Debatable Outcome

Well, the first Democratic debate is history and not surprisingly, there were no death blows landed. But the race became clearer or muddier depending on how you look at it.

Surprisingly, I thought Sen. Joe Biden did rather well and maybe that is because I wasn't expecting much, but he was far more articulate than most of the others. He also had specific plans for Iraq (something Republicans try to harp on Democrats for not having), joked about his own foibles and seemed to be having a great time on stage. The country could do far worse than Joe Biden (like Shit-For-Brains for example).

I was very interested in hearing from Gov. Richardson and was rather surprised at how poorly he held himself. He seemed agitated and a little pushy. He was the only one who repeatedly violated the time limits (I think only once did he not violate them) and if you can't keep a simple rule like that when everyone else in the debate can, I don't have a lot of faith in you keeping your word on things that might really matter. I think he hurt his already slim chances by his showing here.

Sen. Dodd make a few good points. Though he didn't show me a lot of charisma, he did nothing to hurt himself. That is not enough to turn his slim chances into anything, but it does allow him to fight another day and unlike Richardson, he is no worse off than he was when the debate started.

Congressman Kucinich made some points but near the end he was not doing himself any favors. Dennis is a good man with his heart in the right place, but he appears weak on national security and defense and that is the death knell to a campaign right now.

Mike Gravel of Alaska made a lot of good points, but he didn't come off as a serious candidate as he is somewhat of a loose cannon. He did come the closest of anyone to firing a shot at the other candidates.

John Edwards did pretty well until the last question, were he seemed to stumble a bit. I like Edwards and was hoping for a better showing as I think if he keeps on message he could be the dark horse who takes home the nomination. For that to happen he will have to do better than he did last night.

I thought Sen. Clinton started off well but seemed a little flat as the debate wore on. She certainly did nothing to hurt her chances and as the front runner maybe, for now, that can be considered a "win"for her.

Sen. Obama did real well. He was focused and articulate and unlike Clinton, did not seem to lose steam as the debate wore on.

I think Obama and Clinton stayed about the same, Biden gained some momentum, Edwards lost a little, Kucinich and Richardson lost a lot and Dodd and Gravel gained a smidgen. Your mileage may vary.