Live Blog: The Democratic Debate

Photo from AP

The Democratic Debate is about to begin. This should be a very interesting format - it's certainly one that reflects technology's growing impact on our political process. I'm glad the debate is being hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper (above, rehearsing for tonight).

It's about to begin, so here we go...

7:09: The first weighty question of the night is about the war, and Kucinich, Obama and Clinton all take their turns. If you are a "peace-at-all-costs" voter, Kucinich is your candidate. However, I'm not a one-issue voter, even though there will be a great many of them in the '08 election, and that one issue will be Iraq.

7:11: Uh oh - a "liberal" question! How would Hillary define liberal? "In the last 30-40 years, it's been turned on its head, and twisted to mean 'big government,'" says Hillary. Not a bad answer. She goes on to describe herself as "Progressive."

7:11: Gravel and Obama get in a little testy exchange, but, to me, it falls flat. Gravel has about as much name recognition as a presidential candidate as I do. Although, I'm in favor of having all of these candidates here. The more candidates we have, and the more voices we have to choose from, the better.

7:12: Joe Biden sounds a bipartisan note by saying he would pick Chuck Hagel as a running mate. Hmmm. An interesting choice, and remarks like that aren't going to court any more Democratic voters, I suspect.

7:14: A Chris Dodd white hair video is sort of funny, and I'm not against humor, but c'mon - there isn't enough time for all of the serious issues that need to be covered.

7:15: I cannot believe that CNN chose to air a question about reparations for slavery. I'm a true, dyed-in-the-wool liberal, but this is the most ridiculous question I've seen yet during any debate this year. I'm not saying this because I'm white - I'm saying it because I'm an American who wants issues that are relevant to Americans who are living today. Is there one survivor of slavery today? A son or daughter of someone who survived slavery? No. The only candidate who is for reparations is Kucinich - what a surprise - a desperate candidate who will pander to anyone who could vote for him. A truly pathetic answer to a patently absurd question.

7:19: Good - a Hurricane Katrina question. Richardson is kicking butt and taking names answering this question. He slams President Bush for "posing for photo ops," that more should have been done, even before the storm.

7:20: A question to Clinton and Obama about gender and race. It's a fair question, but really, Cooper phrases the question to Obama by asking him, "What about the charge that you are not black enough?" which is outrageous. Honestly, I didn't hear how the questioner phrased the question, so maybe Anderson was just repeating it, but that's despicable. Just because someone asked something stupid doesn't obligate CNN to repeat such a question.

7:21: Hillary responds to a similar question about her gender by saying, "I can't run for anything other than as a woman." Slam dunk - that's right, and I'm really getting tired of her gender and Obama's race being an issue. I realize these questions aren't going away, however, so I'm just going to have to deal with it.

7:23: Edwards and Hillary and having a virtual love fest when Edwards is asked a question about what his wife Elizabeth said last week, that John Edwards would be a better advocate for women's issues than Hillary would.

7:27: Kucinich just crashed the boards and came up with a nice rebound about gay marriage. Well said, Dennis - he believes gay marriage should be legal. Good for him.

7:29: "I would advocate full civil unions with full marriage rights," says Bill Richardson in response to the same question. It sounds like Richardson is for gay marriage, just not for calling it gay marriage. From my point of view, that's acceptable - he's just differs with language use. It sounds to me that in the Democratic Primary in 2008, gays have another candidate they can look to who are for their getting full rights, benefits and civil unions, and that man is Governor Richardson.

7:31: John Edwards is answering a question about using religion to justify his opposition to gay marriage. He seems to be answering it, but they go to the questioner, a Southern Baptist minister seating in the audience, who feels Edwards "didn't really answer the question." Interesting - it's the first time I can remember someone getting a chance to come back at a politician for not answering a question.

**
A commercial break. I'd love to see a question about Bush's new Executive Order giving him virtually unlimited powers in the event of another terrorist attack or national emergency. I'm completely outraged by this action, and I'll be blogging about it later tonight. I'd also really like to hear a question about media conglomeration, especially with the likely sale of The Wall St. Journal from the controlling Bankroft Family to Rupert Murdoch. I seriously doubt I'll hear either question, but it never hurts to hope.

Okay, back to the debate...

7:39: A Darfur question, and it goes first to Bill Richardson. "It's called leadership," is how he begins. I also like how he mentions that it shouldn't be just about our interests. Yes. (Read: Is there any oil there? If there were no oil in Iraq, we wouldn't be there, and if you don't believe that, you know nothing about American foreign policy during the last 30 years.)

7:42: "We haven't owned up to our responsibilities to a sense of global governance," says Gravel in response to the Darfur crisis. He tries to keep talking, presumably about another topic, and Cooper cuts him off. Some of the lesser candidates have complained about not getting as much time as the leading candidates. No debate format is perfect, but I don't believe they deserve as much time. Anyone want to hear Gravel talk for as much time as Clinton or Obama? I dunno, but I don't think I would want to.

7:45: Anderson Cooper acknowledges all of the people who have served from The Citadel in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is over 1,100 troops. That's a nice touch.

7:46: A question from Barry Mitchell right here in Philadelphia - "How do we pull out now?" he repeats over and over. First to Obama, and Cooper gets a little testy with him when he sense that he's not answering the question. Obama gets his footing when he cites White House Press Secretary Tony Snow excusing the Iraqi Legislature for taking off the entire month of August because "it's hot." Nice job, Obama.

7:48: Biden says it will take "one year" to withdraw all American troops from Iraq if we started right now. I'm not a member of the military and I'm anything but an expert on military strategy, but this seems patently absurd. A year to remove 165,000 troops? Maybe if they are walking to Paris. That just seems stupid to me.

7:50: Hillary is talking about a timeline for bringing the troops home, in response to a question from a mother of a son who's about to go back to Iraq for the second time.

7:50: Kucinich rightfully says that Congress does have the power to stop the war - "tell the president no more funds." Absolutely, but the Democratic Congressional leaders do not have the courage to "cut off funds" because of the GOP PR machine, period.

7:52: Hot diggity - a question to Mike Gravel from someone who was offended at his saying that our troops in Vietnam "died in vain." To Gravel's credit, he stands his ground and defends his comments. I think there's a pretty big difference between a candidate with zero hope of winning the White House, and the front runners, including John Edwards and Barack Obama, who won't risk offending a significant number of voters by saying any of our troops die in vain.

7:56: Should women register for the draft? I say yes, and just about all of the candidates agree. Women have proven that they can be every bit as effective in military combat as men, and that includes driving tanks or flying jets. Just as there are some men who aren't fit for combat, there are some women who are not, either, and the opposite also holds true for both genders; many men and women are more than fit and capable of doing extraordinary things in combat. One gender should not be included.

8:00: A question from California that mentions that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat travelled to Israel "in 1982." He was assassinated in 1981. Oops. Someone needs to fact check these questions, but it's a fair question. Clinton courageously states that she "will not pledge to meet with these leaders in the first year of my presidency" and "I will not be used for propaganda purposes," in response to a question about meeting with enemies of the U.S. such as Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, etc. A good question.

8:04: A powerful question by Gary Berry, who has three flags over his shoulders that covered the coffins of his grandfather, father and oldest son, and he wants to know when the troops will be home.

8:05: An irrelevant grammar observation - Chris Dodd doesn't know the "that/who" rule when referring to a person. (It's who, Senator.)

8:07: Biden is very strong on foreign policy - probably the strongest of all the candidates on the stage tonight. This guy should be secretary of state if a Democrat wins the White House. If I were president, that would be the first call I'd make, because Biden knows foreign policy, and he knows the value of diplomacy. Will he be president? Fat chance. But, I love how he highlighted the fact that funds to send IED-proof Hummers to Iraq were not approved, which I find just incredulous.

8:10: Thus far, Kucinich gets the zinger of the night (and the most powerful, accurate one) when he says, "It's not right to say that you were against the war from the beginning when you've voted to fund the war," and he's absolutely right.

**
Another commercial break - thank God. I don't like it when these networks go for two straight hours of debating with just one short break. If I remember right, CNN had one break in the middle of a two-hour talkfest last time. Okay, they're back...

8:16: "Who is your favorite teacher today, and why," is the next question. Really? This is lame - just a chance for the candidates to give a shout out to people from their past. I'm all for education (I'm a professor, so I'd better be), but a better education question should have been selected. Okay, looks like I'm getting one - a No Child Left Behind question.

8:18: Richardson wants to scrap NCLB, and I agree. It's a half-baked attempt by the Bush administration to address education, with a title that sounds like it was selected by a PR Agency. Let's put it this way - the best thing about NCLB is the name, but plenty are being left behind.

8:20: Public or private school? A good question. Edwards has sent all four of his children to public school, and Chelsea Clinton went to public school from grades K-8. Obama gave the best answer about this question - that "any U.S. Senator can get his or her child into a good public school, but I want to fight for people who can't game the system." Score a direct hit for Obama.

8:25: A sex education question, and I think it's an important one. It's very illustrative about the sexual repression in our country - Mitt Romney accused Barack Obama of "wanting sex education for five-year olds." I guess Romney has a lot of time on his hands. I loved Obama's response - that "Romney supported the same program while he was running for governor of Massachusetts."

8:27: Some global warming questions - excellent. "How do you get Americans to conserve energy?" Gravel mentions reversing the tax structure - snore. The government must do more than changing the way it taxes people by how much energy they consume - it has to entice alternative energy source development.

8:29: I like Dodd's answer about global warming until he mentions a carbon tax. I don't support the idea of "tradeable carbon credits" - I think it's a total crock. But, more on what I think about global warming at another time.

8:32: I'm delighted to hear Edwards slam the idea of liquefying coal - another horrible idea that the energy companies have come up with to use the internal combustion engine. It's time to come up with something completely different.

8:34: I'm very, very happy to hear a question about elections, and why there isn't a standardized way for people to vote. Richardson is calling for universal paper trails, same-day registration, and de-politicizing the justice department that has been used under this administration to suppress voters. A great answer, but the topic gets short shrift, because after Richardson answers the question, CNN cuts to commercial. That sucks, because it's an issue that has gotten shockingly little attention by the mainstream media. In fact, it's a miracle the question was aired at all tonight.

**
Another commercial - back in a minute. Waiting for CNN to come out of commercial. Again, it's too bad that election reform didn't get more coverage, because I will go to my grave believing that the 2000 and 2004 elections were hijacked by the Republican Party. And there's a very good chance that 2008 could be, too - Bush, Rove and Co. have had eight years to put the machinery in place to insure that a Republican wins the White House in 2008. Okay, the debate is back.

8:41: Would the candidates work for minimum wage if elected president? Most said they would. Hmm, store that footage away.

8:43: I'm delighted that a question has been asked about Social Security - why are earnings not taxed above $97k? Obama dodges the question - raising the limit is "an important issue on the table." It should be done, immediately. It's a burning question - why in the world do the rich get off without paying FICA taxes, other than their first $97K earned? The limit should be $5 million or maybe even $10 million. Or, how about no limit? It's outrageous that there's a cap.

8:45: Biden wants to eliminate the tax cuts to the top one percent. Good - and that's a matter of semantics (take that, Howdy Doody Frank Luntz) - it's not a tax increase, it's ending unnecessary tax breaks for the rich. A very good answer.

Now we are getting a buffet of health care questions. Let's see how the candidates handle these...

8:48: Obama states his plan does provide universal coverage. Anything has to be better than what we have now - 45 million people are without coverage. Obama rightly criticizes the lobbying effort on the part of the health care industry.

8:50: Edwards says that Obama's plan "is a very serious proposal," and that he's "not casting dispersions on his plan." It's a love fest tonight - the candidates are not attacking each other. I guess that's a good thing - I don't want to hear fights; I want to hear ideas, and we are hearing some of that tonight. Edwards, voice rising, nearly shouts that "it's about time we stand up to these insurance companies." That sounds good during a debate, but there's nothing to stop the insurance and medical industries from the same misinformation campaign that they did in 1993-1994. The way to stop that? Real, meaningful election finance reform - public financing of elections is the answer. If I live to 100, I doubt we'll see it, but we need to fight for it.

8:54: Another great answer from a candidate - Dodd mentions stem cell research, a topic that is firmly in the corner of the Democratic Party.

8:56: Gravel has a good point - that the Democratic Party has sold out and is not really about the working man (and woman) any longer. He's right - the Democratic Party doesn't take marching orders nearly as much as the GOP does, but that's because the GOP takes much more money from big business than the Democratic Party does.

8:57: A great question about a potential Democratic president "paying lip service" to the religious faction of the American public. I love Edwards' answer, that he will not let his religious views influence what he does as president. (I'm paraphrasing here.) In other words, I took that to mean that he won't try imposing his religious views on America, something that has become so commonplace under Bush that it barely even registers with anyone any longer.

9:00: Biden's got balls - a question from some loon who boasts that his gun is his "baby." Biden slams him and brags that he helped author the assault weapons ban that President Clinton signed into law. Well said, Senator Biden.

The debate is ending on a light note - what do the candidates like about the person to their left? Again, I like the light-heartedness, but why not one more issue question? I liked the exchange between Kucinich and Cooper - Kucinich joked that CNN didn't put anyone to the left of him, and Cooper gibes that "we couldn't find anyone to the left of you." Witty, Anderson, witty. I liked it.

Anyway, that's it - I'll have a little bit more in a minute. I'm going to be watching the "Wrap-Up Show" with Wolf Blitzer, but not for the analysis, but for the usual interviews of candidates, which I always enjoy - it's a chance to hear more from the candidates, and that's what this is all about and that's why we watch, right?

I forgot to mention this, but the ad of the night was, without a doubt, from Edwards, who poked fun at himself about the hair issue, but poked even more fun at the media coverage of this idiotic, moronic story. I've written it before, and it bears repeating - I'm already tired of the mainstream media's coverage of these non-story stories, and that's been on both sides - from the Edwards haircut to how much Mitt Romney spends on pre-debate cosmetics. Enough of this crap.

I did like the format though. However, this still has the stench of the mainstream media; after all, CNN still gets to pick which questions make it on the air. I realize that some moderation is necessary, or you would have ridiculous questions and even some pranks would get asked. In the end, though, I think the format is much better than a moderator picking and asking questions.

Anderson Cooper did a pretty good job keeping the candidates on topic, too; on more than a few occasions, he chided candidates to stay on message. I'm off to watch the post-debate interviews - hopefully there will be plenty of candidate interviews, and not just talking heads.

A little more quick analysis - the questions, for the most part, were pretty well-versed and appropriate, but again, the light-hearted stuff could have been 86'd. After all, we got nothing specific about stem cell research, immigration, impeachment or election reform (other than the one question election reform answered by Richardson right before a commercial).

Wolf Blitzer has verbal diarrhea

As Crooks & Liars calls them, the Prez-Dispensers are back. Someone over at Chris Dodd's campaign HQ must be awfully angry at how the CNN debates were moderated. Taking this information at face value, Wolf Blitzer really earned his stripes as a Talking Head this week.

I have to say again though, that just like last Sunday's Democratic Candidate Debate, Blitzer gave the three leading candidates the most time, which, in my opinion, he should do. If he just closed his mouth and gave all of the candidates even more time, he would do an even better job.

Speaking of Blitzer - I bet if he hosts any more presidential debates, he won't be posing any more absurd hypothetical questions again. I'd like to think he's learned his lesson.

GOP debate set for tonight

Clockwise, from top left: Sam Brownback, Jim Gillmore, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson, Tom Tancredo, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and John McCain are all set to debate tonight, beginning at 8 p.m. on MSNBC.

I will be live-blogging the debate tonight - I'll definitely be home in time for the start of this one.

The debate will be at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library – at the invitation of Nancy Reagan - and will last 90 minutes. Tonight's moderator is Chris Matthews, who at times can be unpredictable and pugnacious, so it will be fun to see how he handles the questions and answers.

I don't have many preconceived notions going in, but I'm anxious to hear how the candidates will: distance themselves from Bush (or if they won't), deal with the War in Iraq, and most of all, answer some questions on social issues.

Here's a fun game you can try - a drinking game, straight out of your second year in college. (Hey, drinking might be the only way I can get through this debate. Just kidding.)

Anyway, take a drink every time you hear a candidate say these phrases:

• War on Terror("ism")
• Support the Troops
• Cut and Run
• 9-11

If you decide to do it, make sure you a) watch the debate sitting on your bed, and b) TiVo the program, because you won't make it to the end of the debate.

Pic from MSNBC, via HuffPo

Live blogging the Dem debate

I just got home, and I didn't DVR the first 1/2 hour, but here we go - with commercials I will catch up with the live broadcast in a bit.

7:27: Dennis Kucinich has some pretty tough talk about Iraq - "apologies aren't enough." He's right. Coming from a man who introduced a resolution to impeach Cheney yesterday, that's not a surprise.

7:29: Ouch. Brian Williams, the NBC moderator, hits Joe Biden below the belt by bringing up his gaffes and also alluding to his previous scandal of plagiarism in 1988. Biden's response to Williams question about being articulate and able to speak with authority and clarity (I'm paraphrasing): "Yes." Love the awkward silence. Biden handled it as good as he could.

7:30: Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel is coming out swinging - he sounds like the desperate candidate he is.

7:39: Williams asks the candidates about a model Supreme Court justice. Bill Richardson names someone that probably no one in American has ever heard of, and Williams retorts, "how about someone among the living." This simply reaffirms my preconceived notion that Williams is a real moron, and I'm being nice.

7:42: Bill Richardson is handling a question on guns with aplomb. I love his entire answers. Access to mental health is a crisis that is never covered in the press. And I like the fact he wants instant background checks, which we desperately need.

7:44: Biden is talking about the gun show loophole. It's inexcusable that this loophole still exists.

7:44: Now Edwards gets a chance to talk about his health care plan, and he's doing it. He wants to roll back the Bush tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 per year. I notice that Edwards did not mention how he wants to crack down on individual tax cheats. (I heard him mention that on MTP a month or so ago. Go after the corporate tax cheats, John.

7:46: Barack Obama is getting his chance now. The guy's well-spoken, and he "looks" presidential. I hate it when people say that, I'll confess, but he just does. I like his message about health care, too. So far, I love the Edwards and Obama plans, even though they've painted broad strokes.

7:48: This is the second time I've heard Hillary talk about what she did when her husband was president. C'mon, look to the future. We all know you were first lady for eight years. Get on with it.

7:50: Richardson takes a notable anti-tax stance. "As Democrats I hope we don't always think of new taxes to pay for programs." Right you are, Bill. He also wants to focus on prevention. It's about time someone says that - prevention is typically not mentioned. "Re-establish the doctor-patient relationship."

7:51: Uh oh, a Confederate Flag question for Biden via e-mail. Biden handles the question effectively - "why not come here to show off a black college."

7:51: Same question for Obama, and in 10 seconds he's off that topic after saying "the flag should be put in a museum," and that's all that needed to be said.

7:53: Now a question about "your biggest mistake." I love all the answers - Biden - "overestimating this administration"; Edwards - "this war"; Hillary - "I don't have enough time to talk about all of the mistakes I've made," but nothing on Iraq, again; Richardson - "I've made a lot of mistakes, and I'm not perfect."

Okay, I guess I'm not going to catch up, because there are no commercials - I'm about a 1/2 hour behind, but still going forward.

7:56: Dodd gives an interesting response to drug testing for welfare recipients - he's not in favor of it. Neither am I.

7:57: Edwards' response to a question about oil - "We ought to ask Americans to be passionate about something other than war." Well said. He believes in conservation. Easier said than done, Senator. The government needs to give us those tools, and I'm talking about mass transit here.

7:59: I love Richardson's response as to what he would do in his first day in the Oval Office - end the war, have an Apollo-like program on climate change and getting us off of foreign oil. Bravo.

8:01: Obama's talking about China - "China is neither our enemy, nor our friend." That's about right. A follow-up question about Israel - Obama handles it pretty well, clarifying his thoughts on Israel and the Palestinians.

8:02: Gravel just sounds angry. He needs to breathe and calm down. He seems to be pretty upset that he's not being treated as one of the major candidates. Maybe it's because he's angry? I don't know.

8:05: Richardson is talking about Russia. He give a Bush-like pronunciation of NOOQULUR. Okay, he's working the boards and he snags a rebound: "Being stubborn is not a foreign policy" and "Power without diplomacy is blind." He's impressing me all the way around - he's got Veep written all over him if he doesn't get the nomination. He gets in a word about Africa, too: "Why doesn't America care about Africa?" A good question.

8:08: Hillary is taking on a question about Homeland Security and it's her best answer yet. "There's a disconnect between the rhetoric and the reality. We haven't secured our borders, ports or mass transit systems. [...] This administration has tried to hype the fear, without delivering on the promise to make America safer." Now THAT'S a slam dunk, Mrs. Clinton.

8:10: Sen. Chris Dodd has the best-sounding voice. I know, totally irrelevant, but he's the antonym of Joe Lieberman, who has the worst voice of any politician I've ever heard (with a nod to Mike Dukakis and Ronald Reagan).

8:11: Obama handles a question about a terrorist attack in a curious way. He talks about responding to the victims and manages to get in a Hurricane Katrina mention. Not bad, but where's the beef? Okay, now he's getting it - he's stressing diplomacy, but where's the tough talk? It's unfortunate, but the reality is that much of America likes Bush's idiotic "Wanted: Dead or Alive" talk.

8:13: "We have more tools available to us than bombs," says Edwards in response to the same question.

8:14: Clinton mentions AGAIN that she's a Senator. Am I being too picky by writing "shut up about it, Hill!" We know you are. You don't need to have your resume on the tip of your tongue every minute. She winds it up with very tough talk about Osama bin Laden, though.

8:16: Williams asks all the candidates if they will support Kucinich's effort to impeach Cheney. I'm going to write a whole lot more about this later tonight. I give him a great deal of credit for having the balls to hang himself out there like that. I think it's a bit early - let Congress keep building the case, but I applaud Kucinich. I thought that was going to be the question and moment of the night, but Williams lets it go.

8:18: "A Manhattan Project-like effort for energy independence," says Biden. Yes, we do. And only a Democrat is going to deliver on it.

8:20: Richardson gives one of the best answers of the night about an attack on two of our cities at the same time. He answers that he would use force, and he's pretty emphatic about it. Bravo. Richardson strikes me as really polished. I think he's the party's best-kept secret.

8:21: I really dislike Gravel. I support his right to be up on stage, but he's just bitter. The bad part about it all is that the guy's got good ideas, but he needs to moderate his delivery.

8:23: Obama handles an environment question as Super Dad - mentioning his two kids. Like Gravel right before him, he swerves away from a question on the environment and talks terrorism. It's pretty clear the Dems want to set the table on the terrorism debate.

8:24: Obama and Kucinich are getting testy with one another over Iran. Not sure how I feel about this, because I don't know all of the ins and outs of Iran, but I'm certainly not in favor of a war with Iran, until we absolutely have to, and I hope that day never comes.

8:27: Edwards give a Bill Clinton-like pause before answering a question about who his moral leader is. I was getting nervous for him, but then he comes back with his Lord, his wife and his parents.

8:28: Hillary on Wal Mart: a mixed bag. Okay, she turns it to this administration and corporate America. She's not actually really answering the question, but I still like how she answered the question.

8:29: Biden sounds pretty good in response to a question of "is there a winner on this stage." He responds, "You bet, I see a bunch of winners on this stage." He's right.

###

It's over - not a bad debate, but this is just a preview of a long campaign to come.

No one really took it tonight, but I think Richardson had very pointed answers that were well thought out.

Obama, Clinton, Biden, Edwards and Richardson all sounded the best to me.

Dodd isn't bad, but there just seems to be something missing. I know that's not deep analysis, but he has the look of a cabinet member of a Democratic administration. Kucinich has a lot of courage, but he just can't seem to gain traction. And I don't know that he got much tonight. Gravel needs to turn his frown upside down. He sounds desperate, angry and combative..

The Republican candidates are up next Thursday, and if all goes well, I will live blog that one, too.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)