Instant Analysis of Tonight's Democratic Debate -- The Best So Far
Tonight's Democratic debate was the best so far because the questions from the general public were so much better and more authentic than those always posed by journalists.
A very quick analysis: In that environment of authenticity, the candidates who did the best were those who came off as real and not overtly political. Barack Obama (who gets better with every debate) and John Edwards fit that bill the best and so did Joe Biden, especially in the second half when he finally managed not to sound so angry. (His flippancy still gets him in trouble, however, which would be a problem were he a real contender.) Hillary Clinton did OK but her studied answers didn't help her in this setting as much as they had before. The others sounded like the career politicians they are.
The best self-made campaign video came from the Edwards contingent. Were they to run it nationally, they might begin finally to put the $400 haircut to rest.
There will be more analysis tomorrow.
