During a series of exchanges about health care during last night’s Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire, I wrote in my notes, “Substantive.” Reading over the transcript, you can see that these candidates engaged in a discussion that really told viewers something about the issue — no bumper-sticker slogans, plenty of specifics.
It was a stark contrast to anything Republicans have offered in their debates. In the last GOP event, most of the candidates tripped over each other to endorse torture. In the Dem event last night, viewers heard a detailed discussion of health-insurance mandates. Maybe I’m a geek, but for all the talk about these debates being all-fluff, no-substance, the Dems put on an excellent, informative, and honest show last night.
There’s been some buzz that last night was the when the gloves came off. The first debate was polite and non-confrontational, whereas in New Hampshire, the candidates started throwing elbows around. I think some of this is overstated, but if you missed it, there was one exchange that will be talked about for a while.
EDWARDS: Senator Clinton and Senator Obama did not say anything about how they were going to vote until they appeared on the floor of the Senate and voted. They were among the last people to vote. And I think that the importance of this is — they cast the right vote, and I applaud them for that. But the importance of this is, they’re asking to be president of the United States, and there is a difference between making clear, speaking to your followers, speaking to the American people about what you believe needs to be done. And I think all of us have a responsibility to lead on these issues — not just on Iraq, but on health care, on energy, on all the other issues.
OBAMA: Well look, the — I think it is important to lead. And I think, John, the fact is, is that I opposed this war from the start. So you are about four and a half years late on leadership on this issue.
And, you know, I think it’s important not to play politics on something that is as critical and as difficult as this. Now, the fact of the matter is Joe has a legitimate perspective. It is not easy to vote for cutting off funding because the fact is there are troops on the ground. And I’ll let Hillary speak for herself, but the fact of the matter is, is that all of us exercise our best judgment, just as we exercised our best judgment to authorize or not authorize this war. And I think it’s important for us to be clear about that.
You’ll notice there was actually more than one dig in there. First was the “late on leadership” line, second was “exercised our best judgment” line.
It was hardly harsh as political barbs go, but it at least showed that the deferential period of the primary race appears to be over.
Here are my takes on the candidates themselves:
Hillary Clinton — If I had to pick one “winner,” I’d have to say Hillary really excelled last night. She was sharp and articulate, forceful without appearing forced. At one point, after a vague question for the field about using the military in Darfur, she lectured Wolf Blitzer: “Wolf, we’re not going to engage in these hypotheticals. I mean, one of the jobs of a president is being very reasoned in approaching these issues, and I don’t think it’s useful to be talking in these kind of abstract, hypothetical terms.” It may not sound like much, but it was actually a flash of leadership. My only Clinton-related complaint was, in response to a question about terrorism, she said, “I believe we are safer than we were.” It was the only thing she said that I strongly disagreed with.
Barack Obama — Most observers seemed to believe Obama delivered a lackluster performance in the first debate, but I don’t see how anyone will say the same thing about last night. Obama seemed more confident and more at ease. When Blitzer asked whether English should be the nation’s “official” language, Obama didn’t hesitate to offer the right answer: “This is the kind of question that is designed precisely to divide us. Everybody is going to learn to speak English if they live in this country. The issue is not whether or not future generations of immigrants are going to learn English. The question is, how can we come up with both a legal, sensible immigration policy. And when we get distracted by those kinds of questions, I think we do a disservice to the American people.” He also subtly undercut the Clinton and Edwards line on the NIE by citing Bob Graham’s vote against the 2002 Iraq resolution.
John Edwards — I don’t think Edwards came across as well last night as he did in the first debate. My notes on him were thin.
Chris Dodd — Dodd didn’t get a chance to talk much, which was a shame, because when he answered questions, he delivered. Indeed, one of my favorite lines of the entire night was the very last answer of the debate. The candidates were asked about their priorities for their first 100 days, and Dodd said, “I’d try to restore the constitutional rights in our country. This administration has done great damage to them. I would do that on the first day. I wouldn’t wait a hundred days on those issues.” Nice.
Joe Biden — Biden’s experience in the Senate shows; he’s really quite strong in these debates. Darfur, gays in the military, defending his Iraq vote — Biden was forceful and direct. Like Dodd, he probably deserved more air time.
Bill Richardson — Richardson’s stock is dropping in my book. Following a rough outing on Meet the Press, Richardson didn’t exactly turn things around last night. He described himself as a “pro-growth Democrat,” as if Dems usually aren’t. He endorsed a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, which is ridiculous. I lost count of how many times he reminded people he’s a governor. Unimpressive.
Dennis Kucinich — Kucinich started annoying me last night. First, his answers start to sound robotic, like he’s memorized certain phrases, which he’ll repeat on cue. Indeed, go back to the transcript of the first debate and you’ll see that Kucinich not only answered questions the same way, but also with the exact same phrases. Second, he insisted that Dems are responsible for the disaster in Iraq. I expect that from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, not from one of the Dems’ most progressive candidates.
Mike Gravel — In talking about VA care, Gravel mentioned taking his “meds.” As a rule, that’s probably not a good idea.
What’d you think?