BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

The waltz is over and the three (where is Dennis?) Democratic candidates for president kicked off their dancing shoes and put on the boxing gloves.  There was no shagging on the Strand for the Mod Squad tonight.

Clinton and Obama clashed over Bill’s allegations and so-called misstatements.  For the first few minutes it was a cat fight.   Clinton questioned Obama’s Reagan statement.  Obama was weak trying to explain his way out of his praise of the Republican president, but he landed a couple on Clinton’s chin when he criticized Bill.  And, the jabs started.  For a few minutes the fur was flying.  There was no knock out blow. 

For the first few minutes, Edwards looked like an innocent bystander, being the “odd man out” so to speak… with no race or gender issue to enhance his argument.  Maybe he’s just above the fray, running a clean campaign, or maybe he’s just the boring old white man.

As the Clinton/Obama feud escalated and unnecessary dirt was being thrown, Obama finally threw the WalMart card on the mat with Hillary.  She tried to ignore it, but her posture definitely stiffened and she offered no response.  What can one say after serving on the Board of Directors of WalMart for six years? 

Finally, Edwards had the opportunity to join in and when he did, he went on the attack.  For a minute or two, it appeared that he and Clinton were tag teaming Obama.  Edwards questioned Obama’s ”present” votes in Illinois, citing that he was afraid to face the difficult decisions.

For a time it appeared that Obama was flustered, shots being fired from the opponents, one to the left, the other to the right.  Clinton and Edwards successfully managed to throw him off course with their criticism of his not so universal “universal health care” plan.  Obama tried to show that his plan was equal to theirs in universality, but I got the impression that he didn’t quite follow the distinction they were making.  That cost him a couple on the chin. 

Clinton, from time to time, appeared a little piqued at the comments concerning Bill’s advocacy, but as hard as she tried to defend his position as her husband, I was left feeling more assured than ever that she was aware that Bill is gleaming too much of the limelight and the American people don’t want a co-presidency.  Edwards stepped out of the ring for most of that round, leaving it to Obama to criticize and question Bill’s advocacy of Mrs. Clinton.  Obama stood his ground and landed some blows. 

With Edwards and Clinton tagging in and out on Obama, he seemed as frustrated and uncertain at times as I have seen him.  He never seemed to reach his stride or rhythm, and his rope-a-dope moves didn’t serve him well.  He gives a great speech and would be one hell of a motivational speaker, but I was left feeling a little empty with his message tonight.  He got a couple of kicks to the groin, but never went down for the count.

If Edwards has one serious disadvantage, it is that he is the “white guy”.  While his policies are strong and his passion cannot be rivaled, he is still the white man in the race and that makes him boring in comparison to the other two.  That’s not to say that he isn’t my candidate of choice.  It’s just unfortunate in this year of special interests that he couldn’t have been born a black woman. 

Without going into the nitty gritty facts, blow by blow, it was the best debate of the campaign.  Each of the candidates agreed and complemented one another when the time was right and bitch slapped the other two when the opportunity permitted.

Fact is, in South Carolina, the race has come down to race and gender.  It’s probably a matter of how the black female vote will split.  But, South Carolina is just one state.  There are still 46 after it. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been proud!