Washington Post: AFL-CIO Debate: Winners and Losers

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/08/aflcio_debate_winners_and_lose.html?nav=rss_blog

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WINNERS

Barack Obama: Apropos of the debate's setting at Soldier Field, Obama enjoyed a home-field advantage over his rivals last night. The crowd was looking for reasons to cheer Obama and he gave them some. The best? His retort to attacks on his foreign policy bona fides; "I find it amusing that those who helped to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster of our generation are now criticizing me for making sure we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war on terror," Obama said to huge applause. He was under attack for much of the debate from the likes of Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Joe Biden (Del.) and managed to hold his own.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: This was an interesting debate for Clinton as she experienced moments of both cheering and jeering from the crowd -- a reminder that no candidate incites emotions (both good and bad) from voters more than Clinton. When attacked by former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) about her ties to corporate America, Clinton resisted a direct push back. Instead she delivered her most effective lines of the night, urging Democrats to work together rather than fight amongst themselves and pivoting to make a pitch for electability; "If you want a winner, I am your girl," Clinton said to loud applause. Her careful scolding of Obama on foreign policy ("people running for president should not engage in hypotheticals") brought her loud boos. Also, did anyone else notice that Clinton has a fill-in-the-blank point plan for everything?

Joe Biden: After playing the nice guy for most of the campaign, Biden seemed to boil over last night -- particularly at Obama and Edwards. Biden and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd have clearly been frustrated by the rise of Obama and Edwards as well as the latter duo's willingness to attack Washington and call for a shakeup in the politics as usual. Biden hit Obama on his policy toward Pakistan and Edwards on his labor credentials. Neither attack was all that well-received by the assembled crowd but it kept Biden at the center of the debate and allowed him to draw some contrasts with his better-known opponents. Plus, if Clinton winds up as president, Biden could well wind up as Secretary of State. Of course, if Obama or Edwards is president....

Dennis Kucinich: Give Kucinich his due: he was great last night. Of course, unlike the rest of the candidates on stage, Kucinich is not bound by concerns over saying something that might make him unelectable in a primary or general election. His miniscule chance of winning frees him to speak his mind on the war in Iraq, NAFTA, health care and anything else he is asked about. Kucinich continues to play the happy warrior in this race, delivering his plans and criticisms of his rivals with a smile on his face. Also, you've gotta love a candidate who eggs the crowd on repeatedly at the end of his answers.

Alpacas: Nice ad placement by allies of the alpaca. The commercial ran during the last commercial break of the debate and surely got more attention paid to the animal in 60 seconds than it received in the last 60 days. Did you know alpaca comes in 22 natural colors? It's the "new spin on fashion," according to the ad.
LOSERS

John Edwards: We've never seen Edwards more on his game than he was over the weekend at the YearlyKos forum. He conveyed genuine passion and outrage while also managing to put Clinton on her heels for the first time in this campaign. Last night, Edwards seemed to be forcing it, using totally unrelated questions to try and cast himself as the candidate of change. We still like the line "we can't trade our insiders for their insiders" but it can't just come out of nowhere. Edwards' anger can work for him and against him. At his best, he matches the outrage of Democratic voters fed up with President Bush and the war; at his worst, he can seem mean-spirited. Last night was more of the latter than the former.

Lobbyists: It started over the weekend and it only got worse for influence peddlers last night. Obama and Edwards seem convinced that bashing lobbyists and Clinton's connections to lobbyists is a sure-fire way to cast themselves as outsiders. First Jack Abramoff and now this. It's been a bad few years.

[OHdem10]

1. They did not watch the same debate as I watched

All the candidates did great.

Edwards had one of his best nights.

The Media are on their talking points and in perfect step
It is Let's bash Edwards.