Last night's Democratic debate was a rare treat. The candidates were clearly exhausted. Hillary had on a gallon of undereye concealer, along with a sharp green shirt and a rare girly necklace. The others just looked saggy.
Perhaps because of this exhaustion and the Iowa upset, things got a little nasty last night. Nasty makes for good TV.
Hillary is clearly ticked off about all the good press that Obama is getting. She made little digs about that nice words and pretty sentiment don't mean anything. The media is lapping up Obama's last speech in Iowa like it's cheap beer at a kegger. Hillary is Dean Wormer at this kegger.
Edwards said it's Obama and me against the status-quo. In passive aggressive language, status quo would be Hillary. We should have had subtitltes for this debate for those not versed in passive aggressive language. Edwards reminded everyone that he came in second in Iowa. Hillary stiffened up when Edwards said this. I mean even more than usual.
Change. Change. Change. Change. Hillary - I'm experienced change.
Someone should tell Edwards to say something other than Washington lobbyists are bad. Edwards also said about a hundred times that his parents worked in a mill; I am one of you. When I'm president, everyone will have a 30,000 square foot house in North Carolina.
Obama is goin' for the Camelot thing. He's playing well with young voters. He's charming. Pretty wife. Young kids. He did very well last night. During a commercial break, I switched over to Fox where they were chatting with undecided voters. They were hating Hillary that night. Many of Hillary's old supporters were switching to the Obama camp.
Last night, Hillary said that change never comes from nice words that stir up the public. She said that words are not action. It's comes from experience of dealing with the system. Obama responded,
Look, I think it's easier to be cynical and just say, "You know what, it can't be done because Washington's designed to resist change." But in fact there have been periods of time in our history where a president inspired the American people to do better, and I think we're in one of those moments right now. I think the American people are hungry for something different and can be mobilized around big changes -- not incremental changes, not small changes....
[T]he truth is actually words do inspire. Words do help people get involved. Words do help members of Congress get into power so that they can be part of a coalition to deliver health care reform, to deliver a bold energy policy. Don't discount that power, because when the American people are determined that something is going to happen, then it happens. And if they are disaffected and cynical and fearful and told that it can't be done, then it doesn't. I'm running for president because I want to tell them, yes, we can. And that's why I think they're responding in such large numbers.
Obama just won the election.
UPDATE: James Fallows reacts to the debate, too.
Podhoretz on Giuliani in New Hampshire.
Matt Yglesias gives Edwards higher grades than I did.