July 23, 2007

Liveblogging The Democratic Debate: Clinton, Biden Come Out On Top

End note. Overall, a pretty fun evening, insofar as debates this early in the cycle can be fun. We already know that the front-runners are not happy with the debate lineups, but a certain senator from New York would be wise not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She has come out looking surefooted at every meet-up so far, and that has to help answer all those woman-Bill-Iraq-vote clouds that hang over her head. Obama, meanwhile, was shakier this evening.

Democrats are learning to their frustration that control of Congress isn't enough. Not only do they need a more substantial majority in the Senate, but they need to not have a veto-wielding president standing in their way. In short, Democrats are out to win next year, and a made-for-TV bio and bucketloads of charm may just not cut it in '08.

The surprise of the evening was Biden, who has the resume but lacks the name recognition (and cash) to make headway in this contest. He delivered some of the more memorable lines of the night and, as his camp frequently and loudly points out, has the only detailed exit plan from Iraq. The Kuciniches and Cindy Sheehans of the nation will never accede to this, but the reality of the situation in Iraq is there is no good way to leave, just less bad ones. Both Clinton and Biden took pains to explain that tonight; we'll see if it starts sinking in with the MoveOn segment of the base.

No gaffes, no Ron Paul moments. The best thing the Democrats have going for them is unity on Iraq (more or less), President Bush, and being on the right side of voters on domestic issues. The worst thing they have going for them is probably history. We'll see how the Republicans fare in this format on Sept. 17 -- by which time everyone's political fortunes could be reversed depending on the highly anticipated U.S. report on progress in Iraq, due Sept. 15.

See our sister bloggers at Tech Daily Dose, along with ABC News, The Caucus, Huffington Post and the London Guardian for their takes.

9:11. Press release from the Romney camp!

9:10. The "look to your left" question is lost on Clinton, who has no reason to go negative on anyone, and Obama, who has been hitting at her all evening, says, "I actually like Hillary's jacket."

Obama also has nothing bad to say about Richardson; Richardson "love[s] all the candidates here" but thinks "they'll all do great in the White House as my vice president."

Biden quips, "I don't like a damn thing about" Kucinich, before adding that they are friends and "I think this is a ridiculous exercise." Then he turns to the Ohio representative, and says, "Dennis, the thing I like best about you is your wife." Biden's on a roll.

9:04. Here we go with the Thinly Disguised Attempt To Get The Candidates To Talk Smack About Each Other, courtesy of a YouTuber. The rivals are asked to name one thing they like and one thing they don't about the person to their left.

Gravel likes Dodd, but has a "difference of opinion" with the rest of his field about where their fundraising is coming from. Dodd has "nothing negative" to say about Edwards. Edwards also won't say anything bad about Clinton, but "I'm not sure about that coat."

Hmm. Clinton, dressed in a perfectly inoffensive pink suit, laughs gamely, but imagine anyone in the all-male Republican field making a comment like that. Someone's apparently not ready for a woman president, and it ain't just the mullahs in Iran.

9:01. Gravel became a minor Internet sensation after his amusing performance in the Democrats' first meeting, but tonight, he's just plain angry at everyone around him (save Kucinich). Besides some of the video inquisitors, most of the zingers are coming from Biden.

After a YouTuber asks what the candidates will do to protect his "baby," which turns out to be a gun, Biden quips dryly, "If that's his baby he needs help." Way to lose a vote, senator. Also, one of the best lines of the night.

8:49. Is it us, or is Obama flailing a little here? He takes a swipe at the wildly popular former President Bill Clinton when talking about his universal health care agenda. Candidate Clinton has taken on some of the blame for her failed universal health care initiative, but many Democrats also point fingers at the Newt Gingrich-led Republicans.

A few beats later, Clinton says, "I'm proud of Bill's record." Sure, anti-Bush sentiment is fueling Clinton nostalgia, but if you're Hillary Rodham Clinton, it's mostly a win. The line gets applause.

8:30. We're on to global warming. When asked who flew to South Carolina for the debate, most everyone raises their hands. Gravel proudly states that he took a train. OK, but that probably has something to do with cash flow as well.

8:26. We were hoping for a video from these guys from Tennessee. Is all the campaign chatter devoted to Vice President Al Gore hurting their feelings? No, Biden says, "But I think the people of Tennessee just had their feelings hurt." Ha.

8:22. Is this the first time Biden has mentioned losing his wife and young daughter in a car accident in 1972? Few voters know this about him, possibly in part because he has yet to get his own hour on "Oprah" devoted to the tragedy.

8:19. Edwards, who has been hit endlessly for those $400 haircuts and his North Carolina mansion, says his two youngest kids go to public school. Obama's kids go to private school.

8:15. A little girl asks everyone who their favorite teacher was and why. Gravel names a teacher who identified him as dyslexic: "He gave me some attention and taught me to speak, and that's what little chance I get to use it today." He looks at Anderson Cooper a little funny after that.

8:11. Kucinich wants everyone to text the word PEACE to P-E-A-C-E, or 73223. Wonder if it's free.

8:08. In the ABC/Post poll cited earlier, Democratic respondents said by an overwhelming margin that Clinton had the best chance of defeating the Republican presidential nominee. Her explanation of why she doesn't advocate an abrupt withdrawal from Iraq is another example of how her experience seems to be trumping the excitement surrounding Obama.

"The best estimate is we can probably move a brigade a month if we really accelerated. That is a lot of months," Clinton says. After reviving her recent spat with the Pentagon over planning a withdrawal, she adds, "It is time for us to admit that it's going to be complicated, so let's start [planning] now."

8:03. Clinton is betting voters will feel safer with her experience and the brainpower of her established circle than they do with Obama, whose candidacy is attracting the most grassroots excitement. She just got a little help from her upstart rival.

When asked if they would commit to meeting with the leaders of Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and other bad actors, Obama quickly responded with a yes. Then came Clinton, with a more credible, nuanced answer.

"I will not promise to meet with the leaders during my first year," she says. "I will promise a very vigorous diplomatic effort." She implies it would be foolish to rush into meetings with America's avowed enemies, and there are plenty of Americans who don't want to see their president in a half-hug with the likes of Kim Jong Il.

Anderson Cooper puts the question to Edwards, and off-camera Gravel is fuming. He's been complaining that he isn't getting a lot of air time, and he's right. Whether it's smart to give those with the most realistic shot at winning the nomination more air time, however, is another question.

8:00. Another somewhat unfair question, this time directed at Clinton's gender. When asked whether leaders of Muslim nations would take her seriously, the former first lady ticks off the lengthy list of world leaders and diplomats she has met with, points out that other nations have elected women as their leaders, and adds, "I think it's quite appropriate to have a woman deal with Arab and Muslim countries on behalf of the United States of America."

7:50. Iraq is the top issue of this election, and it works against the sitting senators among the base (there's hope for you yet, Richardson). Biden, Clinton and Dodd stress that withdrawal won't be easy and will need to be done carefully; some voters view those cautions as lip service.

When the mother of a soldier about to be deployed to Iraq asks whether Democrats in Congress are "putting politics before conscience," Kucinich says bluntly, "Yes, it is politics. The Democrats have failed the American people."

Kucinich favors the Vietnam option for ending Iraq -- i.e., cutting off funding -- which no one else in this field (except Gravel) and a small minority of Americans support. Opposition to the war is high, but is not yet so intense that Americans want to force an abrupt end to it.

7:46. Another tricky question that is mostly difficult for the candidates currently serving in Congress. Darfur is the rare issue that's attracted bipartisan outrage, yet the United States hasn't aggressively intervened there.

Biden, who has taken up the cause in the Senate, gets visibly angry. "I'm so tired of this," he scolds his rivals. "They think we can save them. We can," he continues, practically yelling. "American troops can stop the genocide now. You need troops on the ground."

There are some real differences here. Richardson would rather see U.N./NATO peacekeepers there, and Clinton seconds that course, though she quickly explains she's against sending U.S. troops because of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

7:32. Once again, Kucinich is the odd man out, this time on the topic of gay marriage. Obama says, "We've got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law," and explains that as president he would push for civil unions that would the be equivalent of marriage except in name.

This is not an easy subject for Democrats, who count gays as a key base constituency. Bill Richardson correctly points out that most Americans are resistant to full marriage rights for gays, and asks the couple who posed that question for patience.

7:25. Obama is asked the eminently unfair question of whether he is "black enough." His response is to mention the trouble he has had hailing a cab in Manhattan. The Illinois senator adds that closing "the disparities and the gaps" in health care and education will close the racial divide. He gets around the "Is America ready for you?" question by reiterating his belief "in the core decency of the America people." Roughly translated: "Their willingness to vote for me."

7:23. Who's for slavery reparations? John Edwards: Not me, but...

Obama: Not me, but...

Kucinich: Me!

7:20. If he was forced to pick a Republican for a running mate, Joseph Biden would choose Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, one of the most vociferous antiwar voices in the GOP. Also, Dick Lugar would be secretary of state. That gets applause. It's heartening that the audience knows who Lugar is.

7:15. Mike Gravel goes after Obama, and how. But it seems to backfire on him.

The former senator from Alaska points out that Obama has 134 "bundlers," or fundraisers committed to rustling up hundreds of thousands in campaign cash. He also accuses Obama of taking money from someone who heads up a foreign-owned bank.

"I don't take bank money and I don't take lobbyist money," is Obama's stern reply. Obama points out that he spearheaded legislation that requires candidates to disclose their funding sources, and "that's the kind of leadership that I'll show as president of the United States." Huge applause.

7:11. Mrs. Clinton, are you a liberal? The senator from New York prefers the term progressive, and describes herself as a moderate-progressive who believes "strongly in individual rights and freedom." Expecting a press release from Mitt Romney's camp any second now.

7:09. And the softball goes to Dennis Kucinich. He's asked how his presidency would be different from that of Clinton or Obama. This is our first peek at Democrats' anger at their party's leaders.

7:05. OK, so there was more. Christopher Dodd is asked how he would be different from politicians-as-usual, and he cites his 26-year record of legislative achievement in the Senate.

Obama's handed the baton next -- this is a dicey question for the not-yet-one-full-term senator. He cites the community organization work he did as a lawyer in Chicago.

7:04. First question from Zach in Utah: What's up?

Really?

7:02. So now Anderson Cooper is narrating an introductory video segment that includes gag questions in order to explain what's going on tonight. All well and good, but we've got eight candidates and two hours. Let's get this party started.

7:00. Chris from Portland, Ore., kicks off the evening -- via video, of course. He asks the candidates to seize the opportunity to directly respond to voters by actually answering their questions. We're with you, Chris!

6:58. Here we go -- the candidates are all on stage, Wolf Blitzer is making the introductions, and for some reason Lou Dobbs is still talking.

6:50. We should mention that the debate begins at 7 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on CNN and streamed on CNN.com. Also, the debate is being held at The Citadel in South Carolina.

6:45. Welcome to The Gate's liveblog coverage of the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate.

CNN has been crowing all day that tonight's forum is "a totally different kind of debate" because it's "all about you," but really, it's all about the seven men and one woman vying for the presidency and a media election cycle that abhors stasis.

And of the two primary election battles, the Democratic field is the hands-down winner in that department. Just as the Bush-Clinton dynasty chatter was really ratcheting up, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll [PDF] finds Clinton the overall leader by double digits, in a pool of respondents who said a "new direction and new ideas" were nearly as important as "strength and experience." It seems after nearly eight years of George W. Bush's presidency, Clinton may fit the definition of a "change" candidate after all.

The video questions are a shiny, new way of doing things, and candidates should expect to confront some curveballs tonight. Stay with The Gate's liveblog coverage for highlights, lowlights and everything in between.

-JANE ROH

(Graphics: Reuben Dalke)

Posted at 10:16 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans
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