 The Obama-Hillary one-on-one debate last night in Hollywood wasn't exactly Kennedy-Nixon 1960. It was remarkable mostly for its civility and lack of controversy. While not boring, it certainly lacked the fireworks of the several months build-up to the campaign getting down to the final two. Barack pulled out Clinton's chair, the two hugged and giggled and generally made nice. Clearly, the theatrics that Camp Clinton pulled for South Carolina are over, (as I figured they would be.)
Last night, the most mentioned names were:
John Edwards (they both want his supporters)
and
John McCain (they both assume they'll be running against him)
Hillary managed to get in a nod to Maxine Waters, who is supporting her, and Barack managed to get some digs in about integrity and judgment, particularly on the issue of Iraq.
Overall, a draw. Hillary was personable, Barack was reasonable and serious enough to be president. They both fudged on the question of whether they could run together as a ticket, something they gave great visual to last night.
I've been saying for nearly a year that they can, and to be honest, they may have to in order to keep both white women and black voters in the high turnout tent.
Time will tell.Labels: 2008 election, Barack Obama, democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, presidential candidates |
