Little Debate Bit

Watched a bit of the most recent Democratic debate last night. Substance? It is incredibly annoying to watch the front runners--particularly Clinton--dance around simple yes/no questions. Give me an answer, then equivocate and reason and do si do all you'd like. Feels very weak and fey to me. Edwards called Clinton on the carpet several times, which I enjoyed.

I was also tickled by the attempts (and successes) at humor by several of the candidates. Among others, Biden said that there are "only three things" Rudy Giuliani "mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11."

Appearance? Why was Edwards blinking constantly? It detracted from an otherwise strong performance in which he manhandled Clinton. Clinton is very presidential in demeanor these days: measured, confident, assertive and non-defensive, even last night. She handled the attacks well. Obama, on the other hand, continues to miss opportunities to define himself clearly. He's not looking much like a leader to me right now.

My current prediction is Hillary Clinton wins the nomination and the presidency. She's the only Democratic candidate who is organized and strong enough to defeat the right wing smear machine (a very real entity out there, folks). And the most likely Republican nominees, Romney and Giuliani, aren't savvy enough to capitalize on the party's smear prowess while being strong enough to face Clinton.

Personal note. Having surgery on the lady parts tomorrow AM. No biggie (d&c, ablation) but send a thought my way that it fixes what ails me. :-)

Liz