Democrat Debate

Update: Question: How the hell is John "Straight Talk" McCain going to debate Hillary or Obama without being humiliated for having flip-flopped on issues on which he worked with them so closely behind the scenes? We know from watching the Republican debates his responses have been nothing but spin. Should Republicans be comforted that McCain's old pals in the media are going to carry his water without exposing him to the electorate as a serial flip-flopper when he runs against Hillary, or Obama? Not a chance. With McCain comes an angry fall Fall.

Taxes:

Now Barack Obama is getting in on the applause. At Thursday's debate, he lauded McCain for originally voting against the Bush tax cuts.

"But somewhere along the line, the Straight Talk Express lost some wheels and now he is in favor of extending Bush's tax cuts that went to some of the wealthiest Americans who don't need them and were not even asking for them," he said.

Immigration:

"I worked with Ted Kennedy, I worked with Dick Durbin... I worked with John McCain, even though he may not admit it now."

My take, the pressure is slightly on both tonight. Obama wants to look solid and score some points. But given that he has the Mo' right now, she's the one who needs to somewhat change the dynamics of the race.

Don't be surprised if it doesn't live up to any hype and is a total sleeper. Neither one may want to risk going over the top. If that's the case, it'll be a Hillary win, as she can probably outlast any rise in his numbers before Feb 5th.

But I don't think she wants to walk away looking as though she did nothing at all to tamp him down just a touch. Obama could put her away tonight. I don't think that's his style.

Comments

[tally]

E-mail from the enemy:

"What a big, action-packed political week we're in the midst of -- starting with the President's last State of the Union address, and candidates continuing to criss-cross across America as February 5th approaches. Amid all that activity, we can't miss a crucial moment.

The first critical FEC filing deadline of 2008 for Democrats arrives at midnight tonight. If ever there was a time for a dramatic show of Democratic strength, this is it.

Presidential candidates are running for the White House. And Republican members of the House are running for the hills. They're retiring in droves. So far, 28 of them have decided not to seek re-election. They stood with the Bush White House through all the incompetence, failure and deceit and now they'll be leaving town with Bush and Cheney next January. These Republicans are creating open seats, which mean big Democratic opportunities.

Let's make sure strong Democratic candidates win as many of these open seats as possible.

Fill open seats with strong Democrats. Donate before tonight's midnight deadline.

All told, there are 75 House seats where the competition between strong Democrats and desperate Republicans is going to be especially intense. And, fearing a Big Change election that could weaken the Republicans for years to come, the GOP campaign machine has shifted into high gear.

Republicans members in "safe" districts poured a huge influx of cash into Republican party committees in December. And now, shadowy groups like Tom DeLay's Coalition for Conservative Majority and Freedom's Watch, the group led by former Bush mouthpiece Ari Fleischer are building multi-million dollar warchests. They're also hard at work, training an army of recruits to spread their spin, mistruths and lies in targeted districts across the country.

We have to be ready to take them on, making sure their cynical strategies don't defeat hope and destroy the promise of this vitally important election year.

Donate before the midnight deadline. Make this a big change election.

All eyes will be on the DCCC as we report our fundraising totals for this critical first month of the 2008 election year. Let's prove to people that we've got the energy, determination -- and financial resources -- to carry our Party's candidates to victory in the race for the White House and in critical House contests all across the nation.

Remember, you've got to act fast. That midnight deadline is fast approaching.

On to victory,

Brian Wolff, DCCC"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Chris]

Good grief. Just watched the Dem debate and both scare the bejabbers out of me. How did we get into this sorry state? Pass the bottle, it's gonna be a long (4) year(s).

[Joe Citizen]

make that 8

[scott]

I'm sure they'd have more fun with Romney's change in positions. Pick one ...I mean all of them.