From The Politico, quoting Barack in NC:
I will tell you it does not get more fun than these debates. They are inspiring debates. I think last night we set a new record because it took us 45 minutes before we even started talking about a single issue that matters to the American people.
It took us 45 minutes — 45 minutes before we heard about health care, 45 minutes before we heard about Iraq, 45 minutes before we heard about jobs, 45 minutes before we heard about gas prices.
Now, I don’t blame Washington for this because that’s just how Washington is. They like stirring up controversies and getting us to play gotcha games and getting us to attack each other. And I’ve got to say Sen. Clinton looked in her element.
ABC handed Hillary a Pyrrhic victory last night.
And don't think the American people didn't take note.
Update More, from the Boston Globe:
At a town hall meeting in Raleigh, N.C., Obama argued that it was 45 minutes before any substantive issues came up in the debate. He said the voters he has met are "desperate to solve real problems," such as how to deal with home mortgages, college costs, jobs, and the Iraq war.
"Those are the questions the American people are asking," he said. "That's the debate the American people want."
Americans, he said, do not want "say anything, do anything, anything goes, slash-and-burn politics."
But this election, voters will not be confused by "bamboozling" or "hoodwinking," Obama said, as the crowd applauded.
update II And now from the Charlotte Observer:
"They will try to focus on all these issues that don't have anything to do with how you are paying your bills at the end of the month."
Obama spoke as if he had already won the Democratic nomination, telling the crowd he would respond with force to Republican attacks. "If the Republicans come at me, I will come right back at them, and I will come at them hard," he said.
"I'll be honest with you. It's a little harder to do with a fellow Democrat, because I'm trying to show some restraint. I won't have as much restraint with the Republicans."
Update III (my own commentary)
I don't see how Hillary can escape this point. The only debate where people think she did "well", and it's because it was all in the gutter. Of course she did well in a mudfight, that's what she does. But you can't get human rights reform in China with a mudfight. You can't get our troops out of Iraq with name-calling. You can't get Health Care reform by using Karl Rove's playbook. And you certainly can't fix the housing crisis by building your own political house out of cards.
She's in a hole, and she's trying to escape by digging deeper. ABC News threw her a shovel last night, and she kicked up a lot more dirt. She's no closer to being the nominee today than she was yesterday, but now there's an even bigger mess to clean up in Denver.
Update IV w/ video (thanks WeBetterWinThisTime!)