by Frank James
It was clear from the start of last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C. that both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had come to battle, that it was going to be survival of the fittest which would be determined by who could land and take the toughest blows.
Who would show the most grit in the land of grits? that was the question.
In the end, it looked like a draw between the two leading candidates while Sen. John Edwards benefited from playing the conciliatory voice of reason who occasionally used his position on the high road to throw rocks at both Clinton and Obama below.
The most memorable moments were the ones in which Clinton and Obama traded personal charges.
When Obama took that shot at Clinton, telling her he was on the streets as a community organizer working with the families of laid off steelworkers while she was working as a corporate lawyer for Walmart and she got that “Oh, no you didn’t” look on her face, that was a scene that will be likely go into the documentaries made about the 2008 campaign.
Same for her retaliatory strike, when she said that she was fighting against bad Republican ideas when Obama was working as a lawyer representing indicted Chicago wheeler dealer and fundraiser Tony Rezko in his “slum landlord business.”
For anyone who still had questions about Obama’s ability to mix it up, to take on both Sen. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, those doubts were probably greatly lessened by the senator from Illinois’s performance last night. South Carolina is do or die for Obama, and last night you could tell that.
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His determination was summed up at the shot he took at Sen. Clinton and the former president who’s been relentlessly criticizing him on the campaign trail when Obama said: “…I can’t tell who I’m running against sometimes.”Clinton underscored her ability to take it to the opposition by her performance. For a candidate who has argued that one of the reasons she should be president is that she has always been a fighter and will continue to fight for Americans if she makes it back to the White House, her feistiness, her unwillingness to give quarter strengthens that vow.
There was some post-debate sentiment that Edwards won last night’s debate because he didn’t get into the mudslinging with the frontrunners and said things like “…This kind of squabbling, how many children is this going to get health care? How many people are going to get an education from this? How many kids are going to be able to go to college because of this?”
CNN’s sample group of South Carolina voters with their dial meters certainly indicated that they appreciated Edwards reasonable tone.
But Democratic voters know what kind of general election their candidate, whoever it is, is likely to face. It’s going to be a bloodsport because of the stakes being so high. They may say they want a conciliator but in their hearts they want a battler.
Last night’s debate didn’t change the dynamics of the race. Obama is still the odds-on favorite to win South Carolina while Clinton still has significant establishment advantages as well as strength with the Democratic base and women that will make her formidable in the run of states that vote on Feb. 5, Tsunami Tuesday. It’s still difficult to see a path to the nomination for Edwards. Nothing in that changes.
But it was a fiery, entertaining debate, particularly that first half when they all stood at lecterns with all its harsh back and forth. There is the show of politics and the substance of politics. While this debate had both, it was the show that won out.