The Day After ... Around The Debate-Go-Round

Well, it's the Day After, the, what should be, final Democratic debate of this campaign season (God, it better be!) and the sky hasn't fallen ...

Unless you happen to be Hillary Clinton.

No the sky hasn’t fallen, but the clouds are getting darker, getting bigger, almost shouting out that there ain't gonna be much, or any, sunshine for quite some time.

The Garlic weighed in on the debate last evening, shortly after it, and it was late evening, so links to other takes and reviews were sparse.

So, still dragging, with the ol' energy tank running low (and now, on top of other duties, dogsitting has been added to the list), we go with a look around the World Wide Web, a spin Around The Blogosphere, to offer you what else is being said, were the chips lie, if you will, as to the big finale last evening, between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Grab a cup of coffee, or cocktail, and enjoy!

Allasandra Stanley, in the NYT, offers that "for the rest of the evening, the MSNBC debate did look a bit like the “S.N.L.” parody", while The Carpetbagger Report asks "Cleveland rocks? Clinton, Obama spar, but did they connect?" ...

Joe Gandelman, over on The Moderate Voice has a nice round-up of his own ...

As to the storm clouds referenced above, Maureen Dowd writes "By threatening to throw the kitchen sink at Obama, the Clinton campaign simply confirmed the fact that they might be going down the drain", and this;

"Actually it’s not forgotten. It’s a hard sell for Hillary to say that she is the only one capable of leading this country in a war when she helped in leading the country into that war. Or to paraphrase Obama from the debate here, the one who drives the bus into the ditch can’t drive it out."

Ouch!

Noam Scheiber, on The New Republic wasn't overly impressed either - "On the other hand, the whole rationale for Clinton is that she's uniquely ready to deal with whatever comes her way. She almost literally stated that tonight, but she didn't do a great job demonstrating it."

But, for you Hillary fans, fear not, Taylor Marsh, on The Huffington Post, has the Hillary Orchestra playing at full volume, in her post "Obama Blows his 'Sister Soujah' Moment";

"After a year in the primary season, Hillary Clinton has found her theme: I'm a fighter ... So the winner in political terms was Clinton, because she found her theme and it fits ... Take away of the night: Clinton, the fighter. That's for sure."

Yeah, The Garlic noticed the redundant "fighter" theme from Hillary, and this was our take-away;

"Hillary blathered on about being a "fighter" so much, so often, I half expected Burgess Meredith to come rambling out on the stage and grouch "Ya need a manager!" ... Then it's quick cut to Hillary running around Cleveland at dawn and punching sides of beef ..."

Ahhh, moving on ,,,

The Los Angeles Times, and also Jeralyn, on Firedoglake, focus in on the Obama-Farakhan, "was it enough" meme, which was one of the hotter items on the blogosphere ... It's almost played out that they have to dun Obama on something, so this is it ... It appears, anything short of going Yakuza, and cutting of a finger to prove his integrity, doesn't make it ...

Prairie Weather has, perhaps, the shortest post on the debate but it's on the money - "It's Al Gore's fault".

Another On-The-Money post comes from Brilliant at Breakfast;

"The kids and novices and bloggers of the Dean candidacy are now far more savvy about Washington and the media and the existing horserace infrastructure surrounding this exercise we go through every four years. Since 2004, they've helped to elect Senators and Congresspeople. This winter bloggers have helped topple a corporatist Congressman whom Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer strongly supported, and now Donna Edwards is in all likelihood going to Congress in Maryland's 4th district.

The problem was never with building a war chest fifty bucks at a time and putting a bat up on your web site, it was sheer inexperience. Add to that maturity and experience a candidate to whom young voters relate, one who's intelligent, charismatic, and very much like the very same biracial people prevalent in their circles, and you have a campaign that may have to tap its donors multiple times, but that offers the kind of free foot soldiers that allow you to manage money more effectively. Mark Penn and Howard Wolfson can't BUY viral video like this"

And, lastly, Barry Crimmins hits us with a punishing, scolding piece of satire - Advise To Youth;

"Hey you kids, sit up straight and pay attention! I'm telling you this for your own good and not because I like the sound of my own voice. Get off the campaign trail! It's dangerous for children. So quit volunteering for Barack Obama! Stop joining hands with strangers at those giant events! You don't know where their hands have been But I do. They have been in dirty, dirty places. And stop turning out so many voters!"

Read it, it's hysterical!


A Few More Links

NYT Transcript - The Democratic Debate in Cleveland

Candidates go on the attack in Ohio showdown; Clinton seeks to slow Obama’s momentum in debate on MSNBC

Katharine Q. Seelye/The Caucus: The Last Waltz? The Democratic Debate in Cleveland

Marc Copper: Hillary's Ignominious Finale

Riding The Woody Allen Train To Last Night's MSNBC Democrat Debate

I couldn't escape it. Feeling under-the-weather, it crept up on me as I anchored the sofa, unable to move, to reach the remote control, before it was too late.

Last night's MSNBC Democrat Debate from Las Vegas reminded me, very much, of the opening minutes of Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories"...

It, and those of us watching, were on the sad, dour, lifeless train ...
















And it had the additional touch of Allen, with NBC's Natalie Morales standing, singularly, off to the side, reading emailed questions, almost in the role as the narrator of a Greek Tragedy.

Or comedy, for the fat-mouthed man from Buffalo was at center stage ... Always at center stage ... Never wavering or giving up his position of center stage ...

I thought it was going to be a debate, but with Brian Williams, and Tim Russert, listed in the role of moderators, it played out more like the pair emulating a couple of high school sophomore journalism students trying to goof on the upperclassman.

This one laid out so badly, I believe Leonard Pinth Garnell wouldn't have wasted his time or energy panning it.

From Steve Benen at the Carpetbagger Report;

About 22 minutes into the Nevada Democratic debate, a heckler in the audience interrupted the proceedings, saying “these are f**cking race-based questions coming from you two, these are race-based questions…”

There was silence from the candidates and the moderators for about eight seconds with no mention of the heckler. Tim Russert, continued with his question for Sen. Hillary Clinton which focused on her characterization that Sen. Obama “is raising false hopes.”

I’ve seen debates in which hecklers jeer candidates, and I’ve seen debates in which hecklers take a stand for one issue or another, but this was the first debate I’ve seen in which a heckler went after a moderator. Worse, I think the guy was probably right.

From Erza Klein's "Worst. Moderators. Ever";

It's almost impossible for me to convey the damage Tim Russert and Brian Williams are doing to the republic this evening.

Chris Cillizza caught this little gem;

* Moderator Brian Williams spoke for all of us sleep-deprived and travel weary journalists when he welcomed the audience back to Los Angeles. He was greeted with lusty booing from the Las Vegas crowd.

And, of course, Little Timmy Russert had to play his usual games, during a round of questioning about the positions on Iraq, in which all three candidates were in basic agreement to pull the troops out during the first year, with some subtle differences.

But Little Timmy didn't like those answers. Little Timmy got a little angry with the candidates and had to let them know that he was a little angry with them, contemptuously and dismissively snipping at them, complete with shaking head and enlarged eyeballs;

RUSSERT: In September, we were in New Hampshire together, and I asked the three of you if you would pledge to have all troops out of Iraq by the end of your first term.

All three of you said, you will not take that pledge. I'm hearing something much different tonight.

If you didn't watch last night, you didn't miss very much. The more informal stage setting - all three sitting around a table, mere feet from each other - was different, however, it offered, very much, more articulated stump speeches. None of the three erred to any great extent and none really scored points on each other.

It was, as we started this post, the Woody Allen train, a dull and uneventful evening.

If it's Tuesday in Las Vegas, it's Meet Timmy and Brian making asses of themselves (and, as I am writing this post, I hear a promo from MSNBC, that this dynamic-less duo will be hosting and moderating an upcoming Republican debate in Florida ... Egads!)

Hmmm ... Maybe it was last night, or hearing of the future moderation duties is what made Maureen Dowd so sick ...


Bonus Debate Links

A "Must Read" here - Matthew Yglesias and his rip-roaring "The Unbearable Inanity of Tim Russert"

MSNBC Transcript - Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate for Jan. 15

Big Tent Democrat: Why Obama, And Democrats, Won The Debate

Joan Walsh: The Democrats defeat the media

Josh Marshall: Nevada Debate Blogging 3.0

Steve Benen: I watch debates, so you don’t have to

Willow Weep For Me ... If Not, Then For Hillary - Or With Her ...

Sad as I can be - Hear me willow and weep for me

Hmmm ... Was it the warm weather or the warm, fuzzy emotions?

She pulled the woman vote, so, maybe her little "The View" moment had some impact ...

If the bulk of the Independent vote is found to have gone over to McCain, Obama can claim that Mitt Romney beat him too ... The Granite Staters were not, under any circumstances, going to let Make-Up Mitt drive back across the border to Belmont with a laurel wreath perfectly placed on his head ... But it may end up that the difference was the woman vote came out for the Clintons

Poor John Edwards ... The year he decides to run on his own, he draws two, mega-death stars to contend with, and even if he is the better candidate, he gets lost in the trail of galaxy matter (The Garlic, if we were have endorsed anyone in the Primaries, it would be Edwards ... Most pragmatic, fighting for the working man, and, perhaps the most normal, regular-type person amongst the motley crew) ... Edwards has to have had the thought cross through his mind, back in 2004, instead of being second-billing to The Dud, he should have run on his own then ... Ahh, but it ain't over yet ... Anything can happen ...

10:32PM: With about 66% reporting, MSNBC called it for Hillary ... CNN waits about another 15-minutes before making their call (Oh, the tension in Wolf's Situation Room) ... Obama gives his concession speech at 11PM ...

Stuck, pretty much with MSNBC most of the night, who all had gales of laughter and tore apart John McCain's victory speech.

What happened there? ... Did McCain pick up a bet - Go out there and read a horrible, disjointed, terrible speech for $100 bucks? ... Somebody check the Straight Talk Express, make sure exhaust, or carbon monoxide, isn't leaking inside ... But if I were McCain, I'd still keep my guard up, and make sure he knows were Oscar the Death Cat is at all times ...

In a foray over to CNN, I was stunned to see Anderson Cooper throw the analysis to ... Ralph Reed, Republican Strategist!

Was there an Indian Casino referendum on the ballot in New Hampshire this evening?

Bill "Will Vice President For Food" Richardson brought in his standard 5% of the vote ... Nobody can round up 5% of the vote like Bill R. ... Perhaps time for El Jeffe to pack it in, before he's embarrassed in being dropped from the next round of debates (and who will chide everyone to be civil, he must be thinking) ... He can leave his card with the remaining candidates and, with one last pitch, tell'em he'll make a great VP ...

11:25PM: On MSNBC, Brian Williams and Little Timmy Russert segue into a two-man Hillary jerk ...

Williams: Greatest Political Upset in American History
Russert: We have Ali-Frazier

Ugh! ... It's only the beginning ... Prepare for the onslaught of pro-Clinton, "It's Hillary!" for the next number of days ...The media and pundits will be falling back in love with her and you'll hear "Comeback Kid" bandied about more often than Pete Rose bet on baseball games ... Wouldn't surprise me to see Hillary and her camp go back into their "incumbent/entitlement" mode ... After all, this was a "Primary" and not a "Caucus" ...

Either that or she starts ballin'-like-a-baby at the drop-of-a-hat ...

More, as they say, as this story develops ... You can visit Memeorandum for all the post spin

- 30 -

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard Backstage at Saturday Night Live, With Brian Williams Hosting

News Item: Brian Williams, Showing That An Anchor Can Be Light

10. I thought Katie Couric was hosting

9. Is he the one that always ends his show with "And that's the way it is ..."?

8. Please, someone, keep him away from me ... He's been non-stop with the "pointers" for Weekend Update

7. I heard he does a killer Rita Cosby impersonation

6. Is he hosting to help our ratings, or is his hosting supposed to help his ratings?

5. I heard, if he's really bombing, the network is going to cut us off with a "Breaking News Bulletin" and he bugs outta here ...

4. Is he the guy with the Harlem restaurant thing?

3. I think he's confused ... He keeps asking where "Earl" is ...

2. He got kind of pissed off when I asked him how come he doesn't do that "Where In The World" thing, like Matt Lauer

1. I thought Tom Brokaw was hosting













Williams got to host Saturday Night Live, only after beating General Wesley Clark and Senator Chuck Hagel in a bare-knuckles fistfight, winner-gets-to-host competition

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard At Democratic Candidates Debate

News Item: Setting the Stage: The First Democratic Presidential Debate

10. What time does 'Grey's Anatomy' come on?

9. If Dodd doesn't make it, he can always get work as ''The Man from Glad'

8. Please, please, please ... It's South Carolina ... No Confederate Flag questions tonight

7. Gee, I thought Brian Williams would be taller

6. Bill Richardson, if he feels like taking a night off, can always pull in the actor Oliver Platt to sub for him, they look so much alike

5. Thank God MSNBC fired that Rita Cosby - Man, it would be torture to have her badgering us after this thing

4. What do I do if, in his rebuttal, Obama asks me how many times I was on Imus's show?

3. Stifle urges to do any "IED" jokes, like that jerk McCain did the other night

2. I hope I can get out of here tonight without getting placed on Keith Olbermann's Worst Person In The World

1. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Kucinich as the one to turn and say "Hillary, you ignorant slut!"

Separated At Birth?