Here are my thoughts and grades (on a scale of 1-10) for each candidate's performance:
Hillary Clinton: 8/10 overall; tie for 1st place
Hillary was very well rehearsed and plain tonight. She gave the standard answers that one would expect from her. She stopped short of fully apologizing for her vote to authorize the war, saying again that had she known then what she knows now, she would have voted differently. Taking John Edwards' indirect criticism that she needs to do some "soul searching," she calmly said that if the president does not end the war, she will end it as soon as she gets into office; this is her standard policy of looking ahead to 2009. Her strongest parts of the debate came when she criticized the president and the GOP and made strong centrist responses on national security and terrorism. When asked about Rudy Giuliani's comments that the nation will be in danger if a Democrat wins in 2008, she was in good form, saying that the "administration has tried to hype the fear" without actually doing much to secure the nation. She said she wants to dispel the myth that the GOP is strong on national security. On the question of a hypothetical attack on two US cities, she was strong but convoluted, saying that she would "move as swiftly as is prudent to retaliate." She added that she would respond against nations that had aided and abetted the terrorists in this attack, but would not go looking to pick a new fight like Bush did in Iraq. I guess it made sense. She gave an awkward answer when Brian Williams told her that some Republicans are hoping that she wins the nomination because of how polarizing she is. She said she takes it as "a perverse form of flattery." OK? Tone down the superiority complex a few notches, Senator. And she looked confused and uncomfortable when she was comparing Virginia Tech to Columbine. That's not doing anything to comfort the people who think you lack real human emotion.
Barack Obama: 8/10 overall; tie for 1st place
I was kind of disappointed in Barack tonight. I know it was his first major televised debate, but he was off his game. He started off very slowly, stumbling in the first three or four questions. His answer to what he would do about Iraq was not as smooth and well-rehearsed as he normally gives. He looked a bit uncomfortable and wasn't as clear and concise as he should have been; he missed the time limit on the third question. He also screwed up on the "Elephant in the Room" question about his business dealings with a corrupt Chicago businessman. He called the guy ethical when he meant unethical and he missed the opportunity to really segue into the grassroots, new kind of politics portion of his stump speech. But as the night went on, he got much better. He was on point in his answer on partial birth abortions, saying that they are not great but are rare, before taking the topic to a discussion of issues that he said all the candidates could agree on, like reducing teen pregnancy rates and offering better alternatives for young people. The answer was a good, standard liberal message, even though I don't agree with it. He gave a good answer on the US's three biggest allies; he managed to lump all of Europe together by choosing the EU, and he acknowledged the rising specter of China in the East, saying that the US's relationship with China was ambivalent. He forgot to mention Israel here, but cleaned it up nicely on Brian Williams' follow-up. When asked the theoretical attack question, he initially was a bit weak, saying that he would look to improve first responders' capabilities and would try to better utilize the intelligence community. He followed up later on by changing from energy policy to mentioning that there are real enemies in the world that America must deal with, including a nuclear Iran. He covered his tracks nicely here. Overall, Obama was not his usual brilliant self, but he didn't do anything to hurt his chances. He came out unscathed, and that's what matters for his campaign. He is already making significant headway against Hillary, with a year of primary campaigning left.
John Edwards: 7/10 overall; 4th place
Edwards did the most to hurt himself tonight at least of the major three. He did a very poor job in answering the question about his $400 haircuts, saying it only that it was a mistake and that he does indeed live a "privileged life." He then tried to remind us of his roots as a poor son of a mill worker by regaling the audience with a story from his youth. It missed the mark completely. This, coupled with his answers on national security only further ingrained his image as weak on defense. Bill Richardson did the best job of characterizing his stances last night, when he said that Americans "don't want blow-dried candidates." He didn't mention a single word about retaliation when asked about the terrorist attack and did not raise his hand when asked if he believed there is a Global War on Terror. He's not helping himself with conservative commentators and moderates here; Rush Limbaugh already caricatures him as a woman. His best answers came on health care and on America's role in foreign policy. He stressed that he had a concrete, viable health care plan for America. He also said that in order to change what is happening in the world, America needs to change its image in order to "re-demonstrate its commitment to humanity." He was good on domestic and humanitarian issues, but bad on everything else.
Joe Biden: 7.5/10 overall; 3rd place
Biden was by far the best of the second tier candidates. He did a pretty good job of laying out his policy for fixing Iraq;. He stated that he made a mistake in voting to authorize the war. When asked who are the three biggest threats to America, he said North Korea, Iran, and, in a risky move, Russia under Putin. North Korea was an obvious answer, as was Iran, but he missed the overall point on the threat Iran poses. By saying Russia and bringing up Putin's anti-democratic actions, he pointed out a serious message that needs to be emphasized, while condemning Bush for trusting "Pootie" too much. He also gave the best response of the night on his "Elephant" question. Williams asked him if about his stupid comments from the beginning of his campaign and if he could avoid his tendency to be verbose in the future. He response of "Yes" was about as un-verbose (did I just make that up?) as possible. He helped himself more than anyone else tonight, but did not make the top three a top four.
Bill Richardson:
Richardson was bad tonight. He was sweating like Richard Nixon in 1960. His awkward faces made him look uncomfortable and confused. He kept leaning over towards Brian Williams as if he somehow couldn't hear him. He was very strong and direct on Iraq, but he basically gave Joe Biden's plan as his own. He did a very poor job of answering the Gonzalez question, though he was direct and did get a nice back-handed jab at Edwards. He on health care reform was ok; he was the only candidate to emphasize focusing on prevention. In his foreign policy question on Russia, he criticized Bush, saying that "being stubborn is not a foreign policy." He was also the first person to mention Darfur, which is a big deal to me. I'm disappointed in Obama for not bringing it up. Extra point to Richardson here. Despite this, he and Edwards did the most to hurt themselves tonight.
Chris Dodd: 5/10 overall; 6th place
Chris Dodd was Chris Doddian tonight - ho hum. Most of his answers were fairly average. He gave a pretty good answer on partial-birth abortion, saying that abortions should be "rare, safe, and legal." His answer on Iraq was unimpressive; all he said was that he supported the Reid/Feingold Bill from the Senate to pull out by March 31, 2008. What a rebel. He seemed confused on whether or not people on welfare should have to take drug tests. He tried to run away from it as fast as possible. I don't even understand what he was talking about. (by the way, I'm really not that opposed to this idea. I had to pass a drug test to work at freaking Sears, and I was worried I would fail because I ate a poppy seed bagel that day.) Overall he was Chris Dodd.
Dennis Kucinich: 3/10 overall; 7th place
I was disappointed with Dennis the Menace. He is normally where I turn for comic relief, but he got out-crazied by Mike Gravel tonight. He was very crass and arrogant, which is typical Dennis. His best moment was when no one else supported his attempt to impeach Cheney and he reached into his pocket to pull out his pocket-sized Constitution (which was next to his sling-shot, no doubt) and lectured everyone about morality and civics. Thank you, oh enlightened one. Oh, and did anyone else see him standing next to his wife? She's got at least six inches on him. He's a leprechaun.
Mike Gravel: 2/10 overall; last place
Wow. What can I say about former Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel? Did he forget to take his meds before the debate. This guy is crazy with a capital C. He has one vocal tone - condescending yelling. I know he was a big player in ending Vietnam, and it shows. He acts like he's still living in 1973. The only time I've ever seen someone even close to this angry at a debate was in the third presidential debate in 2000, when I thought Al Gore was going to walk over and punch Bush.
Here are some of Gravels greatest hits from last night:
"I wonder how the hell did the rest of them get here!...Some of these people frighten me!"
"Osama bin Liden must have been rolling in his blankets!"
[to Barack Obama] "Who the hell are we gonna nuke!"
Winners: Clinton and Obama
Losers: Edwards and Richardson
Honorable Mention for entertainment value: Mike Gravel
Obligatory American Idol reference: Dennis Kucinich - "This process is an American Idol here."
Hopefully as the campaign gets a bit older, the candidates will smell some more blood in the water and take a few more jabs. I can't stay that excited over this crap for another year. My only solace is the thought that Mike Gravel and Kucinich will stay in until March.
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