Showing more unites than divides them - Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama left their boxing gloves at home during the last Democratic Debate before Super Tuesday.
        After almost a month of hostile fire exchanged between Camp Obama and Team Clinton—both needed to put up a united front to demonstrate they belong to a party, not of animus and division, but rather represent the best chance of denying a Republican another four years in the White House.
         After the Republican debate in Boca Raton Fla, on January 24th, moderator Tim Russert, told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, he thought the Republicans acted unusually civil, as if they signed a mutual pact of non-aggression, just to show voters how united they are..
         Clinton and Obama seemed to have ripped a page out of that Republican playbook last night. While squabbling over minor differences with their individual health care and immigration plans, both also showered each other with praise. Obama went on to say he was friends with ``Hillary before the campaign and expects to be friends with her after the campaign.'' Just one of many attempts throughout the night both candidates used to dismiss the notion their campaign has turned into a personal grudge match.
        The two Democratic contenders entered the Kodak Theatre last night as if they already sealed the nomination, and now needed to build a case against the Republicans, presumably John McCain during the general election.
        And one of the most prominent divisions between Republicans and Democrats is America’s foreign policy and the theater in Iraq. McCain has stated he supports the surge and expects troops to remain there for an extended period of time.
        It’s over Iraq that Clinton and Obama’s major differences came out front and center, with Clinton's original support to authorize the war coming back to haunt her. While praising his senate colleague's foreign policy experience, the Illinois senator reminded the crowd he opposed the war right from the start. ``It's more important to be right from day one'' Obama said.
        Neither candidate appeared to hurt themselves last night; Obama’s answers were sharper, shorter, without the wonkishness of Clinton’s scripted stump speeches, but the Hillary cackle was back in full swing. Not only did she seem more relaxed than in previous debates, but the New York senator delivered the best one-liner of the night.
        When Jeanne Cummings from Politico asked how can she expect to be considered an agent of change when either a Bush or Clinton has been on a presidential ticket for the last 30 years, Clinton summed her answer up by saying: ``it did take a Clinton to clean after the first Bush, and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush.''
        Last night's debate from Los Angeles had the feel of Oscar night, as cameras picked up Steven Spielberg, Stevie Wonder, Jason Alexander, and Gary Shandling looking very intense as if they were waiting for the envelope to be unsealed and a winner announced. All that was missing was song and dance man Billy Crystal and Jack Nicholson working the crowd.
        Was it just me or was Rob Reiner rolling his eyes, almost in a look of disgust, when Obama said while not advocating censorship, he thought Hollywood needed to act  more responsible in what they put on  the air. 
        As Laura Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke show would have said: "Oh, Rob!"
        -Bill Lucey
         billlucey@bellsouth.net