That was a great debate. Despite (and sometimes because of) some hard blows, it made me proud be a Democrat and Obama supporter. But how do we create the working majority Obama wants to create?
As the South Carolina front-runner, Senator Obama took some shots from Senator Clinton. To my mind, he gave better than he got. He showed that she has been shading things in the way she depicts his record. On Reagan, "present" votes, and other matters, her criticisms don't stand up to scrutiny.
Senator Edwards got some good shots in, as well from the advantaged perch as the distant underdog. (He may now be a spoiler. I suspect his votes come at the expense of Senator Clinton.) Although I often distrust Edwards' angry populist stance, I appreciate as a public health-nik his comments on using the public health system to help care for undocumented immigrants. Obama's point about reinsurance is also quite important, though neither substantive point will make the CNN highlight reel.
Clinton and Edwards both misconstrue Obama's position on mandates and greatly exaggerate the differences across the three plans. The point is that we will not, and probably can not at acceptable political and moral cost, force low-income adults to buy coverage they cannot afford. In any event, two points should be noted: (1) None of the three plans offers universal coverage, and (2) each of the three plans is an opening bid in a long congressional process that will greatly alter whatever is proposed.
I am most taken with Obama's comments about the importance of a working majority for social change. That's what he was discussing with his comments about Ronald Reagan, deliberately misconstrued by his opponents. Our nation needs transformative leadership that can create a broad Democratic majority that gets us off our heels in promoting progressive policies for social change. Obama did that surprisingly well in Illinois, and he is drawing Republican and Independent votes Senator Clinton cannot. That's how one obtains such a majority.
This is the fundamental issue Democrats must face. All three candidates offer greatly improved domestic policies and a more progressive and restrained stance in the world.
I believe that Obama has the presence and skills to get this done. But how can Democrats accomplish this difficult task?