Did that debate resolve anything?
Yet again, the two Democratic presidential candidates went at it last night in Philadelphia, a week before the Pennsylvania primary. To lay out their visions of leadership…..or to do damage control?
Democratic presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton tried to explain recent controversial remarks during a tense debate on Wednesday, with Obama accusing Clinton of taking political advantage of his characterization of small-town residents.
In their first debate in seven weeks,
(has it really been that long?)
Obama said he mangled his description of the mood in economically struggling small towns and Clinton apologized for the first time for inaccurately saying she came under sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996.
Yes, she said that she did describe an event in a way that she knew was not accurate, which is a bulky way of saying she made it up, which is a more polite way of saying….she lied.
And Obama’s regret over his description of the mood in small towns….is that regret over the reaction it got? Or over seeing working class people that way?
“The problem that we have in our politics, which is fairly typical, is that you take one person’s statement, if it’s not properly phrased, and you just beat it to death, and that’s what Senator Clinton’s been doing,” Obama said in the debate in downtown Philadelphia.
But that’s exactly what’s been happening in politics and media for some time now. So this is all spin.
With a complicit media. Watching the analysis of this debate on CNN afterward, I was struck by how the political commentators kept covering for Obama, repeatedly coming back to the question of why his controversial remarks are still causing controversy, when they believed he had addressed them and wanted to move on. Clearly, they believe he addressed all his controversies and they want to move on.
In the aftermath of this latest round, I’m wondering how Democratic voters in this country are feeling about their party, and their candidates. I’m in Washington and talking to a number of people on Capitol Hill this week. The only thing they’re sure of, is the uncertainty that will remain over the whole presidential campaign for the foreseeable future. And that the only thing consistent in this election year has been surprise.
