(no subject)
I found the Democratic Debate this evening to be mildly disturbing. It's the first debate I've watched in its entirety and I found myself forming impressions of the candidates that I wasn't really expecting. For example, Barack Obama, whose prepared speeches and writings are all very eloquent and insightful came off as rambling. He seemed more like a policy shill than the supposed "well-spoken" Washington outsider that I've heard described. Maybe he's just not very good at extemporaneous speaking but I found his constant stumbling and mumbling to be distracting. There were also several instances where he avoided answering a question or just went off on an unrelated rant about one of his policy points. I was not impressed.
On the other hand, we have Hillary Clinton. She came across well on TV but more often than not instead of giving serious answers about what she would do if she were elected President she instead talked about how bad things are under Bush and how much better they were when her husband was President, which doesn't seem like the best of strategies when one of the biggest things going against her is a desire to not see 24-28 years of uninterrupted Bush/Clinton dominance of the Executive Branch. Despite this, I do think she looked better than Obama. Because she's the current frontrunner everyone was out to get her and I think she held up relatively well.
Of the top three, I think Edwards performed the best. He seemed very knowledgeable and appeared to have concrete plans for many important issues. The only problem is he seems a bit smarmy. I can't describe what it is, maybe it's that goofy smile he always seems to have or his 4 million dollar haircuts, but there's something about his personality that rubs me the wrong way. If he could just start acting like a normal human being I think he might have a good chance of gaining ground on Clinton and Obama.
The best performance of the debate, I feel, goes to Joe Biden. I've always liked Biden ever since I saw him on The Daily Show where he seemed like a normal guy who was really passionate about the things he believes in. You could definitely see this in his response to the question about the genocide in Darfur. It was good to see someone with some real energy on stage for once.
Taking up residence in the opposite extreme, we have Bill Richardson. Richardson has lots of experience and some good ideas...the only thing he's lacking is personality and restraint. I can't count the number of times he reminded everyone that he was governor of New Mexico, a former ambassador to the UN, and a former Energy Secretary under Clinton. We get the point Bill. Plus, he used every question as an opportunity to go into a long speech about several of his policies when really all he needed to do was answer the original question. If this were the 1800's or early 1900's Richardson would be a shoe-in, but in the days of television and the internet he'll be lucky if he's even considered for the VP spot.
Christopher Dodd had a few good answers but he's too far behind to stand any chance. His performance tonight might have increased his chances to get a VP nomination though. And come on...with a name like Christopher you know he's got to have something going for him.
And finally...Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich. These two remind me of the old guys that sit in the balcony on The Muppet Show. They have no chance and they know it so they use these debates as a platform to air their grievances...and boy do they have a lot of them. Between Kucinich's constant demands that Congressional Democrats refuse to fund the troops and Gravel's claims of an elaborate bipartisan conspiracy to drive the US into war and destroy Social Security, they're fun to watch...for a bit. After an hour and a half it was starting to get old. I hope they start to weed out the weak soon and narrow down the debate participants.
I don't think there's much of a chance of anyone knocking out the top 3 (Edwards, Clinton and Obama) unless Gore suddenly decides to enter the race. As much as I'd like to see Biden win, I think he'll have to settle for maybe a VP nomination or more likely appointment as Secretary of State (I remember reading somewhere that he would have been in line for that position had Kerry won in 2004). Dodd and Richardson also look like they have a chance of getting VP or cabinet spots. Kucinich and Gravel...well, I have a feeling they're just going to keep on keeping on. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. The Dude abides.
In conclusion:
Chris Nevels Official Debate Rankings
Sponsored by Cookie Crisp
1. Joe Biden
2. John Edwards
3. Hillary Clinton
4. Christopher Dodd
5. Barack Obama
6. Bill Richardson
7. Mike Gravel
8. Dennis Kucinich
Also:
Obama and Clinton together spent almost as much time talking as Biden, Dodd, Gravel and Kucinich combined.
On a different note, I went to a bookstore in the mall today. The fiction section took up two bookshelves. The Christian section took up an entire wall. There's something not right about that. Although I suppose you could argue that it's all fiction...BAAAAAA-ZING!
On the other hand, we have Hillary Clinton. She came across well on TV but more often than not instead of giving serious answers about what she would do if she were elected President she instead talked about how bad things are under Bush and how much better they were when her husband was President, which doesn't seem like the best of strategies when one of the biggest things going against her is a desire to not see 24-28 years of uninterrupted Bush/Clinton dominance of the Executive Branch. Despite this, I do think she looked better than Obama. Because she's the current frontrunner everyone was out to get her and I think she held up relatively well.
Of the top three, I think Edwards performed the best. He seemed very knowledgeable and appeared to have concrete plans for many important issues. The only problem is he seems a bit smarmy. I can't describe what it is, maybe it's that goofy smile he always seems to have or his 4 million dollar haircuts, but there's something about his personality that rubs me the wrong way. If he could just start acting like a normal human being I think he might have a good chance of gaining ground on Clinton and Obama.
The best performance of the debate, I feel, goes to Joe Biden. I've always liked Biden ever since I saw him on The Daily Show where he seemed like a normal guy who was really passionate about the things he believes in. You could definitely see this in his response to the question about the genocide in Darfur. It was good to see someone with some real energy on stage for once.
Taking up residence in the opposite extreme, we have Bill Richardson. Richardson has lots of experience and some good ideas...the only thing he's lacking is personality and restraint. I can't count the number of times he reminded everyone that he was governor of New Mexico, a former ambassador to the UN, and a former Energy Secretary under Clinton. We get the point Bill. Plus, he used every question as an opportunity to go into a long speech about several of his policies when really all he needed to do was answer the original question. If this were the 1800's or early 1900's Richardson would be a shoe-in, but in the days of television and the internet he'll be lucky if he's even considered for the VP spot.
Christopher Dodd had a few good answers but he's too far behind to stand any chance. His performance tonight might have increased his chances to get a VP nomination though. And come on...with a name like Christopher you know he's got to have something going for him.
And finally...Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich. These two remind me of the old guys that sit in the balcony on The Muppet Show. They have no chance and they know it so they use these debates as a platform to air their grievances...and boy do they have a lot of them. Between Kucinich's constant demands that Congressional Democrats refuse to fund the troops and Gravel's claims of an elaborate bipartisan conspiracy to drive the US into war and destroy Social Security, they're fun to watch...for a bit. After an hour and a half it was starting to get old. I hope they start to weed out the weak soon and narrow down the debate participants.
I don't think there's much of a chance of anyone knocking out the top 3 (Edwards, Clinton and Obama) unless Gore suddenly decides to enter the race. As much as I'd like to see Biden win, I think he'll have to settle for maybe a VP nomination or more likely appointment as Secretary of State (I remember reading somewhere that he would have been in line for that position had Kerry won in 2004). Dodd and Richardson also look like they have a chance of getting VP or cabinet spots. Kucinich and Gravel...well, I have a feeling they're just going to keep on keeping on. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. The Dude abides.
In conclusion:
Chris Nevels Official Debate Rankings
Sponsored by Cookie Crisp
1. Joe Biden
2. John Edwards
3. Hillary Clinton
4. Christopher Dodd
5. Barack Obama
6. Bill Richardson
7. Mike Gravel
8. Dennis Kucinich
Also:
Obama and Clinton together spent almost as much time talking as Biden, Dodd, Gravel and Kucinich combined.
On a different note, I went to a bookstore in the mall today. The fiction section took up two bookshelves. The Christian section took up an entire wall. There's something not right about that. Although I suppose you could argue that it's all fiction...BAAAAAA-ZING!