Democrats — and Americans — Shine in Debate

Last night, I was proud to be a Democrat. I was also, as always, proud to be an American. The YouTube questions were clever, funny, substantive and from all walks of life — from gun-toting arms enthusiasts to gay couples to a talking snowman concerned about global warming.

The candidates were funny, substantive and passionate. They were also very experienced, exuded competence and stood in stark contrast to what we are seeing from the Bush administration. 

The front-runners, Clinton and Obama, did well. Hillary Clinton has shown herself to be thoughtful, quick on her feet, self-deprecating and in command. Obama inspires confidence with his charisma and his calls for changing the system. Edwards was also strong and articulate and less planned-out than before. Both Biden and Dodd were full of fire and produced honest and open answers. The most improved debater of the night was Bill Richardson, who spoke with real concern and knowledge about Darfur and was the first to call for scrapping the No Child Left Behind Act, clearly the biggest misnomer of our time (unless you include the Clear Skies Initiative).

Any one of these candidates could step into the presidency and begin the critical process of turning America around. Many post-debate pundits will analyze the differences, and there were some that were important (Obama and Clinton on meeting with key adversaries within a year, for example), but the agreements and camaraderie far outweighed the divergences.

The ads were even funny and/or poignant. The best of the night, in my book, were the “hair” ads — Chris Dodd’s poking fun at his mop of gray hair and Edwards’s take-off of the song from “Hair,” alluding, of course, to his $400 haircut.

In 1988, some joked about the “Seven Dwarfs” running for president; this year we have six giants. All in all, a good night for Democrats and for the American people.