I really enjoyed watching the debate last night. It made me understand why I am more inclined to support Democratic politicians than Republicans. The Democrats were thoughtful and practical and seemed to have a serious discussion rather than a contest of who could look tougher or more like Ronald Reagan. I think that last night we saw a debate on substance while Tuesday it will be more a contest on style.
I think Barack Obama won the debate with Joe Biden coming in second. Hillary did well, she is so smart, but I still find her presentation slightly annoying. After 4 or 8 years that slight annoyance has the real potential of becoming huge liability in a presidency. I was impressed with Obama because he really tried to be a uniter and he really showed more depth than he has to this point. He also seemed to control the tempo of the debate jumping in when appropriate and successfully cutting off interrupters. In fact, one of the most impressive surprises of the debate was how ALL the other candidates shut up when Obama simply waved his hand. He has a presence that takes over a room. Much like Bill Clinton in 1992, Obama seems to have that magical mix of intelligence and compassion while also being the alpha male in the room. I'll call it "the right stuff". I had no clear cut favorite in the Democratic primary, but after last night I am all but committed to Barack Obama.
As an example of the "alpha male" thing, the chart above shows how much air time each candidate had during the debate last night. Obama won THAT contest as well - even getting more airtime than Wolf Blitzer. Now that's impressive.
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