Time Magazine debate review gives Hillary Clinton a grade: C- [View All]

[zulchzulu]

I think the review is about where I thought her performance was pretty accurate.

Hillary Clinton
Grade: C-

Fell off the tough-shrill balance beam onto the "shrill" side — with a THUD. More defensive than usual, and at times too political and too hot tempered. Borderline disastrous moment at the end when she gave an equivocal answer about drivers licenses for illegal immigrants in New York; it opened the door for her opponents to pounce by turning it into a character issue — and pounce they did. The failure of her performance was cumulative, however, so only those watching the whole debate would see how weak her evening was. If she loses the nomination, tonight will go down in history as the first step to her defeat — no fatal "Dean Scream" catastrophe, but far from her finest moment, to say the least.
—by Mark Halperin

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1678242_1678241_1678236,00.html

Other reviews:

John Edwards
Grade: A
Impressively he remained above the Clinton-Obama fray (no "look at me" antics) but swept in to best them while the media waited for the pair to duke it out. Calm and cool, he went after Clinton on (let's face it) character, and only occasionally seemed to be trying too hard. Hit both his Democratic and Republican targets with acute precision and impact. Appeared tough enough to perform well in a general election, with the kind of articulate passion he formerly demonstrated in the courtroom. Came across as presidential, optimistic and patriotic — essential for a winner.

Barack Obama
Grade: B+
All eyes were on him for the first answer of the debate as he was invited to attack Clinton (a challenge cleverly disguised as a question). But he cluttered his response with too many of his (unfortunate) trademark "uhs" and a rehearsed Rocky joke, and glanced nervously over at Clinton to gauge the effects of his soft swipe. Gained strength as the debate progressed (and as Edwards and the others joined the Clinton hunt). Had his finest moment — and nearly lived up to the press corps' lust for attack — when he addressed the controversy of sealed documents at the Clinton Library and the Senator's long, divisive history. Offered powerful responses denouncing fear and celebrating diplomacy but likely appealed more to his existing supporters than to potential new recruits. In the final moments, he knocked the daffy-but-intriguing UFO question out of the park by focusing on the importance of life on earth.

Joe Biden
Grade: B
Had line of the night slamming Giuliani on 9/11 ("There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11. I mean, there's nothing else") and saying the former mayor is unqualified to be president. In that instance, he was at his best: so great and so honorable, in his own wacky way. But lacked his Iraq mojo from past debates — and he seemed to disappear for a very long stretch in the middle of the forum.

Chris Dodd
Grade: B-
Solid and dignified. Got to make his best pitch on electability, and did it as well as he has in any debate. But still too senatorial and spent too much talking about the nation's challenges and not enough about himself — a problem, because people still don't know who he is or what he stands for.

Bill Richardson
Grade: B-
Gallantly defended Clinton from negative attacks, allowing him to display his more natural and relaxed side than he has in previous debates. Bumble-free, kept things simple and direct, and highlighted his gubernatorial status and diplomatic strengths. Nevertheless, simply not a player most of the time.

Dennis Kucinich
Grade: D+
Took advantage of NBC's decision to exclude Mike Gravel from the debate by acting more measured than usual. Was a gentle, spritely populist on health care and the war. Tried to go mainstream in talking about UFOs (despite gingerly acknowledging a sighting as reported by his friend Shirley MacLaine), but was shut out of the key conversations by the moderators.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1678242_1678241_1678231,00.html