Democratic Debate: Hillary Plays Political Football
If you took a quick peak at the Democratic debate last night, it was obvious Senator Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead over her opponents in the polls.
Her performance on the campus of Dartmouth College could be likened to a professional football team, the way she tried to run out the clock before the final gun went off.
The junior senator bobbed and weaved, without ever answering a string of biting questions from MSNBC’s Tim Russert; she was in an obvious protective mode, refusing to acknowledge, for example, whether an Israel strike against Iran would be justified in preventing the belligerent country from becoming a nuclear power.
``I'm not going to answer that'', Clinton sharply responded, opting for a careful ``dimplocy first’’ solution.
When the question of Social Security was posed, and Russert asked if the candidates would embrace taxing `every penny'' of income, Clinton said she'd take a ``bipartisan’’ approach, and encourage ``fiscal responsibility’’ without offering specifics.
Her cautious answer wasn't lost on the ears of Senator John Edwards, who took a clear swipe at his Senate colleague , saying everyone is for bipartisanship and fiscal responsibility, this is all ``double talk''
None of the candidates, as a matter of fact, went on the offensive, or did much to distinguish themselves; which is surprising, since Clinton is in such a commanding lead; you would think one of these underdogs, would have launched a few Hail Mary’s in a last ditch attempt to drive her back on her heels and connect with voters.
Instead, much like Clinton, the Democratic contenders resorted to bland responses; most answers were tame, dry, and boring, especially Obama, who continues to look like a ``not ready for prime time'' candidate.
Clinton even hedged on a question near and dear to her home state’s hearts: where her loyalties stood if the Yankees and Cubs squared off in the World Series. After stammering for a few seconds, the New York resident and Illinois native, said ``well, I would probably alternate''. ``Spoken like a true sports fan'', Russert shot back.
Clinton did heave a sharp-witted rejoinder, which might very well have saved her otherwise dreary performance. When dismissing ``sanctioning torture’’ even under a hypothetical scenario in extracting information from a person who knew a bomb was about to go off, and Russert said her position was at odds from what her husband previously said, Clinton softly raised her eyebrows, and shot back: ``well he's not standing here right now'', a response that sparked a rousing roar from the crowd.
Despite not making much headway in the polls, Joe Biden delivered some articulate, unambiguous responses on a number of divisive issues, such as dealing with Social Security (he would lift the cap in taxing income); he wanted no part of lowering the drinking age, and wasn't afraid to say so even in front of mob of college students; and didn't shy away from pointing out the former first lady had closed the doors to many allies, who could have potentially help pass the health care report bill during the Clinton administration, an obvious swipe at her inability to foster bipartisanship.
The Delaware Senator, by the way, was one of the few able to answer a question under 30 seconds, during the lightning round, when he said MoveOn.org is merely a slice of the Democratic party, certainly not the whole party.
The candidate who best summed up the true spirit of the stale dialogue last night, was Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, when responding to whether there should be a federal ban of smoking in public restaurants, observed `I’m breathing a lot of smoke tonight''
Well said.
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
Her performance on the campus of Dartmouth College could be likened to a professional football team, the way she tried to run out the clock before the final gun went off.
The junior senator bobbed and weaved, without ever answering a string of biting questions from MSNBC’s Tim Russert; she was in an obvious protective mode, refusing to acknowledge, for example, whether an Israel strike against Iran would be justified in preventing the belligerent country from becoming a nuclear power.
``I'm not going to answer that'', Clinton sharply responded, opting for a careful ``dimplocy first’’ solution.
When the question of Social Security was posed, and Russert asked if the candidates would embrace taxing `every penny'' of income, Clinton said she'd take a ``bipartisan’’ approach, and encourage ``fiscal responsibility’’ without offering specifics.
Her cautious answer wasn't lost on the ears of Senator John Edwards, who took a clear swipe at his Senate colleague , saying everyone is for bipartisanship and fiscal responsibility, this is all ``double talk''
None of the candidates, as a matter of fact, went on the offensive, or did much to distinguish themselves; which is surprising, since Clinton is in such a commanding lead; you would think one of these underdogs, would have launched a few Hail Mary’s in a last ditch attempt to drive her back on her heels and connect with voters.
Instead, much like Clinton, the Democratic contenders resorted to bland responses; most answers were tame, dry, and boring, especially Obama, who continues to look like a ``not ready for prime time'' candidate.
Clinton even hedged on a question near and dear to her home state’s hearts: where her loyalties stood if the Yankees and Cubs squared off in the World Series. After stammering for a few seconds, the New York resident and Illinois native, said ``well, I would probably alternate''. ``Spoken like a true sports fan'', Russert shot back.
Clinton did heave a sharp-witted rejoinder, which might very well have saved her otherwise dreary performance. When dismissing ``sanctioning torture’’ even under a hypothetical scenario in extracting information from a person who knew a bomb was about to go off, and Russert said her position was at odds from what her husband previously said, Clinton softly raised her eyebrows, and shot back: ``well he's not standing here right now'', a response that sparked a rousing roar from the crowd.
Despite not making much headway in the polls, Joe Biden delivered some articulate, unambiguous responses on a number of divisive issues, such as dealing with Social Security (he would lift the cap in taxing income); he wanted no part of lowering the drinking age, and wasn't afraid to say so even in front of mob of college students; and didn't shy away from pointing out the former first lady had closed the doors to many allies, who could have potentially help pass the health care report bill during the Clinton administration, an obvious swipe at her inability to foster bipartisanship.
The Delaware Senator, by the way, was one of the few able to answer a question under 30 seconds, during the lightning round, when he said MoveOn.org is merely a slice of the Democratic party, certainly not the whole party.
The candidate who best summed up the true spirit of the stale dialogue last night, was Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, when responding to whether there should be a federal ban of smoking in public restaurants, observed `I’m breathing a lot of smoke tonight''
Well said.
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
Comments