YouTube Debate--Edwards, Obama, Clinton Clips

It has been reported that everyone, except Mike Gravel, stayed on the defensive and played it safe in last night's debate. I disagree. I think the front runners really took some shots. What follows are three YouTube debate clips from the three front runners websites.* The clips seem to support my conclusion.

The first is from John Edwards website.



In this clip, Edwards announces that he alone among the candidates has a lifetime of experience fighting for the little guy against the same special interests that have denied us universal health care decades after it has been adopted by the rest of the first world. He tells us that he doesn't triangulate (like Hillary,) and he isn't always mister nice guy. He is a fighter and has been his entire professional life. Listen to the other clips on his site and you hear echoes of the same theme. We need a fighter to take America back from the special interests. He has been taking them on and beating them for decades. He's our man.

The second clip is one Hillary Clinton believes is very important.



She uses this clip to demonstrate her foreign policy chops. Her message--she is competent, she is experienced, and by God, she is ready to lead.

The third clip has been lifted from Barack Obama.



This clip reminds us that although Hillary claims she knows what she is doing, she screwed up badly at the beginning of the Iraq war. Obama tells us that he was the only one who understood what was going to happen back then, and he claims to have it right now. When you throw in another clip he has posted on his website, Obama makes a pretty good case that he really did anticipate the Iraq mess long before we invaded.

I think the Obama clip is at the heart of a little tempest Hillary started this afternoon. She called Barack irresponsible and naive for the answer he gave to the same question addressed in her clip.

Frankly, I think she felt the need to draw attention away from the attack contained in Obama's clip, which seems to be that for all her experience and competence, she was easily fooled when it came to Iraq. As Dunlap would crudely put it as far as Iraq is concerned she was a dumbass.

I have confined myself to the clips the top three candidates think are important. I probably should have included a clip from Blue Girl's favorite--Bill Richardson.

Having watched the debate last night, my wife awarded Hillary the win. She says Hillary took charge whenever things grew heated. In the beginning she wasn't a Hillary supporter, but as the campaign wears on she is warming to her.

I liked them all. I can honestly say that, in my opinion, there isn't a Democrat in the field who wouldn't make a better President than any of the Republicans.

*Hillary's clip is essentially the clip on her website, but she doesn't provide embed code. I had had to pull the clip directly from YouTube.

UPDATE: Greg Sargent has an interesting post entitled "Dueling Memos: Hillary And Obama Camps Club Each Other" supporting the idea that above clips contain the essence of a battle now joined.