Overall, this wasn't a bad debate. It was too gimmicky, and CNN did pick questions that were more for entertainment value than informative. Each of the candidates' performances was much better for the most part. It is really difficult to pick winners and losers tonight, because most of the candidates did well, but I'll try. Before you fire up the hate mail, remember that these grades are comparative and I do consider how each candidate did in the previous debates. Plus, the winners and losers are just for fun, so relax.
Winners and Losers
Winners
Barack Obama- Obama really seems to be finding his voice lately. He is slowly moving beyond generalities and starting to talk about the issues. He did dodge the slavery reparations question a little, and at times his whole Washington outsider shtick wears a little thin. Especially whenever he has no problem claiming to be an outsider, but also touts his work in the Senate. The Senate is an insider's game folks, but he looked comfortable tonight, and this was his best debate performance so far.
John Edwards- Edwards needed a good performance, and he delivered in a big way. When he spoke about why Americans should be outraged at the state current health care system, $400 haircuts or not, you could hear the passion in his voice. He may be a rich pretty boy, but he really cares about these issues. Edwards has been very consistent with these debates, but he still finds himself in a race with two higher profile candidates. The bottom line is that he will need to win early to make a run at the nomination.
Bill Richardson- Finally Bill stopped reminding us that he is a governor. Although his tactic of referring to "the senators" is really just a more subtle way of doing the same thing, but he stuck to the time limits and answered the questions. It's amazing what good things can happen for a candidate when they relax and just answer what they are asked.
Joe Biden- Joe had a really good night. His knowledge and wit were on full display. In a different election, the idea that he wrote many of the bills which the other candidates support would equal a lot of support for him. However, this is the year of the rock star candidate, and Biden has struggled to get attention. Clinton likes to talk about being the candidate who is ready to hit the ground running, but Biden and Richardson are those two Democrats that could hit the ground running.
Losers
Hillary Clinton- Her claim that she was running for president based on her own merits was good for a laugh. If her last name was Smith, she wouldn't be the Democratic frontrunner. I actually felt bad for Hillary because she was stuck on stage between charisma machines Edwards and Obama. Once again, Hillary dodged questions and didn't really say anything. However, she is busy "looking presidential" and since the Democrats seem to want to hand her the nomination, this might be all she has to do.
Chris Dodd- Poor Chris Dodd, there just isn't enough room in the race for him. He doesn't have the personality or charisma to make a dent in the polls, but he is a fine senator and a really hard worker. He expressed some opinions that are counter to most of the Party and that probably didn't help him.
Dennis Kucinich- Dennis will someday fill the Ted Kennedy role in the Democratic Party, but for this campaign he is too far to the left, and his debate performance was noble, but he just doesn't get enough airtime to register more than a blip. I do think that he should stay in the debates, so that there is at least one true liberal on the stage.
Mike Gravel- Gravel is another candidate that I would like to keep in the debates, but this format didn't really fit him. He is an old school debater who needs to be on a stage with a podium. The whole hip YouTube thing isn't really his scene.
Agree or disagree? Email me and we'll talk about it.
TPU Radio: Democratic debate pregame show
Before the debate George, Rob Rabies and I did a preview show. You can listen to the show by using the media player below, or by clicking this link.
Be sure to check out…
Ryan said his goodbyes in Week 53 of Politics Fact or Fiction. We are all going to miss Ryan, but I will have him on the radio show as regularly as we can, and he knows that he is always welcome here in the Politics Zone. By the way, Krunchy is one of my all time favorite F or F guests. Chris you did a great job, but Krunchy is an F or F legend. By the way, Krunchy does have a real first name, but I promised him that I wouldn't tell you. The fun is over now. Crow's back in charge.
Joe Rivett breaks now ground by revealing that he hates old people in his latest The Individualist. In all seriousness, Joe makes some great points about politicians playing to the fears of the older generation. Things aren't nearly as bad as the politicos and the media make them out to be.
New contributor, and an old classmate of mine, James Eastley, wrote a fine piece about why we fight in Iraq. Yes, we did get to know each other because our names are so a like.
I think that about covers everything for now. Have a good week, and I'll be back on Friday with a regular news column. See you then.
"Al Gore's daughter got married last weekend. Al Gore's no fun at wedding receptions. He keeps pointing out how fast the ice sculpture is melting." --- David Letterman
"The final Harry Potter book came out. This is a quick glossary of some common terms: "Hogwarts" is the school they go to. A "muggle" is a person who doesn't do magic. Like David Blaine. "Quidditch" is a magical lacrosse-like game. "Kucinich" is a magical elf who lives in a tree." --- Jimmy Kimmel
"In just a couple of weeks, the new movie "Underdog" comes out. It's a dog with super powers that fights criminals. That's gotta be Michael Vick's worst nightmare." --- Jay Leno
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