You're looking live at Austin, Texas, where Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are about to face off in what will either be a bloody fight to the death, or another day off the schedule for Barack Obama. Not that it will matter that much, since most everyone has spent the last 24 hours wondering if John McCain has been plying lobbyists with pork (double entendre absolutely intended). And away we go...- Oh good grief, some lady in a red suit just came in and told the candidates where to stand. How about having the press back up if there is a problem.
- And they didn't even shake hands! I can't believe they didn't at least shake hands. I don't even think they said hello. Although Barack did pull Hillary's chair out for her.
- Obama elects to receive!
- Barbara Jordan, check. Ann Richards, check. Hey, did you know Hillary is a woman too?
- I wonder if they split the audience, putting Obama's people on one side and Clinton's on the other. If they didn't, they should.
- Obama has quite a cold. Might not be a bad thing, if he's hopped up on Sudafed. Might keep him energized.
- Or not. He seems flat. I hope he is ready to punch back.
- Why is George Lopez on TV? Get him off my TV. I can is grab the DVDs of his show in the two-dollar bin if I want to watch him.
- Well, there went the Republican viewers. A brown man with an accent? Can't be bothered with that.
- Clinton has the same approach to Cuba that Bush has to Iran. Do what we want first, then we'll meet.
- And we have a real policy difference right off the bat. Obama would meet with the Cubans and would ease travel restrictions. "We have to talk with our enemies as well as our friends."
- Or maybe not. Now Hillary is suggesting the only difference is that the president would not visit Cuba in a Clinton administration.
- I can't believe we're having a long discussion on relations with Cuba.
- John King is not wearing a wedding ring. For what it's worth.
- Barack needs the audience. As soon as he gets applause, he perks right up. He's outlining his economic plan, but not contrasting it with Clinton's. King will probably mention that he didn't compare, as the question was asked. Obama should reply that it's not up to him to outline his plan.
- Hillary wants a "trade time out." What exactly does that mean? Are we not going trade for 60 days? What would that do to the economy?
- Michelle thinks Hillary's hair looks awful. I noticed that too, but hadn't got around to mentioning it.
- What's with all of the rhymes, Hill? An innovation nation? Clean green?
- Early on, it appears that the Clinton theme of "Obama's not specific enough" or "Obama doesn't have any of his own ideas" has been accepted by CNN. King asked Obama to articulate how his economic position is different from Clinton's. Campbell Brown asked Obama "Isn't your position the same" after Clinton answered a question on immigration.
- I just can't get going on the fence debate. The fence is a dumb idea, at least in Texas. You already have a river. This isn't East Berlin.
- CNN just tossed up a graphic telling me to go to cnn.com for Bill Schneider's analysis. Why would I want to know what Dr. Benson Honeydew thinks about this debate?
- 120 million Hispanics in 2050? The remaining Republicans watching just went screaming from their living rooms.
Tags: Election 2008 Democratic Primary Barack Obama Hillary Clinton
Posts
