Thoughts on Last Night's Debate

For Senator Clinton, last night's debate was critical. Now shown running in a statistical dead heat with Senator Obama in the critical states of Ohio and Texas, Hillary Clinton needed to really trip Barack Obama up, but I don't feel like she accomplished that.

For Barack Obama, all he really had to do was stay on his feet, and I think that he did.

If you asked me who I felt "won the debate", I'd probably say that Senator Clinton did slightly better overall then Senator Obama. I didn't, however, feel like Senator Clinton started out too strongly. She complained about always getting the first question and came off as whiny. She reference a Saturday Night Live skit implying that Barack Obama was getting preferential treatment from the media and it didn't come off very well either. As the debate went on, however, and Tim Russert grilled Senator Clinton on point after point, and she answered smartly and strongly, she definitely ended the night stronger then she began it.

Barack Obama, meanwhile, just needed to maintain the status quo, and he did just that. He didn't blow anyone away last night, but he didn't do anything to disappoint anyone either. The numbers now show him with a rather sizable national lead over Senator Clinton among Democrats and in a National Poll, he is shown to be leading presumptive Republican nominee John McCain by a fairly sizable margin. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is shown in a statistical tie with the Republican front runner.

If Barack Obama happens to win next week in either Texas or Ohio (and I certainly believe that it is possible) it will probably be time for Hillary Clinton to see the writing on the wall and get the Democratic party united behind the man who currently seems the best bet to defeat McCain and win back the White House. Will she do that, however? I have no idea. After all, both Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are still running for the Republican nomination despite the fact that McCain losing it now would be nigh on impossible. While Barack Obama's lead is large and would be almost impossible to overcome, on the Democratic side there is still the issue of Super Delegates and Hillary Clinton could conceivably be handed the nomination by them despite the lead that Barack Obama has in pledged delegates. Such a move could fracture the Democratic party however, and I don't foresee Senator Clinton doing that, but I acknowledge that it is a possibility.

If you haven't already, take a look at yesterday's post on how exactly the Texas Primary/Caucus works as well as a list of the 32 Texas Super Delegates. And if you happen to live in Texas, get out and vote early. Early voting is going on until Friday February 29th and then the polls re-open on Tuesday March 4th. Then remember to come back to your polling place that evening for the caucus.

Finally, you should check out these two you tube videos on a young man's feelings on why he voted for Barack Obama.