Debate smackdown and AI preview.

If anyone was listening last night, they would have though I was watching a football game, I swear. My reactions over the 2+ hour debate were things like “Ouch!” and “Smack!” and “Oooh, low blow, that’s gotta sting!” with a lot of laugh out loud moments and cheer worthy moments. It was plenty ‘O fun! Especially the first half which was set up in the traditional debate format with the participants at podiums and questions nakedly designed to start a fight. The second half was more relaxed as the candidates were seated and it was more of a forum vs a point, counterpoint format and the questions were, well, IMHO quite banal. “Who would MLK jr support and why?” and this one directed to Obama (I am paraphrasing) “What do you think of Toni Morrison saying that Bill Clinton was the First Black President?” I’m sorry, but do voters really need to hear that to make a decision? I really really wish one of the candidates would just look at the moderator and say “How is that a relevant question?” Actually, I would really love it if one of them would go all Bobby Knight on them and say “What the F&*% kind of question is that?!” No such luck, I know.

Certainly just from a rising above the fray perspective, John Edwards came out on top. I also think he did a much better job of NOT saying “son of a mill worker” every damn time and stuck more with his personal stories of voters he has talked to. One thing he does very well is commit names and personal life details to memory which allows him to connect on a very personal level with voters.  Unfortunately, he just doesn’t seem to be able to raise enough money to break past the top two which is a problem he had ’04 as well. But, I am glad that he is sticking with his campaign at least through Feb 05 because his message does need to be heard – plus he provides relief from the bickering! It seems as if he is mostly ganging up with Obama against Clinton through there were a couple of moments when he did put Obama on the spot too – it just didn’t seem as forceful.

Clinton and Obama were the combatants. Clearly they were ready for some WWF style take downs. Up until now, it was their various campaign operatives who had done the mud slinging. This past week Bill Clinton in particular to up the gauntlet and aimed some harsh words at Barack. And let me tell you, Barack was *pissed* about it! I think the distinction here is that in this case, the passionately supportive spouse is an ex-President which means his words carry more weight and therefore more sting to them. Especially since Obama seems to have looked up to Bill in his own political career. Now, we always knew Hillary could handle herself in a dog/cat fight. But last night we saw that Barack can take it on too. Much like the previous debate where I came away from it thinking it had shown how the candidates would handle a critical committee meeting, this debate showed how the top two would handle challenges to their ideas. Given that some of the criticism of Obama has been that he is not experienced or tough enough, I think this debate dispelled that. At least, it did to me. I think he had one stumbling point, but otherwise held his own quite well against her relentless attacks and did a fine job of counter-attacking. Interestingly the audience definitely responded most positively to him and they even booed Hillary a couple of times over the low blow zingers she aimed at him. The thing is, I think she had some good points and I do think it was fair for her to push Obama for straight answers. And I am not sure he always answered things as clearly has he should. Still, other than Edwards winning by not fighting, I think this was a draw and while highly entertaining, it probably did not help undecided voters all that much.

Oh, and since I love to balance politics with American Idol, I am very much looking forward to tonight’s AI since it is the auditions from right here in San Diego! First time ever. The local radio station I listen to interviewed a guy named Alberto who has already been featured in the previews. He knows he will have a fair amount of air time tonight. He was describing how you first sing in front of producers and then get called back three MORE times in front of producers before getting to the judges. I think the first audition day was at the end of July and this guy finally saw the judges in September! No where near the original spot either. The major audition was held at Qualcomm stadium but the call back in front of the judges was held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. It seems a bit certain that Alberto is going to be featured as a reject, but a funny one 😉 I have to record it and watch it tomorrow because there is yet another football meeting tonight, but I am looking forward to seeing my hometown featured on the show.