"How pathetic!" and other thoughts on tonight's Dem debate

You're looking live at Las Vegas, where the three remaining significant candidates for the Democratic primary are meeting for tonight's debate. They get to ask each other questions tonight, so it will be interesting to see if the dynamic changes at all. Hopefully it does. Assuming MSNBC keeps a ticker at the bottom of the screen, we'll also be following the results of the Michigan primary. And away we go...

• And MSNBC is calling it for Romney. He must have cleaned up in the exit polls, since he's only got a six-point lead.


• Natale Morales looks a bit skeletal. She needs a cheeseburger, methinks.


• Hillary, how did the campaign turn into a race war? Because your supporters have made it that way. How about coming out and disavowing the statements of Bob Johnson and Charlie Rangel?


• It's easy to forget that someone of John Edwards' age would have grown up in a segregated community. I have a hard time contemplating that.


• How is it that Obama is getting asked about "pushing the story" of Clinton's race-baiting supporters? It's her campaign that started this, not his.


• Clinton accepts Bob Johnson at his word. She knows better than that.


• Can't Natalie Morales get a seat at the table? They've given her a desk out in the hallway somewhere.


• The echo in the hall is annoying. So are Brian Williams' torturous questions. Get to the point, Brian!


• These flashing red white and blue stripes cascading across the bottom of the screen are going to give me a seizure.


• Someone in the hall is hollering about "race-based questions." I can't tell if the protester wants more or less of them. Russert appears unnerved.


• "The president is over in Saudi Arabia begging for them to drop the price of oil. How pathetic!" Good answer.


• Then she refuses to say if the other candidates are qualified. Bad answer.


• Obama is now backtracking on his recent comments about not being an "operating officer." He's been backtracking on almost every answer so far. He also looks like he needs a nap.


• Obama's weakness is that he's not well organized. That's almost too honest. 50 cents says Hillary won't mention a real weakness.


• Like Edwards didn't mention a real weakness. "I get too emotional about the pain of others." Bah! Sounds like a bad job interview.


• Hillary gets impatient when people don't see the potential in America that she does or some such bunk...And then she lowers the boom on Obama for not being a good organizer and manager. Compares the CEO model to George Bush.


• Obama says Bush is always on time, so he's not a good example. Gets a laugh.


• Hey Barack, aren't you really a Muslim who hates Christians and Americans? This email says so.


• And now for a commercial break. This first 30 minutes has been a colossal bore. When do they get to ask each other questions?


• The discussion on banking is causing my eyes to glaze over. But I don't entirely get the idea that mortgage companies need to disclose more. How many more hundreds of pages does my mortgage agreement need to be. Maybe I'm more educated than most, but every time we've bought or refinanced, I've known what the terms were before signing.


• Clinton is happy that the bankruptcy bill she voted for never became law. Sounds a lot like John Kerry's "I voted for it before I voted against it."


• According to the crawl, Romney is up 10 points with 43% reporting. Looks like a good night for Mitt.


• And now to Natalie, reporting from someplace on the roof.


• This debate about the economy is probably the most important discussion they have had in weeks, and I'm just glazing over.


• Edwards is wearing the largest digital watch I've ever seen. Despite the fact that I'm distracted by the HDTV on his wrist, I heard him smack Obama and Clinton on their fundraising from the pharmaceutical and other big industries.


• Why is Brian Williams backtracking on how many questions the candidates can ask? He should encourage them each to ask more questions of each other, not less. And while we're on the question of questions, is it too much to get the candidates to ask questions, instead of making a speech followed by a close-ended query?


• Another break. Obama just bolted backstage before the cameras even faded to black. I wonder what that was about. He's looked tired all night. Maybe he's a little under the weather.


• Whoa. Hillary just said she would vigorously enforce a law that requires colleges to allow ROTC and military recruiters. Probably not a popular position with the anti-war base.


• Do they really call it "rot-zee"? I've always called it "R O T C". Barack would also force Ivy League and other schools to allow recruiters. And Edwards would too, so I guess it's a non-issue.


• Here comes the pandering portion of our show. Obama will kill the Yucca Mountain project. I'd like to hear where in the country is a better place to bury nuclear waste than the middle of the desert.


• Obama loves the nukes. Edwards hates them. Clinton doesn't care.


• Clinton has been proposing an awful lot of new spending tonight. $50 billion for clean energy, $30 billion to bail out foreclosed families. Where are we getting the money?


• John Edwards, why shouldn't immigrants be forced to learn English to become a citizen? They should. Huh.


• Hillary, do you agree that Hispanics won't vote for Blacks? No, but thanks for the opportunity to pander.


• Barack Obama: "Two years ago, I stood with Ted Kennedy and John McCain" on the issue of immigration. That's going to end up being in some Republican's anti-McCain attack ad within the week.


• I can't believe there are still 20+ minutes remaining. Whoever thought a two-hour debate was a good idea should be out of a job.


• Clinton's continues reference to this as a "Black-Brown debate" makes me uncomfortable.


• Hillary running to the right on gun ownership. She almost sounds Republican with the "we need to enforce the laws we have," and "I support the second amendment."


• Barack says it's very important to hunt, fish, and teach kids how to shoot. Someone should tell him you don't fish with guns.


• Brian Williams wishing he was in Los Angeles. I don't blame him for thinking of being somewhere else.


• Now they are debating Clinton's fear mongering. She can split hairs all she wants, but she's clearly been playing the terrorism card.


• When did you decide to run for president? Clinton: New Year's 2007. Edwards: December 2006. Obama: December 2006.

And it's over. I thought Edwards won. Obama didn't appear to be energetic or particularly engaged. Clinton was up and down, more up than down.

Tags: Election 2008 Democratic Primary Barack Obama Hillary Clinton John Edwards Nevada