June 4, 2007
Fired-Up Third Democratic Debate
The eight Democratic presidential candidates debated in New Hampshire last night, covering immigration, health care, and, of course, Iraq. Former Senator John Edwards, who is a distant third in the polls, went after Senators Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's voting on the Iraq spending bill, saying, "They went quietly to the floor of the Senate. They were among the last people to vote. They cast the right vote, and I applaud them for that. ... But there is a difference between leadership and legislating." But Obama fought back, pointing out that Edwads voted to go to war in 2002 (the Daily News gave Obama an "A" for his debate performance).
The NY Times called it "arguably the sharpest" debate by the Democrats so far, noting that it looks like a "three-way" race between Clinton, Obama and Edwards. Edwards called the war on terror a "bumper sticker," but Clinton said, "I am a senator from New York, and I lived with the aftermath of 9/11 and I have seen firsthand the damage inflicted on our country by a small band of terrorists." Obama said, "We are living in a more dangerous world, not a less dangerous world, partly as a consequence of this president's actions."
Also of interest: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson suggested the U.S. pulls its athletes from the Beijing Olympics until China gets involved with the situation in Darfur, Obama occupied the most airtime, and the second tier of candidates stuck to their "supporting cast" roles. Here's a transcript from the NY Times. And we found a recent Zogby poll fascinating: Though Clinton leads Obama, it's Obama, not Clinton, who beats Rudy Giuliani and John McCain in possible election matchups. Still, it's barely June and we're getting 2008 election fatigue. What to do!
Photograph of Edwards, Clinton and Obama at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH by Charles Krupa/AP
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Thank you, Gothamist, for covering this event! I don't understand why no other news media outlet covers the debates. It's unfortunate that you're forced to deviate from the subject of your blog to cover non-NYC news, but until CNN decides to pay attention to the presidential race, you are providing a vital public service!
Thank you for providing a broad and personality-free analysis of a subject that is not being covered anywhere else!
Hillary Clinton is the 9/11 whore
Nicely done, Jimmy.
I just hope that none of these Dems "Nader's" it for the rest of us splitting the democratic vote.
Edwards needs to talk to his tailor.
3rd?
[2] is right, Hillary is rapidly closing the gap on Rudy in 9/11 namedropping. At least Rudy is actually from New York, though.
Billary...
we should boycott the 2008 olympics, glad to see richardson & edwards were open to that idea
the chinese gov't is a horrendous regime
it'll never happen, of course, being that US borrows money every day from china just to stay alive
Remember the republican debate is tonight and we should see if CNN asks the same questions.
Fox news did it last time and not once was healthcare, schools, or the environment was mentioned.
I will say it was a very good debate.
Then when it was over, I switched over to CSPAN and saw the real 911 whore talking sports, how we should be on "offense" and not "defense".
Jimmy, to be fair, this is the lead story on CNN.com right now (11:25 am).
the picture above is titled "guess which one's the android."
Mitt Romney's in that photo?
Oh dear, poor nisey79 is missing an important component: sarcasm detection.
Nisey79: Exactly. So why is Gothamist wasting our time on it? I come to this site for NYC info. Not something that I can find on the front page of CNN.
Um, you do realize that Hilary Clinton is a senator for New York?
@1: Thank you, Gothamist, for covering this event! I don't understand why no other news media outlet covers the debates.
Because it's 20-damn-07... the primary debates are largely worthless. It's a popularity contest.
Besides: didn't you hear, Paris Hilton went to jail last night!!1!one!
@9: we should boycott the 2008 olympics, glad to see richardson & edwards were open to that idea
the chinese gov't is a horrendous regime
No, we shouldn't. We shouldn't punish athletes for political reasons. If the athlete doesn't want to perform in China, leave it up to them. People work their entire lives to be in the Olympics; it's not up to some jackhole in Washington to tell them no to make a political point.
tim - edwards can't afford a tailor, he's gotta pay for those haircuts!
i would love to see someone win a gold medal in beijing
and then whil eon the podium wave a tibetan flag
and then watch the chinese mafia/govt shoot that person down
Good one, Tien.