Who Won The Clinton, Obama Debate?
January 31st, 2008Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton sought common ground Thursday on immigration, health care and tax relief in their first one-on-one debate with just the two of them after John Edwards suspended his candidacy yesterday. But the two left standing in the Democratic Party’s contest for president grew testy at times in trying to distinguish themselves as the candidate best able to handle the responsibilities of the White House.
Just days before the Super Tuesday contests, the two alternated addressing each other cordially with swipes, underscoring the high stakes of the upcoming contests, according to the Associated Press. The debate came on the day when Obama’s campaign reported raising a staggering $32 million in January, cash aplenty to advertise all through the Super Tuesday states, with its nearly two dozen contests from coast to coast.
AP: Obama, Clinton Trade Jabs on Immigration
In your opinion, who won the debate?
Tags: Elections 2008
January 31st, 2008 at 10:28 pm
This is a chance for people working for Obama and Clinton in Alabama to do something in public to support your candidates: Argue for them.
I know for a fact there are undecided people in Alabama wondering who to vote for on Feb. 5. How will they make up their minds? Maybe you can help them. Maybe you can help me. Now that Edwards is out, I am also undecided. Can you convince me to vote for your candidate? Give it your best shot.
I know, I’ve heard from a number of you that the national campaigns are in charge of everything, including money for Google and blog ads. But they don’t have to approve your opinions about their performance in a debate in blog comments, do they?
Fire away. Nobody is going to arrest you. The election is next Tuesday! If not now, when?
January 31st, 2008 at 10:45 pm
First off, I was/am a John Edwards fan, and I may still vote for him on Tuesday.
I can’t decide who won the debate. Clinton’s excuse for voting for the war was lame, lame. I was on the street with my friends protesting the war before Bu$h invaded Baghdad. If WE knew there was no reason to bomb innocent people, why the heck didn’t she? She’s a smart lady, but on that point she gets a thumbs down. The issue of this “war” is very important to me.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
They both won. I am supporting Obama because he was right about Iraq, howver if he doesn’t win and Hillary is the nominee she will have my full support.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:27 am
I would like to see people wake up and realize that they don’t have to fall in lock-step with what the DNC wants us to do…I and many, many others will be voting for the most appropriate person for the job, John Edwards. We are still free to vote for the person of our choice…Hillary tried to instill in our minds last night that we could only choose from one of the two of them…wrong Hillary…
I would say that it was a draw last night. Maybe the elites won, that’s all.
February 1st, 2008 at 9:48 am
I wouldn’t necessarily call Obama a member of the establishment elite. But American history is fraught with examples of protest votes.
It will be interesting to watch and see who Edwards endorses, if he decides to throw his support to one or the other. Meanwhile, The Washington Post’s Website has a blog post up on whether Al Gore will endorse anyone. They don’t recommend it.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Who cares what the Washington Post recommends?
For me it’s not about being lock step with the DNC, it’s about getting the Republicans out of the White House.
John Edwards suspended his campaign, so what/whom exactly are you protesting by voting for him?
In his speech on Monday Edwards said that by sticking together we can make sure a Democrat will be in the White House.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
A lot of people care, but not me enough to put the link in here. Just thought some readers might like to know.
So, how does voting for John Edwards on Tuesday help get the Republicans out of the White House? He’s suspended his campaign. You must be protesting Hillary or Obama to vote for him. Or, it looks like you want to protest the DNC. I’m not confident at this point that the Democratic National Committee knows what it is doing if it wants to win this race, but I guess I have a little more confidence in them than I do the Alabama Democratic Party at this point.
As I was telling one of my focus group members on the phone in New Orleans this morning, I think it was a mistake for Edwards to drop out before Super Tuesday. He could have waited another week - and things might have looked different next Wednesday.
And by “sticking together,” I assume Edwards meant voting for one of the other two candidates left in the race.
But hey, I could be just another Alabama dumbass : )
How do you think voting for Edwards on Tuesday helps anything? Maybe it would be better to call it a wasted vote rather than a protest vote. Maybe I was being nice before.
I’m assuming Edwards (and maybe Gore) will glom onto either Hillary or Obama, like the Kennedy’s did with the Obama bandwagon. But they could do like a lot of people, including a lot of Edwards supporters, and wait to see what happens in all the primaries. There certainly were a lot of fence sitters around who did not come out strongly for Edwards, maybe worried that he was not catching on. I admit it. I was one of them.
If Gore had been in the race, there would have been no equivocation on my part. As I said early on, I think he now has the celebrity power to have not only won the nomination, but the White House. I don’t think it would have even been close. And that’s what the Democrats need - a landslide. Otherwise, old Karl Rove and company will steal it at the margins in a close race. I suspect he’s already hard at work behind the scenes trying to convince McCain to pick Hickabee as his running mate - so they can get the Christian Right all fired up again. Watch Huckabee over the next few days in Alabama…
February 1st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Edwards’ campaign has asked for Edwards’ name to remain on the ballot:
http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2008/2/1/154658/8184
Just for the record, I don’t think he had any intention of dropping out. I think we probably will find that the DNC had something to do with the timing…get him out before the Debate…
Anyway…the blog link is to a posting that says the Edwards campaign had asked to be removed from the Rhode Island ballot, but an NBC news affiliate there said that now they have asked to be kept on the ballot.
This is about what the Democratic platform is going to be for winning in November.
If you read the Paul Krugman article today, The Edwards Effect, you’d see that it’s well known that Edwards made the message for the Democrats.
It’s absolutely not a protest vote, but a vote FOR John Edwards and what his message can do to bring about the change from corporatocracy to democracy again.
February 1st, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I linked to the Edwards Effect column last night on the news page when it came out, but the commentary on the Edwards blog shows a great deal of ambiguity on the question.
There was nothing in Edwards’ statement in New Orleans the other day to indicate he was staying in the race or encouraging anyone to go ahead and vote for him, and he’s said nothing since to clear up any confusion there might be on that question.
If he is still in the race, and he wants people to vote for him, he best come out publicly and say something to that effect. If that is the case, this is no way to run a campaign.
All of the real coverage on this has talked about his negotiations with both the other candidates in what has been portrayed as a lead up to an endorsement. He talked about the poverty issue the other day, and his name has been floated for future office, most notably for the attorney general spot in a Clinton or Obama administration.
If you see of any real news on this making it clear, please let us know. As always, I’ll keep my eyes open to and try to post something before next Tuesday that makes the situation clear. I suspect we will hear something from him and/or his campaign prior to Super Tuesday on Feb. 5.