When I called the New Hampshire Obama office this morning to get an explanation for their candidate’s heated, nit-picking attacks on Hillary, their response was, “Well, we have an obligation to point out the differences.”
Sure, they do. And the further behind in the polls Obama gets — Edwards, too — the more that obligation increases. Funny how that works.
From my vantage-point, Hillary kept her cool, showed she could handle herself under fire, and remain articulate and balanced in her responses. More importantly, her experience in Washington — understanding the complexities of the world situation and domestic policy — came through over and over again as she fended off attempts to have her make inane commitments that she knows are irresponsible.
Here’s what we got today from Hillary’s campaign office with more “reviews” of the debate —
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2007
The Reviews Are In: ‘Strong,’ ‘Sharp,’ ‘You Won’t See Her Losing Her Cool’
TALKING POINTS MEMO’S JOSHUA MICHA MARSHALL – HILLARY GAVE A ‘GOOD ANSWER’ ON IRAN. “Hillary ‘I will do everything I can’ to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Good answer.” [Talking Points Memo, Joshua Micah Marshall 10/30/07 <http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/> ]
HUFFINGTON POST’S GLYNNIS MACNICOL – ‘HILLARY IS SO SHARP TONIGHT.’ “Hillary is so sharp tonight.” [Huffington Post, 10/30/07 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-neffinger-glynnis-macnicol-and-rachel-sklar/liveblog-dems-take-off-t_b_70496.html> ]
ABC NEWS’ RICK KLEIN – HILLARY IS ‘STRONG, CONCISE, AND SHARP TONIGHT.’ “Clinton is strong, concise, and sharp tonight. She is finding ways to contrast herself with the Bush administration even while defending herself. That’s not easy, particularly given the advanced publicity surrounding all the aggressiveness we’re expecting.” [ABC News Political Radar, 10/30/07 <http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/> ]
NEWSWEEK’S HOWARD FINEMAN – ‘YOU WON’T SEE HER LOSING HER COOL.’ [MSNBC, 10/30/07]
CARL CAMERON: ‘OVERALL SHE CAME IN THE FRONTRUNNER…SHE LEAVES THE FRONTRUNNER.’ “Overall she came in the frontrunner, fully aware her rivals were gunning for her. She stumbled at the end but otherwise performed well under fire. Obama and Edwards did not land any knock out blows to change their own situations. She leaves the frontrunner.” [Fox News, 10/30/07 <http://cameron.blogs.foxnews.com/2007/10/30/the-verdict-camerons-take/> ]
NATIONAL REVIEW’S RICH LOWRY – HILLARY ‘COMES OFF STRONGER THAN ALL THE GUYS ON THE STAGE PUT TOGETHER.’ Hillary’s answer on Iran “was simple and direct. She comes off stronger than all the guys on the stage put together.” [National Review Online 10/30/07 <http://corner.nationalreview.com/> ]