Dems Debate

I stayed up until 1:17am watching the debate last night (DVR). This was my first opportunity to see the candidates in action.

Kudos for Health Insurance solutions being on everyone's lips. We can't forget who first offered a solution (Hilary), but was rejected. More and more bankruptcy filings are because of medical bills. We are country that can pay it's executives hundreds of millions of dollars a year. If the rich paid their income taxes, we'd have the money to insure every American citizen who needs it.

Here's my summary...

1. Sen. Hillary Clinton was confident and seemed most at ease up there, but didn't really have anything to say. She's the front runner.
   
2. Sen. Barack Obama was so camera ready. I saw him stumble a few time with the health care issues and Iraq, but he recovered. He needs to work on his transitions because at times he was a little choppy and people see that was weakness.
3. Rep. Dennis Kucinich was looking for sound bites. I tuned him out, but he was passionate.
   
4. Sen. Joseph Biden was the overall favorite for me. He was sensible. He spoke to the American people in a way we understood and didn't speak down to us. I thought he was the clearest and most thoughtful. He's in the political mess and he apologizes for that mess and is realistic about solutions to get out of it. I respect that.
5. Sen. Christopher Dodd. I wished he spoke more. I like his first 100 days plan. I agree, we need to restore American rights and get rid of the Patriot Act.
6. Gov. Bill Richardson. He sure knows a lot about how well New Mexico works. I respect what he's done there, but does he have the "mojo" to translate that to a national policy with regards to education, immigration and health care.
7. Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who served in the Senate during the Vietnam War was a favorite because he didn't have that politician "speak". I felt he had an opinion and wasn't afraid to stand in his own truth. When the panelists were asked about English being the "official" language. He made the decision based on what how he felt. Polls have shown that most Americans want English as the "official" language. So, why hasn't it been done? Because it's a political issue.
   
8. Sen. John Edwards needs to take some humble pie. He voted for the war four years ago.