Stakes Are Raised In Last Two Democratic Debates

[DeepModem Mom]

WSJ: Stakes Are Raised In Last Two Democratic Debates
If Obama Stumbles,
Clinton Has a Chance
To Reverse Momentum
By JUNE KRONHOLZ and ELIZABETH HOLMES
February 21, 2008; Page A10

Can Sen. Hillary Clinton come back in a presidential campaign she once dominated? Will Sen. Barack Obama let her? And could two more debates make a difference? Months of regular debates between the Democratic rivals have registered only tiny blips in the opinion polls. But tonight's debate in Austin, Texas, and the one next week in Cleveland could prove pivotal in settling public opinion.

Mrs. Clinton could still wound the rising Mr. Obama ahead of the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio by convincing voters they are "buying into another Dukakis or Kerry. You felt good about it, but it just didn't sustain itself," says American Enterprise Institute scholar Norm Ornstein, referring to Michael Dukakis and Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic Party's presidential candidates in 1988 and 2004. Mr. Obama also could falter, of course. "He can't afford to stumble on a detail," and especially not on a foreign-policy detail that would suggest inexperience, says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. "Debates can be turning points," she notes, adding that "the press is looking for a stumble by Obama."

Both campaigns are telegraphing their expectations. Obama spokesman Bill Burton says he expects Mrs. Clinton to deliver a "relentlessly negative assault" that he says Mr. Obama will not return. The Illinois senator will continue to push his message of "forceful change," Mr. Burton said. Clinton spokesman Jay Carson predicts a "civil" debate, but offers a hint of the New York senator's debating tack by calling Mr. Obama "a candidate who 36 short months ago was in the state legislature."

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama already have debated 18 times. But the stakes have grown higher with fewer votes looming and Mr. Obama's string of 10 wins over the past two weeks. That has turned the race in his favor....(T)he two debates are Mrs. Clinton's best remaining chance to shift the dynamic, many political observers say, one she will use to underscore what she sees as Mr. Obama's shortcomings...."She doesn't have any extra opportunities," says University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. "If he skates by and everyone says they both did well, it's over. That means he's won."...

***

The challenge for both candidates, analysts say, will be to create a Mondale-like sound bite that will echo across the Internet and negatively define the other's campaign. "The public doesn't usually see something as a gaffe until it's interpreted" as one by the press and then passes into popular culture, says Ms. Jamieson. "These things don't exist in objective space -- they're interpreted."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120355682290281709.html

[damntexdem]

1. I just can't wait for the Puerto Rico debate.

After all, the stakes will be so very high, with so few votes yet to be cast.

That is, if Hillary is still in it by June.

[ajm492]

2. Michigan and Florida Delegates

I have not heard mention of the delegates in Michigan and
Florida lately.  I am still in shock that the governments of
these states would allow this to happen.  I would hate to see
Hillary lose the nomination because of this situation.

This is very unfair.  I feel like I am in a third world
country without a voice.

Tom- St. Pete, FL. 

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Hello, ajm492 -- thanks for your FIRST post, and welcome to DU!

I posted this info earlier today, which I believe indicates that the Clinton campaign is working to see that Michigan and Florida are seated:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4697591

[ajm492]

4. Thanks Deep Modem Mom

Thanks very much for the info.