Politics: Election 2008

11:42 p.m. - Here are my impressions of the debate, in no particular order:

1. MSNBC was counting on fireworks tonight, and they did their best to make sure this debate delivered. Couching Clinton’s remarks about what an honor it is to share a stage with Barack Obama versus her “shame on you” speech ensured we’d get a show. Too bad so much of it was forced.

2. Speaking of forced fireworks, Clinton’s “Saturday Night Live” line was about as artificial as they come. The entire press filing room gasped when she said it. But I don’t think anyone was particularly impressed.

3. Obama did a better job of deflecting the bad press he’s received from his position on Pakistan and the endorsement from Louis Farrakhan than Clinton did defending her vote to authorize the president to use force in Iraq. And her attempt to shift attention to the future, not to mention her comments that Obama’s opposition to the war came without risk, were pretty weak.

4. Seems like Clinton’s will to attack Obama went away when Obama gave her credit for her sense of humor when she gave her mocking impression of his speaking style. Obama uses humor to defuse tense situations skillfully. My understanding is Clinton doesn’t like going negative against a fellow Democrat, and her discomfort doing so came through tonight.

5. Clinton’s inability to stay on topic with the moderators did her no favors. Tim Russert’s pointed questions didn’t help, either. Obama more skillfully defended himself against Russert’s attacks.

Overall, I have to score this a victory for Obama. Clinton needed to hit Obama hard, and she never scored a solid punch tonight. Obama’s momentum will be difficult to stop.

-Matt Koesters