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Notes on the Dem Debateby Ryan Sager
Here, quickly, are a few preliminary notes on the first Democratic debate last night, down in South Carolina... The most important question, and the one that drew the most telling answers, was the one about what the candidates would do were America attacked again by terrorists and we knew it was al Qaeda. Barack Obama took the question first, and his answer was so awful I have no choice but to dub it his Kitty-Dukakis-raped moment... Michael Dukakis, of course, was famously asked in 1988 whether he would favor the death penalty for a criminal who, hypothetically, raped and murdered his wife. He wasn't seen as showing enough emotion in his response, and it hurt his candidacy tremendously. Mr. Obama was posed with a similar question — in this case, about his country, rather than his wife. Instead of mustering some outrage, some patriotism, or even some quiet resolve about defending America, Mr. Obama immediately launched into a canned answer about emergency response and Hurricane Katrina. He eventually moved on, reluctantly, to the topic of a military response. But the damage was done. The only truly strong answer to the question came from Hillary Clinton, who talked of retaliating as quickly as possible and prudent against state sponsors of terrorism. It was enough to make even a neocon tingly. Other notes on the debate... * Former senator Mike Gravel is fun to watch, but only because he's nuts.* Joe Biden had the best line of the night: "Yes." (When asked whether voters could trust him not to talk too much.) * Bill Richardson raised the only objection to raising taxes. * Hillary Clinton didn't raise her hand when the moderator asked which candidates had had guns in their houses; I guess a secret service detail doesn't count. * Barack Obama had a great line about the Confederate flag; it should, he said, be displayed in a museum. * Barack Obama didn't list Israel as a key U.S. ally until prompted by the moderator. * And, heck, one more about Barack Obama since I'm on a role: His "biggest mistake" answer was an interesting one. He said he should have fought against the Terri Schiavo bill, which Congress used to interfere in the Schiavo case. The Democrats left the chamber during that debacle, instead of standing and fighting.
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