I attended a debate watch party tonight. It was the first time I have done so and it was enjoyable to be around people that support the same candidate as I do.

After watching this debate I have the following observations. Our media is in control of the vast percentage of our perceptions. They control what is asked and how it is answered. In my not so humble opinion this is very dangerous. Not just for this nomination process but for the sake of our democracy.

Many complain about the censorship of the media in China. But here in the land of the free we have allowed huge corporations to tailor our coverage and to provide backing for whatever message they feel is in our interests or which ever message gets them the best return on their investment. It is capitalism run amok.

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There were a lot more Clinton surrogates in the spin room so it wasn't as easy to inject myself into an Obama surrogate conversation and when I was down there at first, my buddy David Axelrod was on Olbermann (I was gonna interrupt, but decided against it...)

I did speak to Rep. Xavier Becerra who was speaking on Obama's behalf. One interesting tidbot was that he's spoken to several congressional members who are likely to announce their support for Obama in the coming week. He did add that he suspects the Clinton camp could say the same.

In addition, on the topic of immigration, I asked Becerra why Obama didn't play up his stance in favor of driver's licenses for the undocumented at the townhall this morning -- and then he sort of dodged in the debate tonight -- considering it's a potent point of distinction he could use to eat into Clinton's lead among the hispanic community in California. Becerra defended Obama's answer tonight, which is essentially that the drivers license issue is "one of the manifestations of a broken system." He then went on to say that Clinton agrees that this wouldn't be an issue if there was comprehensive reform. So, not using it as a point of distinction at all then.

He went on to say he respects that Obama "says what's true and right even though, politically, it's difficult." Becerra said he was originally a Dodd supporter and so was quite disappointed when he said he did not support drivers licenses.

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Just some thoughts about the debate tonight, nothing major.

I thought that this debate should be uplifting for supporters from all of the camps. Clinton was steady and eloquent, Obama was initially fumbling but then exploded. What few shots and swipes they gave seemed to be more intent on focusing on substantive policy differences as opposed to the "scandals" that plague the news sites and the liberal blogs.

Overall, I thought both did a wonderful job and their respective supporters should all be proud.

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Update [2008-1-31 20:11:22 by Todd Beeton]:Barack said he's friends with Hillary and will continue to be as though he meant it. Hillary looks very relaxed. She started out the last couple debates a little rough. Not so tonight.

Update [2008-1-31 20:13:57 by Todd Beeton]:"What really is important here, the Republicans who debated last night are more of the same." She gets what the real fight we have is.

Update [2008-1-31 20:25:39 by Todd Beeton]:By the way, I'm here with David Dayen, he's blogging the debate over at calitics. Also, Jonathan is Twittering the debate in Breaking Blue.

Update [2008-1-31 20:41:30 by Todd Beeton]:Obama is very good on government transparency.

Update [2008-1-31 20:41:30 by Todd Beeton]:Seriously, looking at this debate vs. last night's Republican debate, the contrast couldn't be starker. On the topic of healthcare, I've always been impressed the way Hillary turns her failure in the 90s into an asset.

Update [2008-1-31 20:41:30 by Todd Beeton]:Obama is helped by the looser format here. He's allowed to talk without time restraints and it really suits him.

Update [2008-1-31 20:41:30 by Todd Beeton]:Obama reframes taxes in a progressive way: "I'll pay a little more but we have a moral obligation."

Update [2008-1-31 20:41:30 by Todd Beeton]:OK, here we go, immigration. An hispanic woman working the event here just applauded when Barack said he doesn't subscribe to the notion that African American unemployment is due to illegal immigration.

Update [2008-1-31 20:53:31 by Todd Beeton]:Very strong answer on immigration from Hillary. Did she just successfully dodge the driver's license question?

Update [2008-1-31 20:53:31 by Todd Beeton]:Hmm, whose dodge was better? I think Clinton's.

Update [2008-1-31 20:53:31 by Todd Beeton]:Clinton keeps saying "we need to get practical and realistic." Not exactly inspiring but pretty much sums up her central concept of the presidency -- a workhorse who will roll up her sleeves and solve America's problems.

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We're getting the feed from inside the theatre. Wolf's testing his mic. He thinks he's hilarious: "And the Oscar goes to..." The place loved it. Now he's working the room, talking about how lucky he is to get paid to doi what he does. Wow, he's a freakin chatterbox.

He's telling the audience "we're going to let them debate. The less you hear from me, the better for the candidates and the audience and the voters." Oh and he also said he's pumped.

Someone just asked Wolf where Anderson is. He said "He worked last night...Thanks."

He's saying the last debate out of SC had 5 million viewers and they fully expect this to eclipse that one in total viewers.

In response to the question "who comes up with the questions" he said "a lot of us do, we try to get the candidates to make as many distinctions as possible."

OK, here we go. It's on CNN and streaming on CNN.com.

You know what to do...

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I'm here in the media filing center at The Kodak Theatre in advance of the debate tonight, which is airing on CNN at 5pm PST. As you might be able to tell from the pre-show, Obama is winning the visibility primary. There's an area outside in a sort of courtyard (The Kodak is part of essentially a big open-air mall) where people are lined up to watch the debate on a giant outdoor screen. Surrounding the viewing area are people chanting spontaneously, waving signs and the Obama presence is definitely heavier.

So with all my running around today, I'm just catching up, what's going on today?

Update [2008-1-31 18:36:50 by Todd Beeton]:A thought: tonight I think is going to largely be about Clinton and Obama making sharp distinctions from each other. One sort of key difference between the two, which is sort of particularly relevant here in California and in other western states voting on Tuesday, is their stances on driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. Clinton is against, Obama is for. Clinton will likely stay away from any nuance on the subject but Obama has to think it's a position that, while it could be perilous in the general, could win him a lot of support among latinos in California. Interestingly, when asked about immigration at the townhall today, he didn't mention it at all. I was surprised; I'd think if he's going to use it as a point of distinction, he would have rolled it out in that largely latino crowd. I would guess it's guaranteed to come up tonight, how will Obama play it?

Update [2008-1-31 19:1:4 by Todd Beeton]:Watching CNN here. Looks like the Hillary signs have come out in full force downstairs although the Obama folks are definitely more aggressive as far as on air visibility.

Glad to see they're talking about what a jerk McCain was last night. Yes, I absolutely think his bullying could hurt him. Are you guys reading about any fallout from that? Or any more about the Republican civil war underway?

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