Tuesday, January 22, 2008
South Carolina Debates
Well, the proverbial gloves were taken off and thinks got funky. The exchanges between Obam a and Clinton left no doubt that that this pair won't be sharing a cab anytime soon. However, some larger questions loom. Did Obama show the backbone that some had doubts that he actually possessed? How did Hilary weather Obama's attacks ? How many more primaries can Obama win( beyond South Carolina) ? and finally, Was there a clear cut winner? Lets communicate!
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3 comments:
The SC/CBC debate was a livley one. I fell it was a great warm up for the general election in Nov 08. Its only going to get tougher.
Obama, in my opion was rattled during the first half of the debate when Clinton and Edwards were attacking him and poking holes in his voting record. I must give Obama credit for bouncing back and getting off the ropes in the early rounds. I feel that Obama finished stronger that he started.
I think that Clinton lost any credit gained in NH for being human. Clinton showed she is tought as nails and willing to do what ever she must do to win. I must give Obama credit again becasue he clearly worked over Clintons body befor the head shots started to land.
Obama, in my opion still has an up hill fight, and it going to be the Latin vote. Obama is going to have to find a way to bridge the gap and get Latin's to vote for him in order to win it all.
Finally, I will say that Edwards won the debate last night. CNN and the rest of the major media out lets are attempting to supress Edwards voice because he will not have the same positive impact to there bottom line as Clinton and Obama.
I just want to caution everyone, this race is not a sprint and don't count out John Edwards because he is gaining delagets and could end up being the up set sleeper.
I was not surprised that Clinton attacked Obama. I was surprised that he fought back in the way that he did. I have appreciated Obama's hands-off approach in that he has not slung mud during this entire process. However, Monday night, he joined the fight. I felt that he fell into the trap that both Clintons for setting for him. I never saw Obama as being weak when he would not acknowledge the Clintons' attacks. I saw him as taking the higher road and being a bigger person. Now it seems he is bickering in a way that the Clintons want him to in order to diminish his credibility in voters' minds.
I was surprised that John Edwards ganged up on Obama during the debates. I have liked John Edwards since his run in 2004. However, I was saddened by the way he joined Clinton in misrepresenting Obama's voting record in Illinois. (Obama voted 4000 times and only voted "Present" on 100 votes; both Edwards and Clinton failed to give the full information.) During this campaign process, it appears that Edwards is looking to be a running mate. At first he would defend Obama against Clinton. However, he turned tide on Monday. I was looking forward to an Obama/Edwards ticket! Who knows what will happen...
I hope that Obama does not resort to the ugly tactics the Clintons have been using. Voters traditionally hate mud slinging. We prefer for the candidates to stick with the issues and not attack each other. Obama cannot allow the Clintons to distract him from the real issues--education, health care, criminal justice, economics, housing, etc. It is appropriate for him to defend himself when his record is distorted, but I discourage him from throwing the first stone. If he maintains his integrity, he will win many more states to come. Many of us question Clinton's integrity; I never want to question Obamas. Keep the high road.
Dr. Adiaha, I appreciate your insitefull view points. You do a great job expressing that the candiates and voters should stay focused on the real issues (education, health care, ending the Iraq war, soical security, ect) and rise above the mud slinging.
I also have to say that John Edwards surprised me when he called out Obama on his voting record. For a while, its looked as if Edwards has been positioning himself for a VP position with Obama and Ridchardson with Clinton. I was not sure if he called out Obama to help him correct a mistake (unlike John Kerry) or if he was attempting to put himself into Clintons good grace knocking down Richardson?
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