Who stole the show last night? Post your comment.

 Posted Oct. 31, 2007 – There’s one thing for sure about last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Philadelphia: It was about getting and keeping Sen. Hillary Clinton on the ropes. She was pummeled by her rivals for her stance on the war in Iraq, her support for belligerent policies toward Iran and her apparent inconsistencies on Social Security. And, one after the other, her challengers questioned her character, trustworthiness and experience.

“The American people … deserve a president of the United States that they know will tell them the truth and won’t say one thing one time and something different at a different time,” railed former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), who’s trailing Clinton and Obama by some 20 points in recent polls.

And Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), whom most pundits agree needed a strong showing in the debate to wrest some of the juice from he Clinton juggernaut, never let up on his fellow U.S. senator.  When he wasn’t blasting her for giving Bush authority to wage an illegal war against Iraq and then supporting the recent Senate measure to give credence to President Bush’s saber-rattling against Iran, he took her to task for not supporting a speedy release of writings and documents relating to her correspondence with President Clinton in the ’90s.  He likened her behavior to the “secrecy” of the Bush administration, saying that the American people need to be brought back into the political process and that “we need to build trust.”
But, for the most part, Clinton, who as one of her aids said underwent “two hours of attacks” by her opponents for the Democratic nomination, maintained her cool under pressure.  She defended her positions and never let them see her sweat.  After one heated exchange about her ablitty to make tough decission, Clinton counted, “Courage is just a word, if you don’t have the strength and courage to make it happen.”

This was the first debate in which the contenders actually raised their voices and practiced a little more “plain speak.”   Obama finally stepped it up and made some noise.   When asked if he thought there was life on other planets, his witty reply was that he’s sure about he lives on this planet. “As president,” he said, “those are the people I’ll be attending to first.”  

Of the other five candidates, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was the only one to shy away from the Hillary smack-down. “I think it’s important we save the ammunition for the Republicans,” he said. “We need to stay positive.” 

Obama got the last word last night, and he did go after a Rebublican.  When asked if he had a costume for tonight he said, “Yes, a Mitt Romney mask,” noting that it has two sides to speak from.