Hillary's Fright Night

Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) got a scare on Halloween eve.... the Democratic presidential debate last night at Drexel University in Philadelphia jarred her inevitability mask as the seven candidates mixed it up, and at times tripped her up.

The bogeymen asking the questions, NBC's Brian Williams and a relentless Tim Russert, delivered one of the liveliest debate forums to date.

Clinton was reduced to sputtering while trying to have it both ways on Russert's question about Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's proposal to give illegal immigrants a drivers license, and her statement in Nashua, New Hampshire that it makes a lot of sense.

Clinton defended her statement saying, "Well, what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform."

Sen. Chris Dodd (CT) disagreed, "This is a privilege... a license is a privilege, and that ought not to be extended, in my view."

Clinton quickly jumped in, "I just want to add, I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Governor Spitzer is trying to do it. And we have failed---"

Dodd didn't let that pass, "Wait a minute. No, no, no. You said yes, you thought it made sense to do it."

Clinton responded, "No, I didn't Chris. But the point is, what are we going to do with all these illegal immigrants who are----"

As Clinton's nose grew, Russert tried to get a straight answer from Clinton... "I just want to make sure what I heard. Do you, the New York Senator Hillary Clinton, support the New York governor's plan to give immigrants a driver's license? You told the Nashua, New Hampshire, paper it made a lot of sense..... Do you support his plan?"

Now in full defensive crouch, Clinton responded, "You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha. It makes a lot of sense.... Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But I do understand the real sense of desperation.... "

Former senator of North Carolina John Edwards also didn't give Clinton a pass.... "Unless I missed something, Senator Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes just a few minutes ago and I think this is a real issue for the country.

"I mean, America is looking for a president who will say the same thing, who will be consistent, who will be straight with them. Because what we've had for seven years is double-talk from Bush and from Cheney, and I think America deserves us to be straight."

Sen. Barack Obama (IL) pronounced his confusion at Clinton's answer, "I can't tell whether she was for it or against it, and I do think that is important. You know, one of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face."

But, in the end, Obama agreed with Spitzer's plan leaving Dodd with his most shining moment as the only candidate willing to voice his opposition for Spitzer's dangerous proposal... which opens the floodgates for massive voter fraud by illegal aliens registering to vote using their drivers license for identification. An obvious boon for the Democratic party.

Dodd had other barbs for Clinton. When asked about his statement to an NBC station alluding to problems with Clinton's national electability he didn't dodge. "Well, first of all, I think electability is a very critical issue. Look at the end of this process here, we need to have a Democrat in the White House come January 20th, 2009.... the fact of the matter is.... there are 50 percent of the American public that say they're not going to vote for her."

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson refused to join the haunting of Clinton... "I'm hearing this holier-than-thou attitude toward Senator Clinton.... Yes, we need to point out our differences, and I have big differences with her. Over the war. I would get all our troops out. Over No Child Left Behind. I'd get rid of it.

"I also have differences over Iran. I think that was the wrong vote for her to cast, because I think it was saber-rattling. But I think it's important that we save the ammunition for the Republicans."

Richardson was ready when he was finally asked about one of his best issues, education. He said without equivocation.... "I'd get rid of No Child Left Behind." He would also have 100,000 new science and math teachers and a minimum wage for teachers of $40,000 per year

This is the issue on which Richardson is most passionate, but it's seldom he rises to the occasion on other issues which makes his overall performance unmemorable and reinforces the notion that he is really running for Clinton's Vice President.

While Richardson and Dodd had their moments, Sen. Joe Biden (DE) delivered a strong overall performance, especially on the issues of Iraq and Iran.... of overweening concern to the electorate.

Biden on Iran and the bomb: "The fact of the matter is the Iranians may get 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium; the Pakistanis have hundreds, thousands of kilograms of highly enriched uranium.

"If by attacking Iran to stop them from getting 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, the government in Pakistan falls, who has missiles already deployed, with nuclear weapons on them, that can already reach Israel, already reach India, then that's a bad bargain."

Biden didn't pull his punches with the opposition either.... "Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.... I mean, think about it, Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11."

Sis-boom! The most memorable line of the evening.

Responding to Richardson's oft made assertion that he's the only one on the stage with negotiating experience, Biden set the record straight.... "I led a delegation of 19 senators negotiating the START agreement with Brezhnev, I was deeply involved in Bosnia.... I'm running to be the leader of this country, to put it back on track..."

On the recent Kyl-Lieberman resolution.... which basically says Iran is a danger to our war in Iraq and the The Decider has enhanced power to act.... Clinton, the only one on the stage who voted for it, said it was because she wanted to "maximize the pressure on Iran."

Edwards response was scathing.... "So the way to do that is to vote yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons? I mean, has anyone read this thing? I mean, it literally gave Bush and Cheney exactly what they wanted.

"It didn't just give them what they wanted; they acted on it. a few weeks later, they declared the Iranian Revolutionary guards a terrorist organization and-- this is going to sound very familiar; remember from Iraq, the prelude to Iraq?--proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. The way you put pressure on this administration is you stand up - you say no."

When Biden was asked if he agreed with Sen. Webb that this resolution was de facto a declaration of war.... "I think it can be used as a fact - a declaration" And, that there are other "consequences for what we do -- and it's not even about going to war."

"Let's look at what happened from the moment that vote took place.

"Oil prices went up to $90 a barrel.... Secondly, we have emboldened Bush at a minimum. His talk of World War III, totally irresponsible talk. We've emboldened him....

"Thirdly, this has incredible consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan.... we have now driven underground every moderate in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. This literally -- literally -- puts Karzai, as well as Musharraf, in jeopardy.

"The notion here is it plays into this whole urban legend that America is on a crusade against Islam. This was bad policy -- Big nations can't bluff."

When Clinton was pressured about releasing her papers as first lady from the National Archives now, and not as President Clinton requested until 2012, Clinton had the vapours.... why Bill made that decision, these things just take time.

Obama didn't let that go unremarked upon, admonishing her, "We have just gone through one of the most secretive administrations in our history, and not releasing... these records at the same time, Hillary, as you're making the claim that this is the basis for your experience, I think is a problem.

Obama also hit at the reason the GOP candidates are targeting Clinton, because "It's a fight they're comfortable having. One they've been having since the 90s."

Edwards put a different light on the subject... "I mean, another perspective on why the Republicans keep talking about Senator Clinton is -- they may actually want to run against you, and that's the reason they keep bringing you up....

".... I think that voters have to ask themselves, do you believe that the candidate who's raised the most money from Washington lobbyists, Democrat or Republican; the candidate who's raised the most money from the health industry -- drug companies, health insurance companies; the candidate who's raised the most money from the defense industry, Republican or Democrat; -- and the answer to all those questions is, that's Senator Clinton -- will she be the person who brings about change in this country?"

"You know, I believe in Santa Claus, I believe in the Tooth Fairy, but I don't think that's going to happen. I really don't. And I think that if people want the status quo, Senator Clinton's your candidate."

Yes, Clinton's "turn the page" rhetoric was left in tatters. So Williams thought he would lighten things up a bit. He asked Biden if, with the Holiday season nearly here, he would advise Americans against buying imported toys from China in light of the health and safety problems.

Biden took the question head on.... "If I were president, I'd shut down, flat shut down any imports from China, period, in terms of toys -- flat shut it down, number one.

Number two.... they [China] have a mortgage on our house because Bush mortgaged us to a trillion dollars to them. He is responsible for this. This is outrageous."

Obviously, not a subject Biden takes lightly.

But, we did have the impish Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH) to bring a smile. He handled well the mild ridicule aimed at him by Russert about his allegation he had seen a UFO.... "I did.... it was an unidentified flying object, okay.... I'm also going to move my campaign office to Roswell."

Ending the debate on a spooky note, Williams asked Obama what he will be for Halloween.... "I am thinking about wearing a Mitt Romney mask, which I think.... has two sides to it."

Democratic Dustup in Des Moines

It was , "Yea! Rah! Rah! _______" (fill in the blank) outside the Democratic presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines, as the Democrats easily won the candidate-support "sign off" when compared to the tepid few who showed up two weeks ago for the GOP debate.

While Hillary Clinton continued her smooth, no mistakes performance, and Barak Obama "drew fire" from his rivals but held his own, several other candidates more than rose to the occasion.

Bill Richardson rekindled his flame, and had his best debate performance thus far. A memorable line, and one that set him apart on education, was just to scrap No Child Left Behind. Others just fiddled with Bush's failed education program at the edges.

John Edwards advocated powerfully for labor, and was unequivocal that he wouldn't "negotiate with lobbyists," but just take their power away. Right on!

Obama slyly sniped at Clinton, advocating that the country needs to break out of the red and blue-state patterns of the last 20 years.... and just in case you weren't paying attention..... he added it was a problem that predates the Bush administration.

Joe Biden was convincing on Iraq, and the other candidates thought so too, often referring to "Joe's" proposed plan. When all the candidates were asked if there was a time when they didn't tell the whole truth about an issue, the once-verbose Biden self-deprecatingly said that his problem "is saying too much about what I think."

Chris Dodd's impressive angle on neglected small farms was to have a Justice Department that deals with antitrust issues because that impacts across the board.... media, corporations and conglomerates that have accumulated too much power. Let's chant: "No more Gonzo! No more Gonzo!"

An ignored Dennis Kucinich's best line in response to a question on the candidates reliance on God to solve problems was, "I've been standing here praying to God you were going to call on me."

Mike Gravel showed up to throw bombs at his fellow candidates, but instead bombed.

(Drum roll)....The trophies go to: Found "fire in the belly": Richardson. Stepford delivery: Clinton. Clinton swipes: Obama. Iraq guru: Biden. Perry Mason persuasion: Edwards. Sincerely yesteryear: Dodd. Quixotic solutions: Kucinich. Biggest waste of debate time: Gravel.

Perhaps Obama's best defense of his relative new-comer status was, "Nobody had more experience than Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and many of the people on this stage that authorized this war." Sis-boom-bah!

Chicago Showdown

Another debate, and debate they did last night.

The Democratic presidential candidates met at the home of Chicago's NFL Bears, Soldier Field. The right venue for the scrapping rivals.... "Obama and Clinton Take the Gloves Off in AFL-CIO Debate." (WaPo)

There was a lot of the verbal pushing and shoving between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Obama defended his earlier threat to take unilateral military action inside of Pakistan in pursuit of al-Qaeda terrorists if President Musharraf, one of our staunchest allies, didn't.

As the wiser adult, Clinton sent Obama to the woodshed for a time out, scolding, "I think it is a very big mistake to telegraph that, and to destabilize the Musharraf regime, which is fighting for its life against the Islamist extremists who are in bed with al-Qaeda and Taliban."

Sen. Chris Dodd weighed in with Clinton on Obama's hypothetical willingness to unilaterally invade a friendly nation, calling it irresponsible... and, a clearly irritated Sen. Joe Biden pointed out the debate was already settled U.S. policy.... "It's time everybody start to know the facts - the facts" he reprimanded.

While Chicago is Obama's stomping ground, Clinton scored on him time and again, and indirectly punched holes in his thin resume by pointing to her front-line experience.... "For 15 years I have stood up against the right-wing machine, and I've come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl."

There were other dustups.... a particularly nasty one was between former Sen. John Edwards and Biden. Edwards tried to paint himself as the champion of labor. Biden issued a scathing putdown, pointing out his three-decade fight for labor as opposed to Edward's running-for-president union support. Ouch.

The impish Rep. Dennis Kucinich lightened the mood, calling himself the "Seabiscuit of this campaign," pleasing the union audience with his no-holds-barred pro labor agenda of ending NAFTA and taking the U.S. out of World Trade Organizations.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson showed up.... the wallflower at the lively candidate rumble. He didn't seem to connect with the boisterous audience, although he promised to banish "union-busting" Department of Labor and OSHA attorneys.

Lots of elbows were thrown, but Clinton made it clear the real target is the Bush administration because America needs change.... she "wants a united Democratic party that will stand against the Republicans."

Her opponents showed up for a practice scrimmage, but, Clinton took the field with steady authority. Like it or not, she's probably going to be the Democrat's girl come next November.

And They're Off.....

"I see a bunch of winners," was Delaware's Sen. Joe Biden's description of his fellow Democratic presidential candidates at the end of their ninety-minute appearance on MSNBC.

But, the format.... it was disappointing. Every candidate was not asked the same question, thus taking it out of the realm of "debate" and into the realm of "show and tell." Moderator Brian Williams was so determined to get through his laundry list of queries that he even resorted to a non-informative show of hands at times.

The evening's winner in my opinion was Biden. He also gets the evening's gold star for having and intelligently articulating the most detailed strategy for Iraq. He also receives the Ipana Smile Award.... you almost expect that little ping of light when he flashes his big grin. I was impressed with his presentation and am definitely going to give him a fresh look... "Yes."

The loser in my opinion was Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. He was missing the "fire in the belly" and didn't live up to his advance billing as a likable communicator. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought he left his personality at home.

And, in his rambling and panderingly-incoherent answer regarding the poor job performance of Attorney General Gonzales, he admitted he tried to cut Gonzales slack because he was a friend and Hispanic. We don't need another "friends of George" president. Richardson seemed out of shape, mentally and physically.

The award for best trophy wife definitely goes to anti-war Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. That tall red-headed beauty on the stage after the debate is his Mrs. However, he lost his verbal bomb-throwing standing to former senator Mike Gravel of Alaska.

The bomb Gravel was throwing last night was atomic, asking a too-scripted Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.... "Tell me, Barack, who do you want to nuke?" Gravel's bull-in-the-china-shop antics, while at times comic, detracted from the already squeezed time frame allotted for discussion.

Hillary wasn't Shrillary Clinton. New York's senator delivered a solid performance, showing to best effect her wonky tendencies. She remains a formidable candidate.

Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut isn't the president, but he could play one on TV. He speaks well, but on the issues he is Biden light. In the contest for the same voters, Biden wins.

That leaves just former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, the husband of the widely admired Elizabeth. He was strangely subdued. Perhaps trying to damp down his lawyer-like delivery. He didn't lose, and he didn't win. He showed up.

And there you have it, my take on last night's proceedings.

Next week we'll see ten Republicans in the same format. A "stubborn" Bush was the focus of a united front of opposition from the Democrats to his Iraq misadventure. Will the GOP rush to The Decider's defense? Or, will it be "George who?" Stay tuned....