There were a few other observations I had of the Democratic
debate last night that didn't make it into my column:
--John Edwards' insistence on calling the War on Terror a
"bumper sticker" reveals a desperation on his part, making it
pretty clear that he won't be the nominee. If you give the benefit
of the doubt to Edwards, he is making the intellectual argument
that while we do need to fight terrorism, categorizing it as a "War
on Terror" can be used for propaganda purposes to justify all sorts
of things. But in a political context, such nuances don't get
conveyed, and Edwards comes across as someone who doesn't think
terrorism is a problem. This gave Hillary Clinton the oppourtunity
to establish herself as more hawkish by declaring that as a New
Yorker (it's been over six years and I still can't get over that)
"I have seen first hand the terrible damage that can be inflicted
on our country by a small band of terrorists." Edwards' progressive
populism will win over a certain portion of the left, but in the
end the party will go with a more mainstream candidate, just as
Democrats ditched Howard Dean at the end to go with John Kerry.
--It's been pointed out on other blogs, but for the second
debate in a row, Bill Richardson bombed. I always thought
Richardson would make a strong vice presidential choice given the
fact that he is governor of New Mexico, which is a crucial swing
region, he is Hispanic, and is the candidate with the strongest
resume. I thought he'd be an especially great fit for the VP slot
if Ovama were the nominee, because Obama would have to pick
somebody more experienced than he is to reassure voters. So, I've
been quite surprised to watch Richardson struggle through another
debate. His answers were rambling and often off topic, and he was
overly eager to tout his experience. He was at his most juvenile
when after a question about Darfur, he said "I was there" about 83
times.
--Joe Biden evidently thinks that the candidate who yells the
most looks the most presidential. He's wrong.
topics:
Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton
