Iowa Independent: Clinton Strikes Soundbite Gold

[Alamom]

http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=D872364270ECF8412EDFE79777F82A9D?diaryId=1168

Iowa Independent
Clinton Strikes Soundbite Gold While Edwards Makes Case as the Alternative
by: Douglas Burns
Wednesday (09/26)

Hillary Clinton is the most sure-handed and quick-footed candidate in the Democratic debates.
She proved this again Wednesday night, striking gold with a brilliant late MSNBC-New Hampshire debate soundbite as the evening took on something of the quality of that famous California-Stanford game. You take notes for a few hours, building a narrative, in this case, that former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is truly making a move here as the audacious one, the candidate willing to take risks to position himself as the Hillary alternative.

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Debates are all about impressions and memorable lines. When MSNBC moderator Tim Russert pointed out that HRC had an apparent difference with her former president husband on a torture question, she responded, "Well, he's not standing here right now."

Having shown that she is now standing in front of her man, not beside him, Hillary softened it with the perfect follow-up, "Well, I'll talk to him later."

It is spontaneity so good it just couldn't be scripted. And it is the moment many will take away from the debate at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

Hillary Clinton had strong moments before that and some subtle moves that will play well, such as her dropping in a mention of opposition to Yucca Mountain as the site for a federal nuclear waste repository. Showing early-in-the-calendar voters in Nevada that she'll use a national stage on this long-running and highly controversial issue in that state surely earned her points.

Over the two-hour debate the candidates who performed the best in the race for getting their name on the pre-movie credits as Hillary's co-star were Edwards and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.




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Iowa Caucuses Roundup
by: Chase Martyn
Saturday (09/29)

With the fund raising quarter drawing to a close, candidates did not spend much time in Iowa this week, but surrogates were in town. Two surrogates, Sen. Barack Obama's wife Michelle and former Sen. John Edwards's campaign manager David Bonior, spent time in the state courting voters and playing up the importance of a victory here for their campaigns.
A review of where the most presidential candidate appearances have taken place seems to confirm the notion that Iowa will be a key battleground for both Republicans and Democrats in 2008. Iowa has had over 1,200 candidate appearances since January, more than double the number of the next-most-traveled state, New Hampshire.

Despite all of the attention, an overwhelming number of Iowans have not settled on a candidate to support. Although many are leaning for one candidate or another, private campaign polls show that up to 80% of caucus goers predict that they could change their minds about the race between now and January........

[ixion]

1. "Debates are all about impressions and memorable lines."... well NO not really

actually, a debate is an exchange of facts, ultimately, and showmanship is a part of it, but it is NOT the sole purpose for the debate.

This is precisely what is wrong with the debates in the US. It's all about the show and nothing -- not one bit -- about the substance of reality.

[cobalt1999]

2. Ronald Reagan "There you go again" memorable line against Carter

Ronald Reagan "I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience" against Mondale.

In both cases, Reagan had lost the debate on substance, but, in the publics mind, he won the debate because of style and a memorable line.