Elton Must Have Been Singing About Tonight

We haven't addressed the 2008 presidential election thus far. And, while our readers may have assumed that the first post regarding said election would be an analysis of Republican candidates (given the political leanings in Chuckonia), we find ourselves inspired by tonight's Democratic debate in South Carolina. Particularly interesting is the presentation styles of the three remaining candidates. So, here's Chuck's view....
While the Republicans are still fighting for the nomination like random gubernatorial candidates running for Governor of California (give me those good old days again), the Democrats by some planned or unplanned phenomenon have very quietly and painlessly narrowed their field down to three strong candidates. They are demographically very different. Senator Obama put that point in terms of, "We've got an African-American, a white woman, and John." Sorry, Senator Edwards. The impact of tonight's South Carolina debate came as much from the candidates themselves as from CNN's framework and "rules" of the evening. Actually, what few rules they had were thrown out the window from the get-go, but as the immortal phrase goes, "That's entertainment." As much of a fight as John Edwards is putting forth in his quest for the nomination, I believe the majority of Americans would agree that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the Democratic frontrunners with virtually equal strength. This point was exhibited throughout the debate as they dominated the discussion and frequently threw charges at each other, especially in the debate's first hour, which resulted in multiple declarations to "set the record straight." Oddly though, the debate's second hour, during which Wolf Blitzer and the candidates sat down and were less guided by the questions asked, was noticeably calmer and friendlier. Could the two candidates have made a pact during the half-time commercial break to play nice and be friends again? Or did the adjustment in format really have that much significance to cool the jets on stage? Regardless, the first hour is likely what more people viewed of the show and will certainly be what the media covers more heavily tomorrow morning and in the days between now and the next Democratic debate (on January 31). The first hour was the good stuff. Lots of daggers being thrown, a lot of charges made, and a lot of attempts by John Edwards to get in on the action without getting mud on his face in the crossfire. From Hillary's voting record in the Senate to her career as an attorney to her dear husband Bill, Barack Obama had plenty of ammunition to throw at Hillary Clinton. And from Barack's record on the Iraq war to his time in the Illinois State Senate to his "endorsements" of Republican ideas, Hillary had ample supply as well. The difference in the fight was not in terms of quality of ammo. As I said, these two candidates are of virtually equal strength and could rebut everything the other said in some fashion. The difference was in performance style. Politics is 50% intelligence and 50% stage presence (ok, that's debatable). Tonight, we saw a smooth-talking, calmness-maintaining, sharp arrow-shooting Barack Obama. But to his right (my left) we saw classic Hillary Clinton. She was aggressive, ferocious, and wouldn't think of letting a charge go unanswered and pursued the last word on all of them. The sweet demeanor she was working (too hard) to adopt and maintain, to almost convince us that she used to live in the South, fell off. There was harshness of voice, fire in her face, and several raised eyebrows to her left. My predictions came true. Over the past weeks, I have told many friends that the way to beat Hillary for the Democratic nomination is to break the shield she has put around her old self, that rigid stick-to-business First Lady we (as Republicans and many Americans in general) came to know and dislike. "She's just gotta let the bitchiness out again," I would say. Well, tonight, I believe it happened. And somewhere on Earth, there's an Elton John concert going on or a CD being played and someone is hearing one for Hillary. "The Bitch Is Back." Let the game begin again. Now I can recognize that woman I heard on TV tonight.