For anyone who didn't see Obama win the Debate tonight, please, watch him deliver Substance and Hope.
Obama on the need to transcend the politics of fear:
Obama explains when he decided to run for president:
Here's Barack's opening statement:
Barack on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:
Barack Obama refutes lies in smear emails:
Barack Obama discusses the need for electoral reform (Bravo!)
Obama on support from Latino voters:
I believe Obama delivered Hope, Substance, and Level Headed Focus/Tone, mixed in with a bit of Humor and I think voters will respond. For all the Hillary Voters dancing wildly over their perceived victory, lest you be reminded HIllary was thought to have lost the NH debate... We'll see what the media does with Hillary's Major Doublespeak and whether or not usage of the word "Pathetic" is deemed appropriate.
I believe Obama is the right man for our times to lead our country and again tonight, he proved he has the right character and judgement to lead our country.
UPDATE: Mark Haleprin Scores tonight a 3 way tie, refuting Tweety's attempts to overzealously read too much into Clinton's Performance.
Inspiring and thoughtful, but sometimes ponderous. Ready to go, but obviously fatigued. Overall, stood toe-to-toe with Clinton on style and substance. Relied on stump speech excerpts more than usual, but neglected to hammer his core message of change. Was a somewhat quiet presence at the table, particularly in contrast to the exhilarating orator he’s been on the stump in recent weeks.
Interesting read. As for Obama's Question/Non-Question, I would have liked to see him ask Hillary point blank:
Can you Gurantee you could hold the country together and our party together well enough to avoid losing the congress like YOU and Bill did in '94, after which little in the way of progressive agenda's were passed?
What would you have asked?
UPDATE II:
A Very Excellent Breakdown:
For the last week, you could sense the campaign obsessives becoming increasingly pessimistic about Obama's chances. This happened for two reasons. First, an extensive discussion of race seemed to force Obama into the role of "black candidate." Second, Hillary's questions about the steadfastness of Obama's war opposition made him look like a typical equivocating politician. The thinking was that Hillary would win if the race became a competition between a "white candidate" and a "black candidate," or a race between two conventional candidates. Worse, Hillary seemed able to impose these frames on the race almost at will. If Obama ignored the charges, he risked having them stick. And if he engaged, he risked becoming exactly what he wanted to avoid--either an aggrieved African American or a bickering pol.
That's the way it looked until the last day or so, in any case. What Obama demonstrated last night is that he's just as capable of imposing his own frame on the race. Each time he took a question about race or the recent bickering, he responded with his trademark uplift and forced Hillary to respond in kind.
Granted, the Clintonites were clearly ready to end the ugly skirmish themselves. But I got the sense there was much more happy talk than they preferred. If this becomes a contest to see who can be more unifying and high-minded, Hillary will have problems.
Obama was asked about a document in which his South Carolina press secretary had catalogued all the racial affronts Clinton and her surrogates had committed. Obama said he regretted it "not only in hindsight but going forward." He added: "[I]t is my responsibility to make sure that we're setting a clear tone in our campaign. And I take that responsibility very seriously, which is why I spoke yesterday and sent a message... Now, there are going to be significant issues that we debate and some serious differences that we have... What I am absolutely convinced of is that everybody here [i.e., Clinton and Edwards] is committed to racial equality, has been historically."
For her part, Clinton also made the necessary statements about getting beyond divisiveness. But on the specific question of surrogates, she fell flat, saying she took BET founder Bob Johnson at his (highly implausible) word when he tried explaining away an obvious allusion to Obama's teenage drug-use.
Obama was magnanimous and winning. Hillary was clenched and grudging. The comparison wasn't especially flattering to her.
Shorter Version: Obama was Honest and Took responsibility for His Campaign's Mistake. Hillary issued DOUBLESPEAK
"Well, Bob has put out a statement saying what he was trying to say, and what he thought he had said. And we accept him on his word on that."
Russert followed up on Johnson: "Were his comments out of bounds"? This time, Hillary offered an entirely different spin: "Yes they were. And he has said that."
So, to recap, Hillary's positions were:
- Bob Johnson denies that he did anything wrong and I accept that.
- Bob Johnson admits that he did something wrong and I agree.
Am I missing something? (And when did Johnson ever admit his comments were out of bounds--as opposed to just misconstrued?)
UPDATE III:
More Doublespeak Reaction
The Daily Dish
9.10 pm: Did Robert L. Johnson actually say he was "out of bounds" in bringing up Obama's past drug use? That's what Clinton just said. Did she just make that up?
(Update: if you read Johnson's press release, you can see that Clinton was lying to maintain good relations with Johnson. She lied when she said that ayone who did such a thing would be disowned. She hasn't disowned someone who both smeared Obama, then lied about it, then refused to back away from it. So that's two lies. If it were her opponent, you can be sure she'd be taking notes. I'm holding her to the same standards she applies to others.)
Americablog
UPDATE: Hillary defends BET head Bob Johnson for invoking Obama's youthful drug use. Contrast that with Obama recanting on his criticism of Hillary - he fessed up, owned it, and said it was wrong. Wait, now Hillary says Johnson's comments were out of bounds and he has admitted as such. Um, no he hasn't - he actually criticized everyone for criticizing him, and Hillary stood by him and his comments only seconds ago.
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