I'm going to try live-blogging this thing. I only had 4-5 hours of sleep last night, so we'll see how it goes.
- The crowd is high-energy. Wonder if that'll have any impact on the tenor of the "discussion."
- Strange format in the beginning - the two of them stand on stage like idiots, front and centre, while various local politicians come up on stage, shake their hands, then pose for a photo with them.
- Barack Obama is getting good at bounding on stage. In a few seconds at the beginning of any event he conveys energy, youth, enthusiasm - things that will contrast well with McCain in debates.
- Senator Clinton's latest theme in her speeches is, "Let's get real!" So far in her intro, I've heard her use the word real once - earlier in the day she used at least 10x in a single 20-30 min. speech. I wonder if she's decided to give up on the canned messaging (finally). Certainly couldn't hurt - she sounds stilted when she repeats scripted talking points.
- Senator Obama seems flat in his intro. Sounds like he could have a cold, but it could just be strain on his vocal cords. Fatigue perhaps - wonder if there's something else going on...
- Sen. Clinton is unswervingly gazing at him & smiling while he gives his intro. - very unnerving, like debating with one's mother. She knows how to use the female intimidation factor to her benefit in these one-on-one debates.
- Clinton is on tonight - forceful, succinct when necessary, detailed when she can be. Obama, by contrast, was on the verge of babbling at the end of his answer to the question of how they differ on the economy. I wonder if someone has instructed him to use up as much time as possible whenever possible, a la Senate committee hearing tactics. There's a finite amount of time allotted, after all, so if he can eat it up, the national audience will hear less of Hillary... She's to good at this format to fall for it, though.
- Commercial break - time to go to the Little Senator's Room. Overheard:
Barack: How are you doin'?
Hillary: Great!
- John King calls them out on their criticisms of one another on the campaign trail.
- Hillary comparing Obama to Bush - all hat no cattle.
- She tends to draw her chin in toward her neck, giving her more of a schoolmarm-ish appearance. Obama looks almost sleepy at times. How strange that I keep noticing their physical appearance - it's so not me. I blame it on the visual superficiality of teevee.
- Obama talking about ability to inspire as the most significant difference between them. Gets a lot of applause by defending his supporters at the end.
- "To suggest that I'm guilty of plagiarism because I borrowed a line from one of my national co-chairs, who gave me the line... I think is silly." Or something like that. Smart tack to take on the plagiarism charge. Uses the word again - "We're getting to the silly season."
- Hillary - That isn't change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox. Well-written line, but kinda' lost in the grumbles of Obama and boos from the crowd.
- Commercial time. Sen. Obama ends on a strong note for him - Sen. Clinton secretive in the way she conducted the health care process in the '90s.
- Leaning forward and smiling works well for Hillary - overall, Barack still seems flat & downbeat to me - he isn't smiling as much as usual, although he is coming across as reasoned and coherent. Hillary seems more overtly confident and energetic.
- Obama sticking up for his supporters again - Hillary's team implies that Barack's supporters are delusional. I think he used the word 2-3 times - Hillary laughs out loud and he breaks into chuckles at the word. Seems to me he's batting down the cult of personality thing by defending his supporters. Smart tactic. This plus the booing of the Xerox line - Hillary is smart enough to know that this tack won't work with Obama.
- Hillary has mentioned John Edwards at least twice, by my count. Smart of her. She just said, "...it is personal to me," in reference to health care, an Edwards line.
- The energy sort of drained right out of the thing somewhere. Maybe one commercial break too many. The crowd remained enthusiastic until the end, but the candidates seemed a little sleepy. Could be partly the change from Hillary - it does seem like she knows that she can still win, but not by trying to tamp down enthusiasm for Obama.
- Hillary ends on a note of togetherness. Uses Barack's line (or was it Edwards'?), whatever happens, we'll be fine. They shake hands in the middle. Standing ovation.
The debate was a CNN/Petroleum Industry affair, but MSNBC is doing special post-debate editions of Countdown and Hardball, so I'll flip back and forth to check out the corporate media spin.
CNN Pundits are saying that her last words sounded conciliatory. Scratch that: campaign aide Howard Wolfson emails to say it was a commanding moment. Either they're watching the first few moments of cable newscasts to figure out their spin, or it sounded conciliatory to them also. Or both. Talking heads also bring up her answer about "Superdelegates." I don't even remember that question. Maybe it was in that last third when the candidates' energy seemed to fizzle; maybe I nodded off during that question.
Bringing up the boos for Hillary's scripted Xerox line. Eugene Robinson says it didn't seem like her heart was in it, but concedes maybe he's reading too much into it. Olbermann & Robinson point out that it was a genuine, reasoned debate. Gad, I wish they weren't so surprised by that.
Yep, the we're going to be fine line was Edwards, or so CNN just reported. Oops, now Olbermann is chiming in to report the same email. Rachel Maddow agrees with Robinson that Hillary seemed to deliver the Xerox line half-heartedly. I also agree, although I think that Clinton isn't generally good at delivering sound-bites - could very well be because she knows better. I think it's harder for her to be phony than it is for most professional politicians.
Meh, I'm falling asleep at this point - none of the talking heads seem to have any more original insight or analysis. Of course, I started out more drowsy than the candidates were.
The one thing I'm left wondering is what would have happened if Bill Clinton had been used as a campaign energizer, rather than as an attack dog. Even if he had traveled around the country, fluffing up campaign workers & volunteers behind closed doors instead of the big showpiece speeches, I think it would have changed dynamics. Encourage the converted rather than talk at them, and the argument becomes competence and enthusiasm vs. enthusiasm alone. I can't stand Bill Clinton's politics - I think they had as much to do with enabling the G.W. Bush presidency as anything else, but I get it that rank and file Democrats love the guy. I would have had him attacking the right and encouraging their allies & supporters, while Hillary was all positivity + wisdom, all the time. After all, it's not like Hillary's supporters are incapable of being cult-like. It kinda' goes with the territory of top-down politics.
Ironic that Obama has so far out-maneuvered The Man From Hope, but let's see if the party machinery saves it for the Clintons.
Update:
Pretty good debate description/analysis by Karen Tumulty at Time.
Clinton Faces Reality in Texas Debate
Howard Kurtz on Network Coverage of Primary-Night Speeches
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