I was wondering why the campaign’s communication director issued the following statement right after tonight's debate, until I read about Keith O’s disgraceful performance post debate. He tried to portray Hillary’s kick-ass performance toward the end as some sort of concession speech. Damn shame really – I used to like and respect Keith O. Now... not so much.
The campaign didn’t waste any time responding to KO’s BS. Howard Wolfson got this statement out before the dust even settled...
Statement of Howard Wolfson
What we saw in the final moments in that debate is why Hillary Clinton is the next President of the United States. Her strength, her life experience, her compassion. She's tested and ready. It was the moment she retook the reins of this race and showed women and men why she is the best choice.
Well the reviews are in and it looks like I’m not the only one watching who was impressed. Check it out...
Hillary's Reviews Are In: 'Standing Ovation,' 'Really Scored,' 'A Stronger Performance'
CNN's Campbell Brown notes a 'standing ovation' in response to Hillary's closing remarks. [CNN Univision debate, 2/21/08]
CNN political analyst David Gergen - Hillary's last statement 'was the most effective moment she's had on television, I believe, since the New Hampshire primary... [Hillary] really scored on that.' [CNN post-debate analysis, 2/21/08]
Politico's Ben Smith - 'Clinton's answer was a stronger performance.' "Clinton's answer was a stronger performance; Obama seems like he's about ready to get out of here." (Politico, Ben Smith, 2/21/08)
CNN's Bill Schneider - Hillary 'just made an effective argument against John McCain.' "Clinton just made an effective argument against John McCain: Though the Arizona senator is a champion against wasteful spending, Clinton pointed to his support for the Bush tax cuts and the war in Iraq - both colossal expenditures unpopular with most Democrats." (CNN Political Ticker, 2/21/08)
NBC News' Chuck Todd - Hillary 'had a couple of very good moments on health care and the economy.' "Did she potentially win this debate on points; I think so; it was close but she had a couple of VERY good moments on health care and the economy that probably scored well in the various focus groups of undecided voters watching this debate." (MSNBC First Read, 2/21/08)
New Republic's Michael Crowley - 'The subject of health care always brings out a formidable passion and policy fluency in Hillary.' "So much of the time politicians just seem to be going through the motions when debating the issues. But the subject of health care always brings out a formidable passion and policy fluency in Hillary. People can call her a phony for all kinds of reasons but it's clear she really gets and cares about this stuff." (New Republic, The Stump, 2/21/08)
ABC News' Rick Klein - Hillary 'sounds calm, in charge, deliberate.' (ABC News, Political Radar, 2/21/08)
MyDD's Todd Beeton - 'Hillary Clinton just hit that closing response out of the park.' "Hillary Clinton just hit that closing response out of the park." (MyDD, 2/21/08)
Take a look atHillary’s opening statement - she sure came out strong...
Now normally I’d try to keep the focus on Hillary in these post-debate wrap-ups. But I saw something on another blog that put my back up regarding Hillary’s closing statement. First – take a look at the clip...
I thought – what a great thing to wrap things up with. Her statement was about unity, about Democrats coming together. It was about the lives of Americans and how much they go through and how it motivates her to work and fight for them. It was about shaking Sen. Obama's hand and showing how proud she was to stand there with him.
Here’s some of what she said in response to a question about some crisis she’s dealt with over the years (I think I got this right)...
"You know, the hits I've taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country. And I resolved at a very young age that I'd been blessed and that I was called by my faith and by my upbringing to do what I could to give others the same opportunities and blessings that I took for granted. That's what gets me up in the morning. That's what motivates me in this campaign.
And, you know, no matter what happens in this contest -- and I am honored, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored. Whatever happens, we're going to be fine. You know, we have strong support from our families and our friends. I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that's what this election should be about."
And then I saw this bit about the response from the Obama campaign (and this bit is for those of you who have argued that the plagiarism critique is petty):
"Meanwhile, as I write this, CNN reports that the Obama people are circulating a comparison between a line from Clinton during the debate and a very similar line used by John Edwards. That seems contrary to the whole point of Obama's rebuttal to the "plagiarism" charges, which is that people don't care about or like this tit for tat stuff. I agree -- and the Obama campaign should cut it out too. It doesn't hurt Clinton at all and it undercuts Obama's credibility on political change, which is central to his candidacy."
Seems it’s not ok for people to point out his tendency to lift the words of other politicians for his own speeches, but its ok for him to imply that Hillary borrowed ideas from John Edwards. He’s trying to have it both ways here while ignoring the fact that Hillary and John are mighty close on a lot of the issues. One example of that is the way they’re both putting Universal Health Care (both of which include mandates – something that top economists all over the country say we need to actually get to universal coverage) Both plans are designed to cover everyone. No one will be left out. They’re the only candidates who can honestly make that claim.
At any rate that’s my only beef. Overall it was a great debate and I thought Hillary came out of the gate strong and stayed strong tonight. That standing ovation at the end was icing on the cake.