Sunday, January 06, 2008

Best NH Debate Moment

Watched the Democrats debate in NH last night. Kind of wish I'd turned on the TV in time to catch the Republicans, but...maybe not.

Anyway, a stranger to the situation might have been forgiven for thinking that Hillary and Barack were going through a divorce, it was that snide and barely civil. Edwards was overflowing with emotion and blue-collar authenticity. Meanwhile, Richardson, Lord love him, kept talking about energy policy and education and things like that. But the best Richardson moment...well, I'll let the Santa Fe New Mexican fill you in:

Richardson was candid in his response to Gibson's final question: What have you said in a previous debate that you wished you hadn't said?

Obama and Clinton completely dodged the question, and Edwards said his regrettable moment was making fun of Clinton's salmon-colored jacket, which had fallen flat in an earlier debate.

But Richardson recalled a blunder that earned him criticism — naming Byron "Whizzer" White as his model Supreme Court justice.

He said he named White because the justice was nominated by John F. Kennedy, whom the governor said was his idol.

"Then I found out that Whizzer White was against Roe vs. Wade," he said referring to the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. "And he was against civil rights.

"That wasn't a good one," Richardson deadpanned. This won him laughter and applause.


It was a really interesting moment. Honest, funny, and the kind of mistake I can easily imagine myself making at some point. And really interesting, coming after Hillary's response, which was essentially, "Oh, I thought I made a mistake in a previous debate, but I was wrong. Now the Republicans, on the other hand, they've made a lot of mistakes." And Obama's response which was essentially. "I too once thought I had made a mistake. I must agree with Senator Clinton about the Republicans, though..."

I know the big Dubya factor was supposed to be that America wanted to have a beer with him...and look how that turned out...but I do think I would enjoy having lunch with Bill Richardson. Even if he does seem to think the Soviet Union is still around.

1 comment:

WBS said...

I wanted to send this in email, but I can't find an email address for you.

He Could Care Less About Obama's Story

By Reza Aslan
Sunday, December 30, 2007; B03
Washington Post

http://tinyurl.com/2e47oa

an excerpt from somewhere in the middle:

"The next president will have to try to build a successful, economically viable Palestinian state while protecting the safety and sovereignty of Israel. He or she will have to slowly and responsibly withdraw forces from Iraq without allowing the country to implode. He or she will have to bring Iraq's neighbors, Syria and Iran, to the negotiating table while simultaneously reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions, keeping Syria out of Lebanon, reassuring Washington's Sunni Arab allies that they have not been abandoned, coaxing Russia into becoming part of the solution (rather than part of the problem) in the region, saving an independent and democratic Afghanistan from the resurgent Taliban, preparing for an inevitable succession of leadership in Saudi Arabia, persuading China to play a more constructive role in the Middle East and keeping a nuclear-armed Pakistan from self-destructing in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's assassination."