WENDELL ROBINSON . COM

Here’s a tag-cloud of everything Senator Clinton said last night in the debate. The words are weighted depending on the frequency of her use of them. For all the candidates’ tag-clouds from last night, check this out. Forgive me, but I had a dinner with a friend.

The Stump said:

My Quick Thoughts:
- Brian Williams did a good job keeping things moving along, even trying to vary the types of questions. I liked the hand-raising thing on the gun question;
- Good thing little-known Mike Gravel was on hand to supply some moxie. He made the most of the few questions directed at him, going directly after his rivals with a passion rarely displayed the rest of the night;
- Hillary Clinton came across as knowledgeable and likable, willingly offering up mistakes she’s made in the past. The Wal-Mart answer was good too;
- Laugh out loud moment: Joe Biden, (in)famous for his “verbosity,” was asked if he was capable of a brief answer. The Delaware senator succinctly replied, “Yes.”
- Why isn’t anyone looking more seriously at Bill Richardson? His candid reply to the Alberto Gonzales question, among others, was refreshing;
- John Edwards took a good ten of his precious 60 seconds to pause before taking on a question about who is his moral compass. It was odd for him, but apparently smart: his choices (his Lord, wife and father) might have been predictable, but the reply as a whole was genuine and compelling.
- The only “scuffle” of the evening was between Barack Obama and Dennis Kucinich, over security and Iran. It was oddly the most memorable debate moment for both men.

The Fix said:

WINNERS

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.): Clinton entered the debate with high expectations and managed to meet them — not an easy task. She was informed, concise and under control at all times. She showed her tough side when asked what she would do in the event of simultaneous terrorist attacks against two American cities — a question Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) initially muffed before going back to it later — and managed to avoid any real confrontation over her refusal to apologize for her vote in favor of the use of force resolution. Clinton also got several breaks: her “elephant in the room” question was on why Republicans want to run against her next November (a hanging curveball that she belted), she was never the first candidate forced to answer one of the tougher questions (as Obama was on the terrorist attacks query), and she was given the chance to rebut several comments made by other candidates that seemed far from direct attacks on her. While Clinton didn’t determine the format of the debate, she definitely benefited from it.

Sen. Joe Biden (Del.): Every debate has a “moment.” Last night’s came courtesy of Biden. Asked by moderator Brian Williams whether he could “reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage,” Biden responded simply: “Yes.” The comment drew laughs throughout the room (and in the press filing center as well) and effectively silenced Biden critics who argue he is incapable of answering any question without a 10-minute speech. That moment symbolized Biden’s evening. He was regularly one of the more quotable candidates on stage, an important trait in the TV age, and made sure voters knew of his long experience on issues both foreign and domestic. He even managed to work in a reference to his efforts to keep Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork from the bench — a sure winner in the eyes of liberal Democrats who loathe Bork.

Brian Williams: Moderating a 90-minute debate with eight candidates dead set on getting equal time is akin to performing a high-wire act without a net. Williams delivered — ensuring that viewers got to hear the most from the leading candidates in the polls while not excluding the others on stage. Williams also avoided injecting himself into the debate too much, picking his spots and using a quick wit to keep the candidates on their toes.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Ginsburg was selected by former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.) as their model Supreme Court Justice. Of course, Richardson and Dodd both chose deceased Justices (Byron “Whizzer” White for Richardson, William Brennan for Dodd) before being forced to name someone among the living.

Personal Questions: From a show of hands for who on the stage had ever had a gun in their home (Gravel, Biden, Dodd, Kucinich and Richardson each raised a hand) to a question asking each candidate to name the biggest mistake they had made in the past several years, the night has a bit of an “Oprah” feel to it. We were half-expecting the question: “If you were an animal, what animal would you be?”

LOSERS

Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.): We’ve noted previously on The Fix that Richardson’s occasional tendency to appear more like a stand-up comic than a candidate for president complicates his chances of being taken seriously in the primary process. And, to his credit last night, Richardson was serious — almost too serious. Richardson regularly went over the allotted time for his answers, forcing Williams to cut him off in mid-sentence often. The New Mexico Governor also appeared uncomfortable at times on the stage, a visual impression heightened by the fact that his podium was off to one side of the stage. In the post-debate spin room Richardson was more himself — a gregarious, hands-on charmer with a detailed knowledge of what it takes to make government work. But, most people didn’t get to see that side of him. Richardson came into the debate as the candidate most likely to eventually join Edwards, Clinton and Obama in the top tier. Maybe. But his performance didn’t get him any close to that goal.

Former Sen. Mike Gravel (Alaska): People don’t like angry in their presidential candidates. And, “angry” typified Gravel’s performance last night. Gravel called Biden “arrogant”, said he felt like a “potted plant” because of the lack of questions directed to him. Taking a cue from Ronald Reagan, Gravel also said that he would forgive the other candidates on stage for their youth and inexperience. Last time we checked Gravel was an asterisk in any and all polling. Don’t be shocked if this is the only debate Gravel is asked to participate in.

Specifics: The format rewarded general policy pronouncements (end the war in Iraq, bring about universal healthcare) over specific proposals. Former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) tried his damnedest to ensure that viewers knew he was the candidate of specifics (”Rhetoric is not enough,” he said at one point. “High falutin’ language is not enough.”) but he was fighting a losing battle. The good thing for policy lovers is that there are MANY more debates to come between now and the Jan. 14, 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Buckeye State Blog said:

The first Foxless fight for the Prezzie nomination was, what’s the word I’m looking for, well, it was uninformative. Some might say boring.

But, in the interest of those who did not partake in the bloggerish repartee on our state-of-the-art BSB Chat 3000©, here are a few hillish bumps in a plateau of unrestrained blahness –

GRAVEL, GRAVEL, GRAVEL! Kinda like Admiral Stockdale, someone noted, with hints of Kucinich and grumpy old man overtones. BSB Grade: A+ for shear insanity.

Biden – he didn’t mention Indian convenience store workers a single time! Great answer when asked if he could keep his mouth shut – he just said yes and stopped talking. BSB Grade: B for most improved.

Edwards – eh. BSB Grade: D for everything.

Hillary – CAN YOU HEAR ME OUT THERE. I AM NOT YELLING. I AM BEING FIRM. SEE HOW FIRM I AM. P.S., THANKS FOR ALL THE SOFTBALL QUESTIONS! BSB Grade: C for Clinton.

Obama – He answered a few questions, I think. Got the best reaction in my neck of the woods when he went all “let’s work together.” But Dems are an ornery lot and aren’t in a peace and understanding kinda mood these days. Still, he didn’t slip up – and he looked very calm despite some nasty invectives from Kookoonich. BSB Grade: B for badass.

Kucinich – This guy actually thinks he’s a serious candidate. Kinda like Nader, only without the election-throwing chutzpah. He did promise to be a healer and open hearts and all that good stuff. BSB Grade: D for not mentioning stardust.

Richardson – Honestly, Richardson was the most disappointing show of the night. He looked uncomfortable, sounded annoyed, and whiffed more than a few boulder-size softball questions. I think their campaign will be doing quite a bit of soul-searching today. BSB Grade: F.

Dodd – Put down the Kerry Kool-aid and go back to the Senate. BSB Grade: F—–

I still think that Hillary Clinton won the night. Maybe it has something to do with my anticipation that she might crash and burn, but she was head and shoulders above the rest. It should be noted that both Pat Buchanan and Bob Shrum agreed with me.