Critiquing the Democratic Debate....

[Blackhatjack]

Over at TPM's Election Central, Eric Kleefeld publishes memorable quotes and his observations of the Democratic Debate last night. The two below stood out, and are worthy of evaluation.

"• John Edwards did not attack Hillary quite as brutally as he has in past debates, possibly a sign that they know it can go too far and alienate voters. But at one point he criticized Hillary for taking money from lobbyists, and the audience booed — a sign that it might already have gone too far."

---Because there were Hillary supporters in the audience who booed when Edwards raised a valid criticism of their candidate, Mr. Kleefeld concluded that this is proof that Edwards' "might already have gone too far" in attacking Hillary. Really? It seems a more valid conclusion would be that allowing a candidate's supporters to interfere with the answer of the opponent is evidence of incompetence or favoratism by the moderator in conducting the debate. I am surprised Mr. Keefeld did not recognize the obvious.


• Hillary defended her vote for Kyl-Lieberman, saying the Iranians are a terrorist faction in Iraq, but also co-opted Obama's message of diplomacy: "She says she will turn up the heat on George Bush and the Republicans, but when the crucial vote came on stopping Bush, Cheney and the neocons, on Iran, she voted with Bush and Cheney."

---While it is true that Hillary defended her vote for Kyl-Lieberman by saying the Iranians are a terrorist faction in Iraq, it should be noted how inaccurate that statement is. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is A PART OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN. It is a disconnect to conclude her vote in favor of Kyl-Lieberman 'co-opted' a message of diplomacy. Of course the unattributed quote "...she voted with Bush and Cheney' was by John Edwards and is indeed accurate(Kleefeld repeated the quote with attribution later in the article).

All debates have their drawbacks, and the results of the debate are subject to endless 'spinning' by the candidates, and their supporters.

However, it is essential that we recognize factual circumstances which contribute to overall impression conveyed to the audience. CNN blew it when it came to running the Debate according to the rules agreed to by all the Candidates and their Campaigns. The fact that supporters of one of the candidates engaged in this behavior is not the fault of the candidate(unless they coordinated it in advance), and in some cases may hurt the candidate they support because of the disrepute they draw or should draw.

The comment by Edwards that Hillary 'voted with Bush and Cheney' by voting for the Kyl-Lieberman Resolution seems to be valid and supported by the evidence.

[Blackhatjack]

1. Here is a Link to the Kleefeld Article with other quotes and observations...

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/11/election_central_debate_roundup_15.php

[saracat]

2. Great job!

[Blackhatjack]

3. THanks!

[BootinUp]

4. The 29 other Dem Senators disagree with you and Johnny. nt