Hey folks. It's make or break time for Sen. Hillary Clinton as she faces off Sen. Barack Obama in Austin tonight. If there's gonna be fireworks, they're going to be here. I'll be live blogging throughout the debate and welcome your comments. My friend Nick, who is a Clinton supporter, will be adding his 'Hillary Perspective" as well. Since I'm you know, biased.
6:45pm: Clinton says that she's truly honored to be in this campaign with Obama and hell, I buy it! With that, she gets a standing ovation. Try reading what
that means, pundits! We're done!
6:42pm: What was the moment that tested you the most in a moment of crisis? Obama: The trajectory of my life-- rocky youth, learning to take responsibility for myself and learning how to bring together people to make a difference. Clinton: Everybody here knows I've lived through some crises. (huge cheers!) People ask me, How do you do it?-- and she says its nothing compared to my problems. And your problems. We're heroes! And she was blessed with the calling to make our lives better, so we can be more like her.
6:38pm: Superdelegates! Clinton says "These are the rules that are followed, we'll have a unified Democratic party"... and she's going to totally sidestep the issue.
6:35pm: "We borrowed money from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudi's. That's not a winning strategy for America." Good line for Clinton, sort of alludes to the good times of the 90s.
6:32pm: Executive power comes up. Obama is asked why he hasn't disclosed the earmarks he's put into bills ands he responds that he has and will happily provide a list and that he's behind a "Google for government" that allows Americans to see earmarks.
6:30pm: How long is this debate going on for? My TV Guide says it should be Anderson Cooper 360 time.
6:27pm: Obama's really making veterans and issue, bringing up PTSD.
6:24pm: Great question about the surge and whether the surge is working. Clinton makes the point that yes, the U.S. military can stop fighting, but the goal of the surge is to get the Irqi's to step up and that hasn't happened. It's a good point, but Iraq can never be her issue and Obama snatches it from her, saying he makes a stronger contrast to McCain.
6:21pm: Clinton hits on her national security experience and talks about the issues going on in the world. Obama pivots it, saying his number one job as President is to keep America safe and then pivots again to Iraq and how the military was mismanaged, how it was a bad decision to go to war and how much you want to bet Hillary regrets that vote authorize the war now?
6:16pm: Clinton hits back on Obama's healthcare attack. "It is personal for me", she says. It goes back and forth for five minutes. The question was about whether Clinton felt Obama was ready to serve the country or not, btw.
6:12pm: Got an email from the Clinton campaign just now about "super delegates". A snippet: "1) A candidate needs 2208 delegate votes to secure the nomination with Florida and Michigan included."
6:10pm: Nick has to run because he's a regular working stiff, not because Hillary just you know, totally bombed. Big thanks to him for joining in.
6:07pm: "We can have great plans but if we don't change the way we play politics we'll be sitting here again in four years talking about how to get universal healthcare." Closest I've ever seen Obama come to taking that issue from Hil.
6:06pm: Obama isn't going anywhere by reaching back to 1993 to criticize how Hillary handled health care back then. How would he know? - Nick
6:05pm: Obama's finger is pressed against his notepad so paper doesn't fly up and distract 75% of his supporters. You know, shiny things, moving objects, etc.-Nick
6:04pm: "I'm tired of health insurance companies deciding who will live and die in America." Best line of the night. Hillary's strong point, always. - Nick
6:04pm: Obama: "We both want universal health care," except Obama doesn't. He just said his plan isn't very good? That's weird. WHY IS OBAMA'S PAPER FLAPPING UP AND DOWN?- Nick
6:04pm: Obama will debate the issues and ignores Clinton's attacks. You know, this is the reason he's winning. Clinton winds up looking petty by attacking Obama. He ignores her attacks and goes on to look at the specific policy differences. This is stacking up to be a bad night for Clinton.
6:03pm: Good, she mentioned George Bush again, so at least she can get some applause. This was brutal for her -- which is unfair, since she's absolutely in the right. - Nick
6:02pm: It's on! Hil uses that "Obama's campaign is about words" tack and then goes after his healthcare plan, home foreclosures and oh, I'll let Nick take this. I don't buy the premise of her argument.
6:00pm: Oh. "Change you can Xerox" didn't go over as well as she hoped.- Nick
5:59pm: HA! "A $4,000 tuition credit for every child, every year... [whisper] in exchange for national service..." Obama's saying he'll give tuition credit to kids who go off to Iraq, but mumbled that last part.
5:58pm: On the Deval Patrick flap, Obama says "This is where we get into silly season in politics." Then he goes off on the specifics of hope. Clinton is getting her ass handed to her right here.
5:57pm: Ooooooh, the plagiarism issue. He's doing the "10,000 monkeys at a typewriter" excuse -- I've given so many speeches, it's inevitable to duplicate a couple lines Deval used! So it's not plagiarising if the guy you plagiarised from works for you?-Nick
5:56pm: Obama goes after Hil's argument that it's time to "get real", rejecting the "delusional" Obamaniac argument. He actually says what I've thought for months-- it's not about the issues in this race, it's about how you plan on achieving change. Nick would call this a "home run".
5:54pm: As Obama claims he's engaged not just in talk but action, Hillary has got the weirdest expression ever on her face. Now she's taking notes. But at least Obama recognizes that his staunchest supporters are delusional. FINALLY. -Nick
5:53pm: The old "actions speak louder than words" line gets a lot of applause. Texans: easy to amuse.-Nick
5:53pm: Hillary makes the ludicrous claim that her attacks are part of a civil discussion of "comparisons and contrasts" and then references the Texas State Senator who couldn't name and Obama achievement and obliquely references the Patrick Deval claim. Obama uses the opportunity to point out what he's done-- healthcare reform, ethics reform, takes credit for improving conditions at Walter Reade Hospital.
5:51pm: And CNN isn't gonna let that happen. There's ratings to be had. First question: Hillary, is Obama all hat and no cattle? She uses it to go after Bush.
5:49pm: It's halftime and I can't believe we wasted five minutes on the question of foriegn language education. Obama's been good at rattling off specific policies. He still talks in a semi-halting way at times, which does contrast with Hillary's constant shout-out's to how awful George Bush is, but I don't think we're seeing any real winner. Instead, we're getting a good, substantive debate.
5:45pm: Obama takes it one step further: every student should be learning a second language. I choose Burmese. -Nick
5:46pm: Obama: Standardized tests bad! Foreign language good! This must be like porn for NPR listeners. - Nick
5:43pm: At least Hillary acknowledges that it's a little hypocritical for whitey to call for immigrants to learn English when whitey just knows one language herself. She encourages people to become bilingual (whitey, too?) but wants us to rally around English. - Nick
5:44pm: On the question of forcing people to speak English, both candidates believe that a common language is great, but also that we all should learn a second language. They've just lost the stupid-xenophobe vote.
5:42pm: The "Dream Act" gets a lot of applause. I am picturing Jennifer Hudson.-Nick
5:42pm: Obama's strategy is to point out "Hey Hillary and I are the same on issues, but I have less baggage." Nick, what is Clinton's strategy?
5:41pm: Yes, Obama, the key is to consult with local communities, especially when that same exact line got Hillary so much applause.- Nick
5:38pm: I spent the last few minutes figuring out how to do dual live blogging, so missed the first half of the immigration debate. Clinton goes again after the Bush adminsitration. I'm gonna wager we are not going to see these two go after each other. Clinton can do well by not going negative, because that was the expectation. Hillary is once again arguing that her votes shouldn't be used against her because the things she signed into law were poorly executed by Bush.
5:37pm: Hillary, did you think your vote on the border fence was wrong? "But you know John..." What's smart fencing? Is this like where the Mexican immigrants get their nuts zapped when they try to cross the border? Ouch.
5:34pm: Obama and Hillary basically agree on immigration, although (I think) Hillary is playing a bit better to the crowd. I think Obama is trying to get applause from his Texas audience when he says he doesn't want people with Spanish surnames being discriminated against, but it just sort of sounds off-point.-Nick
5:32pm: A question from distinguished actor Ricardo Montalban.-Nick
5:31pm: Say "the innovation nation" five times fast.-Nick
5:31pm: Hillary keeps slamming Bush. It gets an applause!
5:29pm: Say "clean green jobs" five times fast.-Nick
5: 28pm: Shit, she wants to freeze interest rates for 5 years? That's bold.-Nick
5:26pm: The economy: Obama gets it first and throws off a half-dozen or so proposals from getting rid of the Bush tax cuts, enforcing labor standards, building a green economy. Then argues that he and Hil are the same on issues, but that he can get these things done because he can "overcome the dominance of special interests".
The Hillary Perspective: "The wealthy and well-connected have had a president for the last 7 years." Good line. Shit, she wants to freeze interest rates for 5 years? That's bold.
5:18pm: Will you meet with the a new Cuban government? Hil: Yeah, if they move towards democracy. Obama: I would meet with them. "I think it's important for the U.S. to not just talk with its friends, but also its enemies." He would lift the ban preventing Cuban families in the U.S. from visiting Cuba. He would move towards normalizing relations if they moved towards democracy. For a second there seems to be a distinction, but then Hil speaks and says, "I'm for normalizing, but we need to prepare" and then Obama says "We have to prepare, but the President has to take a more active role."
The Hillary Perspective: On Cuba, Hillary just hit one out of the ballpark. Although, to be fair, calling out the Bush Administration's arrogance to a group of Texas Democrats is an instant standing ovation, but still.
5:13pm: Obama's opening statements: "A nation at war and a failing economy" face our country. Anecdotes of Texans and Ohioans who have seen economic downturns, mentions NAFTA. Mentions mistreated veterans and parents of dead soldiers he's met. "Lobbyists have a stranglehold on the process". "The central premise of this campaign is that we can push against interests, be straight to Americans and enlist them." Well, there's a contrast for ya.
The Hillary Perspective: Obama says it's absolutely critical that we engage in trade. We should also engage in breathing, living, sleeping.
5:08pm: Hil's opening statement: I'm a Texas girl! Started working here, we share the same values! Nice shout out to Barbara Jordon and Ann Richards. Politics is about making "real differences". Right out of the bat- healthcare. It's her strongest issue. "Lifetime of experience, proven results"...and asks the people of Texas to join her.
5:02pm: In the war of "Who gets the biggest applause entering?" it's a - holy crap, this is one hopped up audience.
5:00pm: Lou Dobbs plugs the NAFTA Superhighway as an issue. Wanna bet it's gonna be a question? And we're off!
4:53pm: As far as a specific Texas weakness, the panel sees immigration being an issue that Obama can use against Clinton.
4:50pm: Where the CNN pundits think Clinton will attack: Obama's appropriateing Deval Patrick's words and his waffling on accepting public financing.
4:45pm: Lou Dobbs hopes the race stays close so we get the excitement of watching a fight over superdelegates. That kidder!
Labels: politics
