November 16, 2007
The Dems In Vegas: Nothing To Lose...
... and little gained. Barack Obama and John Edwards continued to pepper front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton with pointed attacks -- and seemed to have shot themselves up a bit instead. By dint of steely preparation Clinton swiftly crushed the immigration ID debate with a simple "no" and hit the gender card question out of the park.
"I'm just trying to play the winning card," Clinton said to tremendous applause. "People are not attacking me because I'm a woman, they're attacking me because I'm ahead."
Ker-pow. Not only is that almost certainly correct, but it's also a great talking point. In a remarkable contrast to her would-be Republican rivals, Clinton has powered through the media's sometimes great mistrust of her to what increasingly resembles a bulletproof lead. This is not a case of base-wide amnesia; the Democratic left's concerns about Fortress Clinton are still quite real. But those voters seem to have decided that there are bigger issues to worry about this election.
Highlights, lowlights and frosted tips (stay with us) after the jump.
Awkward Moments With Wolf Blitzer
It's not the title of a new CNN special, but it very well could be. We've had how many debates now? There's no reason to force the contenders to emerge from a stage-right tunnel one by one, as if to introduce them for the first time. Whoever is watching this instead of "30 Rock" knows who these guys are already. Even worse, the candidates all had to just stand there for 10 minutes so Blitzer could talk shop with colleagues Gloria Borger and John King -- like "Monday Night Football," but so much less entertaining.
In a completely unrelated matter, is Howard Dean on the Mike Huckabee fitness plan? The Democratic National Committee chairman looks fantastic these days, and we mean that in the least inappropriate way possible.
Who're You Calling A Neocon?
This may be the first time we've seen Clinton fight fire with fire. Previously, she has focused all her enmity on the persons she sees as the real enemy: President Bush and the GOP front-runners. Last night, when her immediate rivals went after her, she steadily -- without losing her cool, without that laugh -- returned in kind.
"She says she will turn up the heat on George Bush and the Republicans. But when the crucial vote came on stopping Bush and the neocons on Iran, she voted with Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney," said Edwards, before going on to needle Clinton on Social Security, campaign fundraising and health care.
"I don't mind taking hits on my record, on issues, but when somebody starts throwing mud at least we can hope that it's both accurate and not right out of the Republican playbook," Clinton responded. "When Sen. Edwards ran in 2004, he wasn't for universal health care. I'm glad he is now. But for him to be throwing this mud and making these charges I think really detracts from what we're trying to do here tonight."
By the look on Edwards' face, Clinton's closing shot, which yielded huge applause, appeared to shut him down for good: "We need to put forth a positive agenda for America, telling people what we're going to do when we get a chance to go back to the White House."
On this and other exchanges, the audience was more with Clinton than against her. Significantly, both Edwards and Obama were booed and catcalled after attacking Clinton. Because she's a woman? Hardly. Voters know they're in for a long, ugly season no matter who the nominees are. Can't blame them for wanting to put off the real nastiness for as long as possible.
A Tall Glass Of Joe
Heaven help us, but we've got eight or so more of these debates to go before the Iowa caucuses. Might they be a little less painful if about half of these guys faced reality and dropped out? Quite a few candidates have jobs in Congress they are neglecting in order to chase the dream. We'll leave it to others to say who should stay and who should go, with one exception: Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden. His suffer-no-fools-or-BS attitude is a refreshing change from the Pander Bearitis that's infecting so much of these forums. Sure, his is a long-shot bid, but who cares? Let's keep him around for as long as possible.
And The Funniest Line Of The Night...
... goes to Clinton, surprisingly enough. When the subject moved to CAFTA and NAFTA, Edwards used the opportunity to whack her by way of former President Bill Clinton. In one of many instances in which Hillary Clinton's been asked to attack or defend her own husband, Blitzer asked, "Knowing what we know now, was Ross Perot right?"
Clinton waited a beat while the audience laughter died down, then said, "All I can remember is a bunch of charts." Hilarious for so many reasons.
The Long, Hard Slog Ahead
For all his zippy one-liners, Biden also has a way of making us wonder why anybody would want the job of being president in 2009. America is not in a great place right now, both empirically and psychically, and whoever "wins" next year will have an incredibly intimidating to-do list.
The Foreign Relations Committee chairman delivered one of the most substantive and serious criticisms of Clinton last night, calling her vote with 75 colleagues to label Iran's elite Quds force a terrorist organization "a serious, serious mistake."
"What it did was it convinced the rest of the Muslim world that this was really a war against Islam and not a war against Iraq, and... it caused the price of oil to head for $100 a barrel," Biden said, in response to a question from an undecided voter in the audience.
The Bush administration argues that tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program will circumvent the need for military force. Many Democrats -- and Clinton counts herself among them -- fear the ratcheted-up rhetoric is actually the administration's way of building another flimsy case for war. It's doubtful the current standoff with Iran will be resolved before Bush's term is up, which leaves it to his successor to rethink or even undo whatever happens between now and January '09.
Memo To Campaign Reporters
Please follow up on this: Obama and Bill Richardson have said they would pull all private contractors from Iraq. Really? The line may win them applause on the trail, but in terms of strategy it seems fantastical. Private contractors already outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq, and the Pentagon has indicated that increasing reliance on contractors will be a necessary component of any drawdown. There are few if any nonpartisan military or security analysts we've seen who actually believe it is feasible or morally responsible to completely exit Iraq in the near future. Calling for American troops to pull out is one thing, but to bar private firms that are there of their own volition is quite another.
And Now, For Something Completely Different Insane
Thank you, UNLV student Maria Parra Sandoval for ending the evening with a question that no one wanted answered: "Do you prefer diamonds or pearls?"
Again we say: Really? Clinton, to her credit, delivered as smart an answer ("both") as she could to that extremely stupid and sexist question. Obviously we get the reference to Bill Clinton's boxers vs. briefs moment; it's not as if we're humorless about these things. In fact, we're going to prove it below. Enjoy!
Illustrations: Ryan Merrill and Reuben Dalke
Posted at 8:50 AM
Posted to:
Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, President Bush, WH 2008
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