Saying any one candidate "won" tonight is frankly being dishonest

[zulchzulu]

I saw the debate. To say any of the candidates "won" is completely disengenuous. Aside from Gravel sliding into the ditch a couple times, all the candidates did well. There clearly was not a "winner" who was above any of the others.

I would imagine the typical undecided voter was not swayed by any of the candidates that much.

Dodd did well. Edwards did fine. Clinton was not overwhelming, but not bad. Obama was intelligent and forceful as was Biden. Richardson was a little scattered but not horrible. Kucinich had some good lines and did decently. Gravel had a couple zingers but swerved off the road a few times.

How anyone could honestly say that anyone was a clear winner is simply lying.

[plantwomyn]

1. I can say this

Hillary lost my vote. I was very close to voting for her. No more. I'm looking at Biden now.

[Ninga]

4. Good for you, the process is working and that is all we can hope for. If some minds are

changed and candidates brought more into focus, then again, the process is a valid one.

It does not have to be about a winner or loser.

Values clarification sounds pretty good to me.

[demommom]

9. good.

Check in at the Biden Group and ask any questions you might have and there is a very good chance that one of the Bidenites will be able to help out.

[plantwomyn]

15. Can't go there

NO STAR

[goodgd_yall]

12. I'm thinking the same---not voting for Hil just after I decided I would

I didn't like her vote on the Lieberman/Kyl amendment and she worries me with her talk of leaving troops in Iraq. I like her domestic issue views, but not her foreign policy stances.

[Honeycombe8]

14. My head turned toward Biden, too. I don't think he has a prayer of winning the nomination....

but I really did think to myself "now, there's someone who would be an excellent President of our country."

[ElizabethDC]

2. I agree that no one clearly won

I might disagree on you individual assessments of the candidates, but we do have differing allegiances. :)

[liberalmuse]

3. There wasn't a clear winner.

I thought Edwards won because he held his own, and made some good points, but no, he wasn't the clear winner. I'd put any one of them up against any one of the Republican candidates any day. I wish they would have a mixed Democratic/Republican debate. Most of the Dems echo each other. Same with the 'pubs. Lets put them all on the stage and see what happens. Oh yeah, and have Noam Chomsky compose the questions.

[Cameron27]

5. I agree,

I think Biden came off the best overall, but they all had good and bad moments.

[AtomicKitten]

6. I agree no one can state unequivocally who won.

As an aside, a funny thing happened this evening. About halfway through the debate when Obama was talking about nuclear power, I expressed discomfort with his answer. My son said to me: "Obama doesn't tell you what you want to hear, he tells you what you need to hear." I realized that was the unvarnished truth. And when Obama said the same damn thing at the end of the debate, that made me a little tingly. It's kismet I tell you. :)

When Obama was very specific about his wife having talked to their girls about the wonderful variety of families, my son wondered why he didn't BS and say he had spoken to them. And that's the beauty of Obama. He told the truth. People call him naive and inexperienced, but he's neither. Forgive this tired phrase but it seems appropriate here: He's just keeping it real.

Cheers.

[BootinUp]

7. Just curious

what was Gravel doing in the ditch, I missed it.

[DURHAM D]

10. Something like -

He filed for bankruptcy - he owed the credit card companies $100,000, he stiffed them and they deserved it.

He also yelled in Hill's face that "she should be ashamed of herself". It was a Ricky Whatshisname moment. (The Repub guy who ran against Hill in her first senate campaign and physically got in her face)

Men watching won't react but women will.

[mth44sc]

8. excuse me

to say that anyone who would have determined for themselves a clear winner tonight is a liar is simply well - silly...

Some folks may very well have heard what they wanted to hear to make a choice clear to them.

For others - the beat goes on...

Why the liar tag?

[jmp]

11. Questioning a person's honesty ...

Because they don't agree with you is pretty lame.

I didn't think anyone was strong tonight, but I thought Edwards did himself the most good followed by Biden. On the negative side ... Gravel followed by Hillary.

[Honeycombe8]

13. Right. No one "won." But I do think that Dodd and Gravel definitely lost tonight. ....

Of course they were losing before, but tonight they performed very poorly. They need to get off the debate stage, as far as I'm concerned. Nice men. But we've heard their ideas. It's time to give more time to the real contenders.

[plantwomyn]

16. I'd keep Gravel

If for nothing else but to poke his finger into the other candidates eye. I think his point about being ashamed of Hillary for her vote was right.

[PurityOfEssence]

17. Really? A man who's proud of stiffing credit card companies for $90K is tolerable?

Not in my book, and it's a book many in this country share. He should bow out right now, or he should be hounded out as ethically unfit, regardless of being incredibly correct on the issue of the war. We can't have a scofflaw of such outrageous immorality as president; the very thought is repulsive.

[Honeycombe8]

18. Yes, that was a low point. To have filed BR is one thing, but for him to say..

that he was proud that he got away with in effect stealing that money from the companies was bizarre. No one likes credit card companies, and they have dubious practices, but I don't know...I'm thinkin' that I don't want a President who is proud of stiffing his creditors.

Didn't Kucinich also say he thought the immigration laws should be broken?

They were in strange form in that debate.