The bad quote overshadows her strong closing
We wouldn't know it from reading the comments from HRC's choir on the Mydd.com blog, but it is turning out that the media narative give just as equal amount of attention to Hillary's awful and poorly delivered quote attacking Obama.
While I will give Hillary credit that her closing comment was very strong, magnanamus, conciliatory and one of her best moments in the campaign. It also sounded validictory and realization of possible defeat.
Apparently I've got lots of company. Here is the Huffington Post in HUGE headlines immediately after the debate:
"CLINTON CALLS OBAMA 'CHANGE YOU CAN XEROX'; CROWD BOOS."
The media narrative has taken hold. The negative opinion of that quote was unanimous from an array of pundits on the left and the right on CNN, MSNBC, FOX and ABC. I didn't do a count but that botched quote was probably replayed and replayed more times than Hillary's strong closing. There was also unanimous agreement that Obama had his strongest most substantive debate to date.
The print media has been just as unforgiving to Hillary and has contributed to the general narrative that Hillary did not get knock out punch that she desperately needed.
Here is the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/...
The London Telegraph writes in their headlines:
"Hillary Clinton heckled after plagiarism slur"
Here are debate reaction quotes from Politicalwire.com:
Some reactions from last night's debate in Texas between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama:
Chuck Todd: "Clinton ended the debate on a VERY conciliatory note and for the first time sounded like a candidate who realized she might not win. It must be an odd position for her but the confidence she exuded for just about the entire debate disappeared there at the end. I wonder if showing some vulnerability might actually help her with some undecided voters."
Marc Ambinder: "This was the night where we all learned that Hillary Clinton understands the moment in history we are in, and that she is smart enough and gracious enough to realize that her party is more important than personal vanity, that there are things she just cannot say about Obama because it would hurt him in the fall, and that more likely than not, she will not win the nomination."
Rick Klein: "If all you're doing as a voter is making a judgment based on this debate, it's easy to come away supporting Clinton. But that's not how the election works -- the fact is Sen. Clinton was looking for ways to recast the debate tonight, and we didn't get that. A few new lines on a few old arguments do not result in any changed dynamics, not by my judgment. If you're an Obama fan, you're generally pleased with the night."
Walter Shapiro: "The very tentative guess is that Hillary Clinton still managed to inspire voters in Texas and Ohio to look again, perhaps for the last time, at the candidate whom they are poised to jettison in favor of Barack Obama."
There is also this headline from another SF Chronicle writer:
"Clinton manages only a draw in debate."
This is also consistent with what my family members, friends and co-workers who watched the debate seems to observeD.
I'd say that notwithstanding her strong closing, it was more of a disappointing night for her in that she's not likely to change the media narrative and stop his momentum.