let me know if you disagree.

But will she win in November?  She has to run close to even among independents.

If this primary were about the Iraq AUMF then many of the Obama supporters would be correct to claim that he won that debate. But this primary is not about the Iraq AUMF, it is about how to lead the country out of the mess Bush and the Republicans have driven us into.

I definitely hope this is the case. But please....we don't need Kos to validate any of our points.

Of all people...not him!

By the way no endorsements from anymore big wigs.

Richardson isn't endorsing but for all its worth he is watching the game on sunday with the president.

Edwards is not endorsing too.

As well as Gore .

So on that front thats great news.

I think we are seeing this up tick for HRC because the last debate was the most watched in cable history.  More people were able to compare them side  by side and the undecided people are breaking for Hillary. I believe that debate will prove more decisive than any amount of advertising, punditry or endorsements that are being broadcast.

I also believe that you will begin to see both candidates close the gap on the small advantage that McCain has nationally because of that debate.

I really feel that Hillary stood out at the debate. She was clearly in command of the facts and showed her smarts on the issues.

The most important duty of the President is Commander in Chief. Protecting America always comes first,always. Sen. Obama wasnt on the Senate floor casting a vote. At the saying goes Hindsight is 20/20.

If Hillary holds all the 2004 Dem. states and retakes N.M. & Iowa and throw in Arkansas = 270.

I thought this was true while watching the debate - I'm so stoked to have it be verified in some polls.

There is no doubt that Obama did a great job with what he has in his arsenal.  But all he really has is his position on a vote that he did not have to cast, and for which he later let Kerry and Edwards off the hook. Clinton clearly dominates in every single other issue, and is "likable enough" to get elected in November. If Obama had been a leader in the Senate the last two years for either getting out of the war or restoring the constitution, as I expected him to be when he got elected, I would be 100% behind him. As it is, his positions are so similar to Clinton's that I prefer her experience.

I also noticed that even the radio hosts that are self-identified as pro-Obama, such as Cenk Uygar and Ed Shultz, were honest enough to say that they at least both did well.  If they had thought for a minute that Obama had gotten a bounce out of that debate they would have been crowing about it, like they do his speeches.

Either of these two can beat McCain in November.

God, I hope you're right.  When I think of all the debates and her substance, passion, and plans for her Presidency, I just really think she is the one.  If she pulls off the nomination, she will have overcame the media,  the hype, and the side shows, to reach the voters, which would be an amazing accomplishment.  I do think when she is side by side with Obama, people immediately see the difference between the two and she (imo) is miles ahead of him.

Obama is not making a very good case for himself as VP pick by putting out negative ads against her.  He is giving her a very good excuse not to pick him - why should she feel obligated to have him as VP if he does not support universal health care?

It looks good, but Obama is gonna have to make it through the Rezko grinder unscathed before he's considered viable for VP.

If you assume Hillary won on the health care issue, and Obama won on the Iraq vote issue, then I think Hillary's win trumps.  In the real world (outside the blogosphere), most people  are not interested in a vote that happened 5 years ago and how it pertains to the general election.  They grasp one general election Iraq issue - Obama and Hillary both want the troops out of Iraq, McCain doesn't. And I think they will take away one issue from the health care debate - Hillary wants universal health care for everyone - Obama doesn't.  If Obama compares mandatory health insurance to mandatory car insurance - does that mean we shouldn't have to buy car insurance if we don't think we need it - but can pick it up later if we do? In my view, that argument is ridiculous for car insurance - and equally ridiculous for health insurance.

The problem is Illinois politics are rife with crooks and shady characters. I think this Rezko problem isnt going away soon.If a miracle occurs and Obama is the nominee I see a McCain 40 state blowout. Lets rally to Sen Clinton and take back the White House.The stakes are too high. Obama wouldnt help the ticket. Just Ask John Kerry, who I went through the wall for.

The emphasis on the debate does rather reflect that most posters here don't seem to read anything other than political news. On Friday the announced awful employment numbers for January the worst for for years. I'd say this had at least as much impact as the debate because it probably accelerated the natural tendency to make a reality check as you get nearer to making a decision. All the polls even the ones showing Obama gaining have continued ot show Clinton well ahead as a manager. It was probably going to happen anyway but the employment numbers and her solid performance in the debate have probably assisted in bring home the voters to Momma.  

How many people watched the debate?  I recall that 5 million watched the previous one.

I think that she'll have to wait until the Rezko trial is over before considering Obama. If he's called as a witness it could be poisonous to have him on the ticket.

She lives in NY, which we all know will go for Hillary, but I thought the conversation was interesting.

She was for Edwards all last year and really did not like Hillary. Of course she has voted for Hillary for Senate, because she is a single-issue voter on choice and always votes Democrat, but she really didn't want Hillary to win the primary.

She works in a "creative class" field, so I thought there was a chance she'd break for Obama, but she is for Hillary 100 percent now. She thought Hillary did great in the debate and is more prepared for the job than Obama.

I'm a 60 yr old Male who is a staunch Hillary supporter and I hope she wins the D Nomination

I also think she can beat McCain

But we are only in the 4th inning and there is a lot of strategy yet to play out. Waht we see now is not necessarily what we will see in the Fall

As a Hillary supporter (I'd pick her over Obama any day), I'm concerned about 2 looming issues

McCain knows that he needs to appease the GOP mainline base in oreder for him to better solidify his winning in November

So, I think that he will 'soon' announce to all that 1)he is only going to run 1 term, and 2)he will pick a running mate that will inspire the GOP base ("hey it's only 4 yrs and looks who we get in 2012")

If Hillary wins the nomination, my sense is McCain will choose Condi

If  Obama wins, McCain will likely choose a man

BOTH Hillary and Obama will choose a white man as their running mate--O/H or H/O is not in the cards.

My second concern is what will Bloomberg do. If Hill wins the nomination on F5 (doubtful), Bloomberg may jump in, thinking that Mccain is hated by the GOP base---but Bllomberg has filing deadline issues (?) and may have to wait till say March 5?--when is Texas?

Also Bloomberg might suspect that McCain is going to make a sweet deal with the GOP base and go 1 term plus have Condi as his running mate--That might cause Bloomberg to stay on the sidelines

you may well be right re Condi--but if Hill is our nominee, I think McCain will be enticed at the idea of choosing a strong woman as his running mate--and that plus "only 4 yrs" may well energize the base and enable McCain to pull the GOP base in

Christine Whitman?  etc etc

I think Hillary will go with Clark, who has strong defense cards as well as being a southerner. I think Obama would go with a white man from the West Coast or someone with a resume. He might even entice a Chuck Hagle if Bloomberg stays out so as to reduce the GOP base effect. Hagel is currently for Bloomberg

Bloomberg worries me

Good polls numbers today for our gal.  Fingers crossed everyone.  I'm a nervous wreck!!

speaking about debates....

Iam going little of the topic. Just watched the
cspan hillary rally. Really impressed with the way Hillary improved (technically- tone, modulation,pitch etc.).

Watching Hillary over the years I didnt think she can make that adjustment. She has evolved and refined throughout this campaign. I hope she can keep it up.

Leaving Bill Clinton aside(he is 800 pound gorilla interms of straight connecting from the screen) GWB is relatively stronger when compared to Gore and Kerry who rushed their
speeches without connecting one bit emotionally.

My wife and I share the same sentiment about Clinton and Obama. Barack is a great orator, but seems to be short on substance. Every time we listen to Hillary we learn something. And we're roughly 60, so it's not like we haven't been around the block.

And in case anyone's interested, Edwards was the first choice for both of us.

Yup. I feel really confident that Hillary will  win Super Tuesday and go on to win the nomination. I just saw her via C-Span at the California State University rally. The energy and excitement was palpable. When she  spoke of the economy and kitchen table issues people, especially women in the audience nodded in agreement. This was not one of those superficial Obama rallies, where everyone is giddy with rapture of the second coming. This rally resonated with the energy of mutual respect, admiration and a sense of real possibilities and viable alternatives. I liked that Hillary asked people to hire her, to vote for her, with a sense of humility and dignity in her asking. And the mainly Latino crowd responded with deep felt enthusiasm. You can't PR that kind of sympatico despite the best efforts of the MSM to push Obama as  Gods man on earth, Hillary had none of Obama's high flown  prophetic rhetoric. Hillary understands the every day language and realities of the kitchen table and that is why she will win as the Democratic President of the United States. Viva Hillary! It was always the economy stupid, not Iraq.

I agree. I saw a lot more dimensions to Hillary
from since last 7 to 8 months.

without sounding cliche words - she gives an impression of tough & steady lady, wealth of knowledge, quick on feet,wise while speaking.
She looks more of a substance and lately showing her flair since NH.

All the debates she made her presence in field of 8 without overly dominating.

That was my thought about the debate. It was about issues, not a mud fight. So Hillary won.

I thought Hillary did extremely well in the debate (and Obama was very strong as well).

When the tracking polls started narrowing I attributed it to polling noise. For consistency I'll say the same thing again.

I'm not going to get overconfident until I see her have a major super Tuesday success, but I am feeling better about her chances. It's going to come down to organization and get out the vote. If Hillary can replicate what she did in New Hampshire and Nevada across the country than it will be a big night for her.

the MSM has been trying to downplay hillary's performance in the debate, but the undecided voters (whose ratings displayed on CNN's meter) ended up favoring hillary over obama, 60 to 40. leave it up to the MSM to call a 20% win a "slight" preference. sheesh.

Has anyone noticed that the poll numbers cited in the article were used in a misleading way? Instead of showing that Clinton's lead is  growing, the latest Rasmussen numbers actually show that Obama cut her lead in half since their previous poll in January. The most recent national polls show the race tightening.
And if you're going to cite Rasumussen, you might want to note that it shows the lead down to 3 points in California!
Clearly, the momentum everywhere is with Obama!
The American people know that he is someone special, someone we haven't seen since RFK.
Clinton may be a better policy wonk debater, but that's not what Presidents do. They lead and inspire a nation (and the world), and they show good, consistent, and honest judgement.
(And they don't drag psychodrama back into the White House.)

I felt Hillary won the debate quite convincingly.  She scored on many levels.  As for the Iraq vote, people don't GET that a vast majority of voters is not interested in that as an issue.   Those who made it a big issue are already in Obama's camp, so with that Obama was preaching to the choir.

Most people tuned in to hear the candidates on the economy, health care, issues they really are concerned about.    There Hillary shined, and I would imagine she convinced a lot of late undecideds as well.

I think Hillary is not only doing better in the polls and the size of her very recent crowds because of her FANTASTIC debate performance, but also because of Bill Clinton keeping his big mouth shut and letting Hillary just be herself!!

Don't get me wrong; I love Bill, but this is HER chance to make history, not his.

She is one hell of a fine lady, and 8 plus million Americans saw that on CNN at that debate.

I simply adore her! She will be such a wonderful leader for this great nation!

Insteresting article in NY Times about Obama having lied in Iowa about having passed piece of legislation (which never passed and which he had to rewrite over and over to make it less threatening to Republicans and to some of his major campaign contributors).
The title is Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/us/pol itics/03exelon.html?_r=1&ex=13597812 00&en=dc32a822488c8617&ei=5088&a mp;partner=msnbcpolitics&emc=rss& ;oref=slogin