NOT just another debate

I got back SF just in time to watch the Democratic Debate, and have been watching the spin since.

Before any other opinions, I want to give a shout out to former Senator John Edwards. He could have continued to campaign and collect delegates, but he saw the writing on the wall. I think he dropped out when he did because he knew the party needed to see Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama one-on-one at least once before Super Tuesday. I also think he may endorse Obama, but didn't want that to color the debate. Thanks, John.

I'm hoping Obama will get his endorsement this weekend, to help him for Feb. 5.

I'm looking at this debate as about round 6 in a 12 (or more) round title bout, and I give the round to Sen. Clinton. There was a lot of posturing, a lot posing, but not too many punches thrown. I counted Sen. Clinton with a few more jabs: I think she won health care (for now), maybe experience, and had a great line about needing another Clinton to clean up after a Bush.

Sen. Obama definitely survived the round without a knockdown, and had a couple of hits of his own. Like body blows, we may not see their effects until the later rounds. Bringing the war back to the front of the debate was a great move, and the (paraphrase) "not only ready, but right, on day one" was great. His strong stance in support of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, combined with the support of Sen. Kennedy and the service union, may also bring him a much needed boost in the Latino community. He'll probably get a good number of delegates in California, but actually beating Sen. Clinton there would be a huge coup. I'm sending in my ballot to help make it happen.