A Very Revealing Debate

There were some absolute gems in the Democrat presidential debate last night. Apparently, it was Hillary versus everyone else, as the lesser candidates ganged up on the front-runner. Hillary, of course, continued her course of avoiding any and every direct answer, but this time her rivals didn't let her get away with it. As a result, she came off very, very poorly. Just take a look at some of today's headlines:

New York Times: A Pitched Debate: Clinton Hears It From Her Rivals
Washington Post: Clinton's Foes Go on the Attack
Fox: Democrats Play 'Pile On'
Wall Street Journal: Clinton, Targeted by Rivals In Debate, Goes After Bush
My Way News: Clinton Gets No Love in Democrats Debate
Drudge Report: Scorn: As The Men Gang Up

Even the Hillary-friendly outlets hinted at the animosity on display.

Anyway, Hillary's strategy was to avoid and evade:

She wouldn't say how she would address Social Security; she declined to pledge whether she would stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, or say whether she supports giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Instead she tried to tried to turn every issue into an argument against President Bush. She said Bush's name 25 times, more than all six of her rivals combined.

When she finally did get pinned down, it turned ugly:

Clinton grew testy when pressed on whether she agrees with a proposal her home state governor has to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. She first expressed support for the idea. But when Dodd objected, Clinton grew defensive and said she wasn't saying it should be done, although she recognizes why the governor is trying to do it even though she doesn't think it's "the best thing for any governor to do."

Edwards' response:

"Unless I missed something, Senator Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes," he said. "America is looking for a president who will say the same thing, who will be consistent, who will be straight with them."

Obama's response:

"I can't tell whether she was for it or against it," he said. He said he supports the idea.

Let me digress for a moment. Obama said he supports giving legal driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Did you get that? Obama supports giving legal driver's licenses to illegal aliens! It is a consistent thing that these Democrats are more friendly to illegal aliens than to YOU, an American citizen!

Anyway, back to the debate. Hillary was also attacked for her general electability:

Edwards: "Will she be the person who brings about the change in this country? You know, I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the tooth fairy. But I don't think that's going to happen."

Obama: "Part of the reason that Republicans, I think, are obsessed with you, Hillary, is because that's a fight they're very comfortable having."

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd: "Whether it's fair or not fair, the fact of the matter is that my colleague from New York, Senator Clinton, there are 50 percent of the American public that say they're not going to vote for her."

Hillary also caught some heat for the lack of openness of records from Bill's Presidency:

"We have just gone through one of the most secretive administrations in our history," Obama said, "and not releasing these records at the same time, Hillary, that you're making the claim that this is the basis for your experience, I think, is a problem."

Clinton said it wasn't her decision to keep the records sealed, even though her husband has written a letter asking that their communications be sealed until 2012.

So, while Hillary was running against Bush (which is stupid because Bush isn't on the 2008 ballot), everyone else was hammering her. Isn't it fun to watch the cannibalism? Links to more info and video here.

There's my two cents.