Clinton Still in Front
03 June 2007 8:29 pm by Taylor Marsh
Clinton Still in Front updated
Eric Alterman arrested? That seems a bit rough.
The round up of the debate tonight is much easier (video clips). Edwards did something critically important tonight. People are talking
about him, because he came out fighting. He needed to do that or things would
have gotten even tougher for him. He did what he needed to do, but he didn’t move up. Obama was much
better tonight than in the first debate, but, well, he’s still in second place. Biden was
strong, but he’s still secretary of state in my eyes. Richardson continues to
be just awful; talking about his resume, enough already. Dodd was fine, but
he’s just not breaking out.
After a stiff start, Hillary Clinton proved why she’s the frontrunner. Once
she shook off the uniter strategy, which seemed very stilted and scripted the way it was first employed by Clinton, she began to come into
her own in the debate. It was unmistakable. She got feisty. During a couple
of moments she completely took over as the guys watched her lead. Democrats,
Clinton stated, aren’t going to engage in hypotheticals. The guys seemed to
just sit there and nod. That’s the ticket for Clinton, don’t talk about uniting, just take over and lead. Much better than at the start when
Clinton’s unifying was a symbol instead of an actionable reaction set to motion. After a while you could tell she was having a blast.
However, this debate was much different than South Carolina. The stakes are
getting higher. You can feel the heat and tension rising. Edwards knew he had to deliver, but it’s not enough yet in this game, because you can’t just talk about leadership vs. legislation, you’ve got to directly attack the frontrunner and it’s going to take more than just once to get the job done. Obama was better, but again, not enough considering where Clinton is taking this race.
Clinton and I disagree strongly on the “global war on terror” talking
point, which is one reason I appreciate Edwards’ bravery in naming it what it
is, a Republican talking point, though he calls it a “bumper sticker.” But I understand Clinton’s strategy, though that doesn’t mean I like it. She’s not going to get trapped any place that offers Republicans a sound bite for the general. I get it. I did catch her in a couple of moments when she was looking at other candidates that didn’t present a complimentary picture (link update). Mike Murphy, formerly of the McCain campaign, mentioned it. You
learn it as an actor. Once on stage you are never out of of the spotlight. Bill would tell her the same thing, because an unscripted moment undid Bush senior when he was caught looking at his watch. Easy fix.
Everyone upped their game tonight, but with Clinton holding strong, even letting loose a bit and having fun, as Arianna Huffington said on CNN tonight, the guys will have to take her on hard if they’re going to unlodge her from up front. That’s going to get more difficult as time goes by, because Clinton is growing in confidence. She’s starting to trust her reactions and run with them. If this keeps up no one will be able to stop her, because you can’t bet on Clinton making an unrecoverable mistake. Even tonight, when she started out stiff, it didn’t take long before she turned the corner and came out on top.
