Just back from watching the debate with JCDems chair Brian Flaherty who says, in chairmanly neutrality, that everyone did great and he wants to hear more health care. The rest of the thoughts are mine in blogger-ly snarkiness. Joe Biden had a great night and Brian Williams knew it; by the end of the debate he was going to Biden more and more and Dodd and Richardson less. And in the post-debate interviews, Biden was in What I'll Do As President mode (well, Secretary of State maybe) while Dodd was begging for consideration and Richardson (who looked disappointed) was giving the answer he should have given to one of the debate questions. My favorite sequence was the "elephant in the room" round early in the debate when Williams asked about perceived weaknesses and character flaws. (Someone missed an opportunity to chuckle at the question with an air of "this is so ridiculous it's beneath me, but as you insist on asking, I have nothing to hide.") Edwards did well with his response to a $400 haircut question, which served as the launch pad for some Everyone Should Have The Opportunity I've Had and Son Of A Millworker stories including one I hadn't heard before of having to leave a restaurant without ordering because his dad couldn't afford anything on the menu.

Labels: Barack_Obama, Hillary_Clinton, Joe_Biden, John_Edwards