I actually enjoyed watching the Democratic party presidential candidates’ debate last night on CNN. Hillary Clinton, Edwards, Obama, and Richardson all did well. I thought that Hillary Clinton seemed the most presidential.
Edwards got off to a good start by differentiating himself from Hillary Clinton and Obama by stating that they had not provided leadership on the issue of funding related to the Iraq occupation. He also spoke intelligently about Iran in response to a question from an audience member. I didn’t like it that he seemed so quick to mention churches when talking about the issue of civil unions for gay couples. Churches have always been free to decide which couples they are or aren’t willing to marry. Only the ignorant think that anybody is trying to force churches to conduct marriages they don’t want to conduct.
Obama, though he did a good job, did not say anything that I found memorable or distinctive. I still wonder why anybody supports him, except for the novelty of his being black. I can understand wanting a black person on a city council for the sake of having a black person there, but for president I would not consider race a reason to vote for or against a candidate.
Richardson also did a very good job, and spoke intelligently on several issues.
I’m not sure what Dodd and Biden are doing in the race. Gravel seemed like a nut. And Kucinich, with whom I agree on a number of issues, came across as a minor candidate trying to promote a few issues, such as opposition to NAFTA, which he mentioned more than seemed necessary or relevant.
