This "debate" was a farce from start to finish. The entire first 45 minutes were devoted to unloading the complete arsenal of opposition research on Barack Obama. From Rev. Wright, to flag pins, to "Bittergate" to William Ayers, Obama was subjected to a 90-minute siege.
It has been confirmed that George Stephanopoulos got his question on William Ayers directly from Sean Hannity himself. This whole thing was a ambush, and a travesty.
That said, it was a bad night for Obama. Anytime you're trapped on stage for an hour-and-a-half while two "journalists" and a fellow Democratic senator tear you to shreds, you're not going to look good. And if Obama attacks ABC for their painfully obvious bias, it will just continue to pump these stories into the body politic. Who won tonight's debate? It's obvious. John McCain.
9:45pm Gibson asks the candidates his final question: give their explanation as to why the superdelegates should go with them. Clinton says that we need "a fighter" in the White House, and then a bunch of cheery policy mush. She ends saying that people "know who I am".
Obama says "the bet he was making" when he started his campaign was "on the American people". He says that his bet "has paid off". He says his point to the superdelegates will be that to deliver on these policies, Democrats need to form "a new political coalition".
9:39pm Obama: "Democrats don't have a monopoly on good ideas. We've been locked in the same type of politics for so long that we've stopped listening to each other." No shit. There's one Democrat on that stage I never want to hear from again.
9:33pm Obama is asked about how to reform Affirmative Action, and is interrupted by George repeatedly as he tries to answer. This shit has been going all night long, folks. Hillary's response is allowed to run on uninterrupted for several minutes, even as she quickly switches the subject from A.A. to No Child Left Behind.
9:23pm Gibson asks Clinton about her newfound respect for the 2nd Amendment. She says she'll still fight to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban. Obama is asked about the handgun ban dispute in D.C. He claims to not be an expert on the particulars, but compares gun ownership to property rights, pointing out that just because you can own a home, doesn't mean there aren't zoning ordinances that you have to abide by.
Gibson throws in another gotcha at Barack, bringing up the questionnaire that an Obama staffer filled out in '96, saying Obama supported a total handgun ban. Charlie doesn't even describe it properly, just suggesting that Obama's handwriting was on the questionnaire, which he denies. This is pathetic.
9:11pm Clinton hits Obama on his plan to raise the $97,000 salary cap on the payroll tax. His is one of the best policy proposals out there to save Social Security, folks. Obama hits back saying that Clinton actually said off-camera, but recorded, that she was open to raising the payroll tax, just like him.
9:04pm The candidates are thrown a "No New Taxes" pledge request. Clinton says no middle-class tax increases of any kind. Obama goes one further, saying he will actually cut middle-class taxes, particularly the highly regressive payroll tax. This is music to my ears, as the payroll tax is the one the right wing has avoided in its war on taxes from the beginning. The reason? If you lower the taxes of the average income earner, you remove the impetus for tax-cutting in general, as they begin to see government as a pretty good deal. So the right wing requires that the payroll tax stay onerous. Keep at it, Barack.
8:57pm George asks about a potential Iranian attack on Israel. How long will it take for Hillary, or the moderators, to question Obama's commitment to Israel's security, as well as his feelings on Rev. Wright's "anti-Semitic" remarks?
8:51pm Hillary is given the first policy question of the night—50 fucking minutes into a 90-minute debate—on Iraq. She is given ample time to elaborate, and she does for several minutes.
8:45pm Gibson, going to commercial, apologizes to Clinton for the "imbalance of time provided", and she says "I've noticed."
Really? ABC unloads the entire catalogue of opposition research available on Obama, offers one measly question of Clinton regarding her sniper fire fable, and they're apologizing to her?
8:40pm Obama is hit on his "association" with William Ayers, former Weather Underground member. He offers a good response saying that this is just the same politics as always, and that and that he can't be responsible for every single person he's ever spoken to or been associated with. Clinton goes house on him. Obama offers his first strong rebuttal of the night, reminding everyone that President Clinton pardoned members of the Weather Underground.
8:36pm Obama is given a viewer question about how he feels about the American flag. He offers response about how his story would not even be possible without this country. Man, he seems tired.
8:33pm Finally, they ask Hillary about Snipergate, and she offers an epic ramble of a response. The only way to balance this is to ask her about 9 more times why she made up a story about being shot at in Bosnia.
Yep, they've already moved on to attacking Obama for questioning Clinton's "honesty". Gee, why on earth would he ever do that?
8:29pm Now George is back on it. This is a completely shameless pile-on. ABC should be ashamed of itself. Now Hillary says this needs more examination. "As leaders, we have a choice who we associate with." Now she's talking about Farrakhan, Hamas, wow. I don't even know where to begin.
8:25pm Now Gibson gives Clinton an opening to rant on about Wright, and she takes the offer willingly. Is this the most pressing fucking issue in our country? Rev. Wright? Goddammit. Nope, not the war, the housing crisis, gas prices, the judiciary, Afghanistan, Pakistan, on, and on, and on...
Nope, it's Reverend Wright. That's all we get to talk about.
8:20pm Charlie Gibson asks why Obama rescinded an invitation to Wright at his candidacy announcement speech, if he claims he had never heard Wright's offending remarks. Ugh. Is this whole night going to be a 90-minute rehash of Wrightgate and Bittergate? I guess Snipergate can't be too far around the corner, if these guys insist on kicking these dead horses.
8:18pm Obama says that the problem with today's politics is that "you take one person's misstatement, and you just beat it to death."
8:15pm George Stephanopoulos asks Clinton if Obama can beat McCain. She says "we have to beat McCain." That's not the same thing, Hillary. After she rambles, George repeats the question. She responds "Yes. Yes. Yes."
8:13pm Clinton's response: "I'm the granddaughter of a factory worker from Scranton." Right. Calls Barack's description of people "clinging to religion" "fundamental misunderstanding", and understands why people "have been offended". Has she seen the polls of the last 2 days?
8:10pm Gibson dives into Bittergate, asking Obama about his comments at the S.F. fundraiser. Barack offers his usual apology and explanation, then gets into economic defense of his remarks. As regards religion, he says people say "this is where I can take refuge".
8:06pm Gibson asks them to pledge that they'll share a ticket together once the primary battle wraps up. What. planet. have. you. been. on. the. last. week?
8:04pm Hillary offers relatively anodyne, bland opening statement. Then...ABC goes to commercial? That was quick, Charlie!
8:02pm Barack starts his opening statement describing voters' "frustrations", that "they don't feel like they're being listened to". He's getting right to the edge of "Bittergate" right away. Will Hillary pounce?
