Top Three Dems Battle while 2nd Tier Candidates Move Up

Now the spin begins on how the Presidential candidates performed in the fifth of six Democratic National Committee sanctioned Debates. It is important for the candidates to do well during the debate but even more critical is how their campaign staff works the media following the debate.

While many voters tune in and watch the televised Debates, even more will be reached when they read their newspaper with their morning coffee or watch the evening news. So campaign staff who are aware of this, immediately following a Debate - run to Reporters with their take, providing themes, one-liners, and more.

Reporters of course understand what these campaign staffers are up to and while they listen to staff positions, Reporters offer their own analysis of what they saw and heard.

Here is my quick take on last night's Debate:

First, In the first half of the Debate CNN used Wolf Blitzer, at his discretion, instead of a timer to monitor the announced time candidates were given to answer questions. This led to constant interruption by Mr. Blitzer of the responses by the candidates and became very annoying to this viewer.

In the second half of the debate when undecided voters were given the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates, CNN panelists or Mr. Blitzer as Moderator would often add on their own question. This should not have occurred if the intent was to receive an answer to a question offered up from an undecided voter.

However, the CNN debate format probably gave the second tier candidates the most exposure they have received in a Debate to date.

Now on to the Candidates:

Senator Hillary Clinton (NY) - I had written earlier that she had the most to lose and she held her own, however she offered no flashes of inspiration. Her best line: "they are not attacking me because I am a woman, they are attacking me because I'm ahead". Her opening comment about coming prepared by wearing an asbestos pant suit may receive some press but received a flat response at the debate. Other than a brief early exchange with Obama on the differences in their Health Care initiatives, she offered little of substance on any of the issues. Her campaign staff is already touting Hillary's back! - but I saw it as an average and flat performance.

Senator Barack Obama (Illinois) - Stumbled at the get-go on his answer to the now well known question as to whether illegal immigrants should be issued a Driver's License - His answer was similar to the wishy washy answer provided by Clinton in the preceding Debate. However, he recovered well and toned down his attack on Clinton. In the area of foreign policy he did point out that he differed with Clinton on negotiating with foreign leaders who are not our allies. I also saw this as a average performance, perhaps because I had recently watched his speech at the Iowa J/J Dinner which was inspiring.

Former Senator John Edwards (NC) - I had also said earlier he had a lot to lose along with Clinton in this Debate and out of the top three he probably did lose based on his performance. His attempts early in the Debate to contrast his differences with Clinton on her Iran vote and her statements on lifting the cap on social security fell flat, especially when he compared her votes to the Bush/Cheney administration - this lead to the "slinging of mud" phrase to be used later by Clinton. This was a below average performance by Edwards.

Governor Bill Richardson (NM) - on his birthday delivered his best performance to date - he answered the driver license to illegal immigrants with a clear yes, spoke against the effectiveness of building a wall across the US boundary with Mexico, and spoke of the importance of diplomacy with the Mexican government. As a Governor of a Border state and also being a Hispanic, it was refreshing to hear clear answers in regard to immigration issues. Also did well with answers on education and foreign policy. He will receive some hits from his opposition on his answer of putting human rights before national security but his answer was misunderstood. This was in regard to the current volatile situation in Pakistan where the Bush administration policy has been to ally the US with a Dictator in Pakistan against the war on terror. Richardson's point was the overwhelming majority of the voters in Pakistan are moderates and the US should be supporting free and open elections for he felt it was extremely doubtful that Islamic extremists would ever be elected in a free election in Pakistan. He believed that by backing human rights and a free election in Pakistan, the security of the US would then be strengthened.

Senator Joe Biden (Del.) - clearly came across as the most relaxed and loose candidate on the stage - probably due to the fact he realizes he is so far down in the Polls he has nothing to lose. He made good points on both domestic and foreign policy. He also showed his experience and knowledge of how government works. This was his best performance but he has a long way to go to catch the front-runners.

Senator Chris Dodd (Conn.) - also did very well, especially when he got on the subject of education. He called the "No Child left Behind" program a disaster and spelled out why education would be a priority in his administration. His best performance but he is also very far behind.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) - continued the good performances of the second tier candidates with his best debate performance. Made clear points in regard to not calling people illegal immigrants but instead undocumented workers. He stated the US should develop a clear path to citizenship and felt that NAFTA should be canceled. When he spoke of the need to bring the troops home today from Iraq he received applause from the audience.

It is always good for the voters to be able to watch the candidates live in a debate. After what has seemed to have been an early and extremely long campaign, there is now only about seven weeks before the voters begin to cast their votes.

The results from the Iowa caucuses loom large for these candidates due to the front loaded Democratic primary schedule. The caucus method of voting in Iowa is different and is challenging for the candidates to get a handle on. So although the top three candidates are in a statistical dead heat in Iowa, anything is still possible.