wenBLOG

The first democratic presidential candidate debate has just ended and here are my initial thoughts which I will supplement tomorrow morning.

The biggest loser on the night - John Edwards. His answers were thin. He showed no leadership vitriol and he actually seemed stumped with some of the questions. In some cases he actually seemed perturbed and offended that he should be required to answer some of the moderator’s questions. Perhaps his biggest gaffe could be seen in the length of time it took for him to answer one of the easiest questions (especially for a southern) of the night - who is your moral leader? For the majority of little boys and girls from the south the immediate answer without thinking is “Jesus Christ.” Instead he stood stoic for the longest quiet period of the night only to meekly respond, “I can think of no one person, but of course my God…” It’s moving day for Edwards - straight out of this race.

Barack Obama remains something of a mystery, but he did not help himself tonight. The cracks in his veneer definitely show when he has to actually answer questions rather than talking about what he believes. If Edwards was not so entirely disappointing I would say that Obama was the big loser.

Craziest person on the stage - former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel. True to his nickname he was the pits…

Most enjoyable - as always Joe Biden. His one word response of “yes” to the question of whether he could keep his gaffes under control as leader of the free world speaks volumes about how quick really is.

Biggest surprise - Conman Dennis Kucinich. I still think he’s crazy, and his inability to explain and defend his plan to impeach Cheney proved it, but his stance on the war in Iraq was by far the most genuine and truthful.

For more on tonight’s post game, checkout the Hardbloggers live blog here.