Vote '08

Call it a draw.

The dynamic of the Democratic race was not fundamentally changed at the Kodak theatre last night. Hillary Clinton did not decisively defeat Barack Obama at last night’s debate; nor did Obama find an opening to move ahead as the Democratic front runner.

Vote08 live-blogged the debate last night. Go there if you’d like to read the “main points” of each candidates’ answers. Here’s the full transcript.

I first want to make an anecdotal point that reflects how I think many Democrats came away from the debate last night. During the 1st commercial break, I got a phone call from a NewsChannel9 staffer (& Clinton supporter) who was watching the debate at home with her husband.

“Back me up here — Hillary’s winning this debate so far, isn’t she? My husband keeps telling me she’s doing terribly & says Obama’s winning!”

That told me a lot; each candidate’s supporters could easily make a case that Clinton or Obama won the night. The truth is it was much closer to a draw.

Vote08 rates the candidates best & worst of the night, & gives Wolf Blitzer a proper scolding, after the jump.

• A question about giving illegal immigrants drivers licenses allowed an opening for Obama to make a point about Clinton’s “flip-flops:”

OBAMA: The only point I would make is Senator Clinton gave a number of different answers over the course of six weeks on this issue, and that did appear political. Now, at this point, she’s got a clearer position, but it took a whole and… (APPLAUSE)…I’m just being — just in fairness. Initially, in a debate, you said you were for it. Then you said you were against it. And the only reason I bring that up is to underscore the fact that this is a difficult political issue.

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• Mitt Romney took it on the chin from both candidates after a question about why either should be elected without any business experience:

QUESTION: Howard Meyerson of Pasadena, California says he views the country as a very large business, and neither one of you have ever run a business. So, why should either of you be elected to be CEO of the country?

CLINTON:”…with all due respect, we have a president who basically ran as the CEO, MBA president, and look what we got. I am not too happy about the results. [Ouch]

OBAMA: Let me — let me just also point out that, you know, Mitt Romney hasn’t gotten a very good return on his investment during this presidential campaign. [double-Ouch]

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• Clinton & Obama also had John McCain in their sights:

OBAMA: If John McCain, for example, is the nominee, I respect that John McCain, in the first two rounds of Bush tax cuts, said it is irresponsible that we have never before cut taxes at the same time as we’re going into war. And somewhere along the line, the straight talk express lost some wheels and now he is in favor of extending Bush tax cuts that went to some of the wealthiest Americans who don’t need them and we’re not even asking for them.

…

OBAMA: When John McCain suggests that we might be [in Iraq] 100 years, that, I think, indicates a profound lack of understanding that we’ve got a whole host of global threats out there, including Iraq, but we’ve got a big problem right now in Afghanistan. Pakistan is of great concern. We are neglecting potentially our foreign policy with respect to Latin America. China is strengthening. And if we neglect our economy by spending $200 billion every year in this war that has not made us more safe, that is undermining our long-term security.

…

CLINTON: And if Senator McCain is the nominee, 100 years as stretching forward, he doesn’t have to bring that to the United States Congress. He only has to get the approval of the Iraqi parliament. Well, we are saying absolutely no. And we’re going to do everything we can to prevent him from binding any of us, going into the future, in a way that will undermine America’s interests. So that’s a critical issue.

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• Obama’s best answer of the night (on keeping the moral high ground for Iraq)

OBAMA:I welcome the progress. This notion that Democrats don’t want to see progress in Iraq is ridiculous. I have to hug mothers in rope lines during town hall meetings as they weep over their fallen sons and daughters. I want to get our troops home safely, and I want us as a country to have this mission completed honorably.But the notion that somehow we have succeeded as a consequence of the recent reductions in violence means that we have set the bar so low it’s buried in the sand at this point. (APPLAUSE)… I also think it is going to be important, though, for the Democrat — you know, Senator Clinton mentioned the issue of gravitas and judgment. I think it is much easier for us to have the argument [with Republicans], when we have a nominee who says, I always thought this was a bad idea, this was a bad strategy.

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• Clinton’s best answer of the night: (on Bill Clinton’s influence in a Hillary Clinton White House)

CLINTON: Well, one thing I think is fair to say, both Barack and I have very passionate spouses who promote and defend us at every turn. But the fact is that I’m running for president, and this is my campaign. (APPLAUSE)…at the end of the day, it’s my name that is on the ballot, and it will be my responsibility as president and commander in chief, after consulting broadly with a lot of people who have something to contribute to difficult decisions, I will have to make the call. And I am fully prepared to do that.

There really wasn’t any kind of transformative moment for either candidate, & Vote08 says that’s bad news for Obama. Polls are tightening in lots of key state races, including California, so he still does have momentum. But four days from Super Tuesday, the national numbers still favor Clinton winning the nomination.

p.s. Vote08 would like to take this opportunity to criticize the debate’s moderator, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. On repeated occasions Blitzer came across as the puny troublemaker who tries to get the two bullies to come to blows. Wolf is absolutely clueless as to how this reflects poorly on all broadcast media. This is not a reality-TV show — this is reality. Voters don’t need to see a fight to be engaged in the big issues of the debate, and his attempt to create one reveals nothing more than his shallowness.

Who do you think won last night’s debate? Did either candidate win or lose your vote? Can either of them win against the Republcian nominee? Post a comment & let us know!

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