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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > February > 26 > Entry
Live from Cleveland, the Debate
11:15 p.m.
In the “spin room” after the debate, supporters of the candidates each said they thought their’s “won” the debate.
Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray , who has endorsed Obama, said the debate showed how close the candidates are in their positions. Cordray said the tone of the debate also showed “there’s clearly an underlying respect for one another.”
But he said he is partial to Obama and his performance in the debate. “I think he is uniquely poised to bring the change we need,” said Cordray.
Obama has the style of leadership needed to solve the nation’s problems, he said.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland supports Clinton and said he was particularly impressed with her strong defense of her universal health care plan and that she spoke very specifically about what she would do as president.
“We are ahead in Ohio. I think her performance tonight will keep her ahead in Ohio,” said Strickland.
He said his strong friendship with Clinton will help Ohio if she is president because he will be able to simply pick up the phone and call her.
10:36 p.m.
How could 90 minutes have passed so quickly? The debate drew to a surprisingly civil close considering how close the race is and how high the stakes are for the candidates.
10:34 p.m.
The moderator asked each to answer what is the fundamental question the other candidate should answer for voters as to whether they would be a worthy nominee.
“She would be worthy as a nominee,” Obama said. “I think I would be better, otherwise I wouldn’t be running,” said Obama, continuing the two candidates tendency to mix a little positive with a little not so positive about their opponent.
Clinton did the same.
“There isn’t any doubt that, you know, both of us feel strongly about our country, that we bring enormous energy and commitment to this race and would bring that to the general election and to the White House” said Clinton.
“Its been an honor to campaign. I still intend to do everything I can to win, but it has been an honor because it has been a campaign that is history making.”
10:29 p.m.
Sen. Clinton had her chance to show her stuff on foreign policy with thoughtful remarks on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would really relinquish power when a new hand-picked successor becomes president.
“This is a clever but transparent way for Putin to hold onto power,” Clinton said. “It’s imperative that we begin to have a more realistic and effective strategy toward Russia.”
When asked if she knew who would replace Putin she then had trouble pronouncing the guy’s name.
“Yes,” said Clinton, stumbling over the name Medvedev. “Whatever,” she said with a laugh.
10:10 p.m.
Lest people think Obama believes he can wish the country to good fortune, he came right out and said it: “I am absolutely clear that hope is not enough.”
But the only way to make change is to mobilize the American people, he said.
“If the American people are activated, that is how change is going to happen,” Obama said.
And lest they think he asked for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s recent endorsement. Obama said, “It is not support I sought.”
“I can’t say to somebody that he can’t say that he thinks I’m a good guy. I’ve been very clear in my denunciations of him and his past comments.”
10 p.m.
They returned from a commercial break with NBC mistakenly playing a Clinton speech when they meant to play an Obama one.
Everyone had a laugh and Obama went right into saying special interests dominate Washington, with the implication that longtime Washington insiders like Clinton can’t be as effective as him because of it.
He said he hears the stories of regular Americans and “you realize nobody has been listening to them.”
“I’m not interested in talk, I’m not interested in speeches,” said Obama, contending that he would not be running if he didn’t intend to make positive political changes.
Clinton placed blame on the White House and members of Congress who went along with laws that hurt regular people.
“I know it takes a fighter. It takes somebody who will go toe to toe with the special interests,” Clinton said. “The special interests are not going to give up without a fight.”
9:47 p.m.
There’s a lot of gesturing going on here. There might be a pretty good YouTube mash up video of the two candidates using their hands to make their points, without of course pointing their fingers directly. Because that would be rude.
And everyone’s being pretty polite right now.
Even if they are comparing each other to Republicans.
9:40
It took 35 minutes but Obama just took his shot at Clinton’s vote authorizing the Iraq war, arguing that that is what her level of “experience” got the country.
“On the critical issues that actually matter, I believe my judgment has been sound,” said Obama.
Clinton was asked if she was implying the country would be “taking a chance” if they elected Obama and made him commander-in-chief.
She hit back, managing to combine her frequent criticism that he’s all speech no substance with a reminder that Obama had voted to fund the war once he was in the Senate.
“Many people made speeches against the war then,” said Clinton, referring to Obama’s remarks in his 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate.
“I was one of the most vocal opponents of the war,” said Obama, saying that his votes for funding came after the U.S. was already in a war that it should not have ever begun.
“Sen. Clinton often says she is ready on day on,” Obama. “But, in fact, she was ready to give in to George Bush on day one on this critical issue.”
9:30 p.m.
Obama not only accused Clinton of supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement, he even implied she was not initially for strong labor or environmental standards in those trade pacts.
“I think Sen. Clinton has shifted positions on this and believes we should have strong labor standards and environmental standards,” Obama said.
Clinton didn’t bite, as Tim Russert pulled out several published quotes from Clinton saying positive things about NAFTA in the past.
He asked, “Will you as president say, we are out of NAFTA in 6 months?”
“No. I will say we will opt out of NAFTA unless we renegotiate it,” Clinton said.
She said she’s been consistent in what she has said. Clinton contends NAFTA has been successful in some parts of the country and not successful in others, including Ohio.
Russert quoted published reports calling Obama “consistently ambivalent” on NAFTA.
Obama said he strongly opposed NAFTA but he did believe that trade deals could be beneficial to the United States. But like Clinton, he said, the United States should threaten to opt out of the deals unless stronger standards are put in place.
“What I want to be is an advocate on behalf of workers,” Obama said.
9:20 p.m.
Clinton once again likens Obama to the Republicans, as she did in Cincinnati, this time when contrasting her health care plan with his.
Obama defended his plan - mentioning that former Pres. Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor says positive things about his plan.
“We still don’t know how Sen. Clinton intends to enforce a mandate,” Obama said.
The moderator tried to move on but Clinton insisted on explaining her plan for a mandate, saying not making it mandatory would be as if Franklin Roosevelt had said “let’s make Social Security voluntary.”
Obama then took his turn forcing the debate to stay on health care, and said the experts Clinton cites say there is no difference between their plans.
Already they’re interrupting each other.
“Well a 16-minute discussion on health care is certainly a start,” said moderator Brian Williams, turning the discussion to NAFTA.
Hillary then complained that she always gets the first question and implied that last weekend’s Saturday Night Life skit implying that the media favor Obama was accurate and perhaps someone should get him “a pillow.”
9:07 p.m.
The debate opened and went straight to the point, with moderator Brian Williams playing clips of Clinton shaking hands with Obama at the previous debate in Austin and then saying “shame on you” to Obama during her visit to Cincinnati on Saturday. Clinton said Obama was putting out false and misleading information and she then began talking about her plan to achieve quality, affordable health care. Williams jumped then to the Drudge Report photograph of Obama in traditional African garb, including a turban, during his visit to Africa. He asked if it came from her campaign. “So far as I know it did not,” said Clinton, saying she did not condone that sort of behavior in her campaign.
8:45 p.m.
The big moment is nearly here and the candidates just walked in the door on this snowy Tuesday night in Cleveland.
In 15 minutes Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will face off before the crowd of nearly 1,600 at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center in a debate that’s become a make-or-break for Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary.
Clinton’s one-time double-digit lead over Obama in Ohio trickled to four points in a poll released this week.
“If she loses Ohio or even if it’s close in Ohio and she loses Texas, it’s over. There’s no coming back for her,” said Christopher Duncan, chairman of the political science department at the University of Dayton. “She’ll have lost from east to west, from north to south.”
Comments
By Aeldas
February 28, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
Please..please do some research everyone. We know most of Hillary’s history but how much do we know about Obama. The Rezko case..his church mission statement..By Lydia
February 27, 2008 5:05 PM | Link to this
During the debates, I hear a rallying cry for feminists. When considering the exit polls in Wisconsin, the more Senator Clinton convinces voters that Senator Obama or the media is attacking her unfairly, the better she will do in the elections on March 4th. She is hoping that her current rallying cry for feminists might work out for her.By READ PEOPLE
February 27, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this
go to barackobama.com factcheck.org, democrats.org bbc.com for international coverage. The news is gonna shift to what sells okay. Barack has answered these questions in his book, in speeches and on the website and in the news. What do you want him to pen this out to you in a personal email. It seems to me that if you need info you must go find it. Be as active in this process as you want your government to be. THis is why I endorse Obama he wants transparency ( the ability to see thru) on government handlings and decisions. This is easy. Just read for yourselves. HRC is caught up in financial scandals as why she will not release tax info nor her recordsBy Annah
February 27, 2008 1:29 PM | Link to this
Sorry for the unintended double post. It looks obnoxious but, in all honesty, could not be stopped. :>)By Annah
February 27, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this
Barack Obama showed why he was editor of the Harvard Law Review and why he has an impressive legislative record. The man not only knows his words but he knows when and how to use them. He also knows, as is sometimes said, “how to act” and he has shown the best judgment on the most important issues of our time. Hillary, of “change you can Xerox,” does not, has not, did not and, therefore, presumably will not. Hillary Clinton opened on a bad note, complaining that she always gets asked the first question. The anchors later revealed that this was only true for 6 out of 10 questions. Hillary actually jumped in to answer the question about Medvedev when the anchor left it up for grabs. This would indicate that she wanted to answer first… I fully expected Hillary to not let the Farrakhan issue go. There was, after all, no wrongdoing on Obama’s part—he has always denounced Farrakhan for his anti-Semitism. Why make a point of it? Nonetheless, after having seen her harp on Obama’s use of a passage from a Deval Patrick speech, I was not surprised when Hillary tried to capitalize on a weak “point,” if you can even call it that. Hillary has shown that she will grasp at anything, even at hot air, to strike out at Obama. This is clearly an ineffective strategy. I think it should be clear to everyone that Hillary is too often petty and focuses on the small stuff while Obama is much better able to see the big picture—to keep his eye on the prize—and to work toward that vision. This is why Obama is a uniter and Hillary is a divider. Frankly, and although he is not perfect, Obama looked and spoke like a President at the Texas and Ohio debates. It will be a relief to have someone as intelligent and sincere as him in office. This country (and this world) desperately needs someone who is forward-looking to put us back on the path of progress. Over time, and despite the few areas in which I disagree with him, I have come to believe that Barack Obama is that man.By Annah
February 27, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this
Barack Obama showed why he was editor of the Harvard Law Review and why he has an impressive legislative record. The man not only knows his words but he knows when and how to use them. He also knows, as is sometimes said, “how to act” and he has shown the best judgment on the most important issues of our time. Hillary, of “change you can Xerox,” does not, has not, did not and, therefore, presumably will not. Hillary Clinton opened on a bad note, complaining that she always gets asked the first question. The anchors later revealed that this was only true for 6 out of 10 questions. Hillary actually jumped in to answer the question about Medvedev when the anchor left it up for grabs. This would indicate that she wanted to answer first… I fully expected Hillary to not let the Farrakhan issue go. There was, after all, no wrongdoing on Obama’s part—he has always denounced Farrakhan for his anti-Semitism. Why make a point of it? Nonetheless, after having seen her harp on Obama’s use of a passage from a Deval Patrick speech, I was not surprised when Hillary tried to capitalize on a weak “point,” if you can even call it that. Hillary has shown that she will grasp at anything, even at hot air, to strike out at Obama. This is clearly an ineffective strategy. I think it should be clear to everyone that Hillary is too often petty and focuses on the small stuff while Obama is much better able to see the big picture—to keep his eye on the prize—and to work toward that vision. This is why Obama is a uniter and Hillary is a divider. Frankly, and although he is not perfect, Obama looked and spoke like a President at the Texas and Ohio debates. It will be a relief to have someone as intelligent and sincere as him in office. This country (and this world) desperately needs someone who is forward-looking to put us back on the path of progress. Over time, and despite the few areas in which I disagree with him, I have come to believe that Barack Obama is that man.By liz
February 27, 2008 3:08 AM | Link to this
I am very upset that McCain pulled out of the CNN debates wtih Huckabee. Republicans deserve debates too. It doesn’t seem right that McCain wants us to vote for him, but is afraid to debate Huckabee. Huckabee has challenged McCain to a Debate, I hope McCain will accept. I think McCain is too tired to be President. And too sleepy to compete with Hillary and Obama. But, Huckabee is Charismatic and Inspirational. He is a great leader and is NOT a washington Insider. WE need a Washington Outsider like Huckabee to clean things up in our government!By liz
February 27, 2008 3:08 AM | Link to this
I am very upset that McCain pulled out of the CNN debates wtih Huckabee. Republicans deserve debates too. It doesn’t seem right that McCain wants us to vote for him, but is afraid to debate Huckabee. Huckabee has challenged McCain to a Debate, I hope McCain will accept. I think McCain is too tired to be President. And too sleepy to compete with Hillary and Obama. But, Huckabee is Charismatic and Inspirational. He is a great leader and is NOT a washington Insider. WE need a Washington Outsider like Huckabee to clean things up in our government!By Jimmy
February 27, 2008 12:22 AM | Link to this
In regards to the press and their handling Clinton and Obama and McCain so differently. We all know how Clinton has been scrutinized for decades, McCain recently had to answer allegations about an affair……….WHY IS NO ONE IN THE PRESS ASKING BARACK OBAMA ABOUT LARRY SINCLAIR AND HIS VERY CONVINCING CLAIMS TO HAVE HAD HOMOSEXUAL SEX AND SHARED COCAINE THAT OBAMA PROVIDED MORE THAN ONCE? Can someone please have the courage to take this on? As a undecided voter, I’d like Obama to be forced to answer these allegations NOW and not only after he’s crafted an alibi. Why are the press shielding him from this questioning? Thank you, JVBy Christine
February 26, 2008 9:07 PM | Link to this
People in Ohio must be wary!!! The name of Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama is likely to brush up against the impending federal corruption trial of Antoin “Tony” Rezko as the result of a judge’s ruling Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve, who is presiding over Rezko’s trial, told prosecutors they could introduce evidence to support allegations that Rezko used straw men to make political contributions on his behalf. Prosecutors have alleged that the money came from fees Rezko illegally siphoned from a state pension board.