9.10 pm: Did Robert L. Johnson actually say he was "out of bounds" in bringing up Obama’s past drug use? That’s what Clinton just said. Did she just make that up? (Update: if you read Johnson’s press release, you can see that Clinton was lying to maintain good relations with Johnson. She lied when she said that ayone who did such a thing would be disowned. She hasn’t disowned someone who both smeared Obama, then lied about it, then refused to back away from it. So that’s two lies. If it were her opponent, you can be sure she’d be taking notes. I’m holding her to the same standards she applies to others.) 9.20 pm: Clinton again said that she doesn’t want to inject the gender issue into this race. Again, this is easily disproved by any number of statements she has made over the last several months. She’s not as bad as her husband, but she reflexively makes stuff up.
9.30 pm: Just like Bush, she cannot talk about her own weaknesses. In her eyes, her weakness is being too aggressive for change! And then she pivots to exploit Obama’s own confession of his personal disorganization. The more you see her, the more calculating she is.
9.40 pm. Obama’s showing some sense of humor, which has been lacking in his campaign. Both Clinton and Obama look exhausted.
9.50 pm. Clinton manages to pivot the sub-prime mess to pander to blacks, Asians and Hispanics. But, hey, she doesn’t want to inject race into this race. Her tone is a little hectoring as well.
10.03 pm: Clinton uses an opportunity to ask a question to give a speech burnishing her anti-war credentials. Pure old politics. But it works! And she’s a pro.
10.24 pm: Panderthon on Yucca Mountain.
10.34 pm: Man, this is boring. The only moments of spontaneity are when Obama says something funny or sharp.
10.43 pm. Guns! Obama tried to bridge the red-blue divide. Good luck.
10.49 pm. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, whatever. Finally, a real moment.
10.54 pm. She’s so good at this. She’s playing the Rove card, implying that electing someone else would mean that we’d be vulnerable to al Qaeda if one of her opponents wins. Because she’s allegedly "ready on day one." In the end, you just drop your jaw at the shamelessness of the Clintons. But they get away with it and grind on. I think Clinton won this debate by utilizing classic old-political tactics. Every answer was filtered through an exacting political filter. No answer provided any potential vulnerability. She is ready on Day One to play the classic political game. That’s all. That’s her real experience: sliming opponents, rewarding allies, listening to pollsters, tending to her machine.
10.57 pm. Clinton says she decided to run for president a year ago on New Years. She says this with a perfectly straight face. You have to understand that she can tell lies almost as well as her husband. And if you don’t know or cannot know the actual truth, there’s no way to tell. She’s that good.
The Dish 