Running commentary so far (7:59 ET).
Dean's saying the right things, had the best (or, some might say, second best) 1-minute introduction, came across pretty good on the war question, handled the education/CDF supported unfunded mandate question pretty well (but not a homerun answer). Kerry's sounding *very* presidential. The rest, honestly, are pissing me off with their DLC-programmed answers and wishy-washy b.s. (except for Sharpton, who is looking okay). Lieberman, Gephardt, and Graham invoking 9/11... ARRRGGHHH. Running rankings based on tonight ONLY (so far): Kerry, Dean, Edwards... the rest should pack it in and go home now (even Graham was so-so, IMHO).
Dean's doing an awesome job!
Dean just knocked the hell out of the affirmative action question!!! He's at least tied with Kerry for the night, IMHO.
PS: great thread on the event over at democraticunderground.com
The closing statement by Dean kicked butt TOTALLY !!!! He even pumped his web site. As a grassroots Internet supporter that was cool.
Have to agree with you on the closing remark. plugging the website was great... but i think the best part was turning his so-called "liberal" tag into something that came across as common sense, centrist talk. amazing, wasn't it?
BTW, Dean is coming off as the winner (at least, tied) over at DU
Dean nailed it with his final remark.
Great finish by Dean. Really inspiring. He spoke from the mind and the heart in the way that moved me to do whatever I can to support him. What an honest, refreshing guyt!
The governor needs to get a one-minute version of his stump speech down. He seemed like he got a little lost in the closing, and I think he could have been slightly more effective there.
It was probably worth it, though, to go to the trouble of re-casting the "liberal" label that Judy Woodruff quoted him using pejoratively about Edelman in a 7-year-old remark. He had done a fair job putting out that fire earlier, but there shouldn't be anything smoldering there after his closing.
His response to the affirmative action question was brilliant and honest -- I want to see that one again.
Which channel are you guys watching? I've been tuned into CSPAN, but all I see are a bunch of speeches about the Syracuse Orangemen on the house floor 
Anyone with a link? I really want to see this!
You know your candidate is generating excitement when a bunch of people on an internet blog are giving a play by play over CSPAN 
It ended up being on C-SPAN2. My guess is that the video link will be up at c-span.org tomorrow; there's usually about a day or so turnaround.
We'll post the link to the video and a transcript when they become available. Anyone with a heads-up on either should post a link here.
Here is the link to the page with the video of the program! It is the first red link that appears on the page. Enjoy!
Sorry about that, it didn't work. Go to c-span.org and under the watch/listen menu on the left put your cursor over "video library". On the following menu, put the cursor over "Politics/Elections" and click. The first link on the page has the video. If someone could find a way to link it to this page, that would be awesome. Thanks!
Good call, Graff. That was quick; I waited what seemed like forever to see the California speech. The link is now in the main post.
For some reason, I couldn't get C-SPAN-2 through my cable service, as that particular channel switched over to BRAVO after 5 pm. Luckily, my broadband connection was hooked up to my Powerbook, and I was able to see a postage stamp-sized version of the show, courtesy of C-span.org
Howard was clearly the highlight of the show, using his final statement to provide some zingers to the forum. I'm glad to see that he's not afraid of the liberal label. That's exactly why I prefer Howard to the other candidates- he doesn't run from issues or labels that would make others very uncomfortable. I would agree that Kerry also looked pretty good in comparison with the rest of the candidates. In the end, it will be Dean and Kerry competing for the nomination.
Dean was certainly the most engaging of all candidates. When he mentioned that he'll fully support the democratic candidate, especially it will probably himself, I got a good chuckle out of that! I'm looking forward to more debates with the other democratic candidates, as this where our man really shines!
A half hour after this program, Howard did a quick live interview for CNBC. As the token anti-war candidate to be interviewed after the "fall of Iraq," Howard carried himself well.
Dean was awesome as always. The highlight of the debate though had to be when Al Sharpton was talking about Bush's "diverse" cabinet and judicial nominations: "Just because someone's my skin-folk doesn't mean they're my kin-folk."
PS- Is it just me or does anyone else think of sports writer Woody Paige (the loveable loser on ESPN's Around the Horn) whenever they see or hear John Edwards?
Man. Just look at Dean. His delivery, his appearance, his tone all just communicate "executive". I think the buzzword is gravitas.
As for the others, they seem like smart, ineffectual "also-ran" legislators straight out of central casting. At best. Al Sharpton had some cute one-liners, but that's about it.
That being said, most of them would have a good shot at beating Bush next year. Dean, however, is the only sure bet I can see.
(Did you see McAuliffe when Dean brought up the war? That applause/hesitate/look around/applaud move? Was that not the current situation of the party in a nutshell?!)
One of the first things President Dean needs to do is to remove Terry McAuliffe.
I hate to admit it, but I'd have to say that Sharpton and Kerry tied for first, with Dean a fairly distant 3rd. I love the guy, but he MUST resist the urge to talk like a politician. The reason he's so popular is that we see him as the anti-politician. He MUST NOT fall into the sound-bite trap!
Larigo1:
Actually, Sharpton is the king of sound-bites--"skinfolk not kinfolk"--and they rhyme too.
p.s.: Johnny Cochran is not what pres. candidates should be striving for.
Sharpton's performances at these events are meaningless. He's not a serious candidate, he'll never be a serious candidate, and anyone who thinks differently is naïve. Having said that, I noticed that several candidates basically coopted Governor Dean's language during their responses, effectively preventing him from employing some of the better rhetoric from his stump speeches. Just a couple examples: John Edwards insisted that he "would stand for something" and present "a real alternative" to President Bush. Moseley Braun (or is it Moseley-Braun...I can never remember) referred to the No Child Left Behind act as "No Child Left," which of course brings to mind Dean's various nicknames for that legislation.
Stealing Dean's language shows that other candidates are not only paying serious attention to the Governor, but that they think he's saying the right things. Kerry of course started this trend with his monumental Peterborough waffle last week.
Sorry for the double posting...is there a way to delete duplicate posts?
I agree that Kerry and Sharpton were tied with each other. Dean seemed a little off tonight and took a little bit to warm up. Maybe it's because I already heard his speeches from the Democratic National Convention and the Cali one. But, he did finish very strong. It always seems his nature to stumble a bit at first, but then always tend to build to a good climatic end.
I think he did great with the affirmative action question and provided an answer with an equal impact to his Confederate anology. I think his biggest problem is not to let himself get flustered in the beginning.
One thing I have noticed about Dean especially against all the other candidates is his call for action. He doesn't ask for the nomination. He doesn't ask for your vote. He enthusiactically calls for your help if you are not happy with the state of things. Kinda, get off your ass because we can't do this alone. We do this together, we will take this country back. He makes it seem that it's possible to have a government were the people are involved and considered. I like that.
Is it me, but did it seem like Lieberman was rolling off his seat everytime Sharpton talk? I would love to see these two in a bar sometime.
I fully understand that Sharpton can't win (nor should he!!!). That does not take away from the fact that he did very well. And yes, he's got a lot of cliches, but nobody's better at delivering them...
I've seen Dean speak in person. He's a LOT better than he showed, that's all I'm sayin'...
Also, in Kerry's opening remark, is it me or did he send a deliberate jab at Dean with quote along the lines of
"I would like to point out that we are not ONLY fighting for the identity of this party, but ALSO for the identity of this nation"
Not the exact quote, but it really rubbed me the wrong way.
When Kerry talks about himself, he talks about himself. It's "I did this" and "I did that" and "I'm a great leader." It's a little hard to take.
When Dean talks about himself, he talks about Vermont, and it's "we did this" and "we did that." He projects confidence, but it never seems to be in service of his own ego.
With Kerry, it's as if he's saying, "You need me. With Dean, it's "I need you. We can win."
I love how the first words out of Dean's mouth are the answer to the question: No, I wouldn't have voted for it, and I'll tell you why. Rather than evading the question like the others do.
Several of the candidates either took a jab at Dean (Kerry's remark about not just the soul of the party) or co-opted his language. Mosely-Braun's complaint about not using her full minute came off as kind of lame.
Overall, I think Dean did well, but he does so much better when he can get fired up in a speech longer than one minute. Which I guess brings up another thing: are all debates going to have all candidates?
Ziggy mentioned a thread on the CDF event over at Democratic Underground. Does anyone know how to actually find that thread? I've been looking around, but I can't seem to track it down. Thanks.
The link for the DU thread is:
href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-
bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=17392&forum=DCForumID66&omm=0"
You have to be logged into DU to view the thread.
I've having a bad HTML day today...let me try that again.
Here's the link.
I watched the second half. I would appreciate if somebody would post an alert if its being repeated -CSPAN has a tendency of repeating these a couple of more times and they appear to publish their schedules daily, not ahead of time. Postage size streaming video which starts and stops doesn't give one a real feeling for an event.
That said here are my impressions - I am still trying very hard to see what people see in Edwards. What am I missing?
Ditto for Lieberman. Remind me again what Gore saw in Joe?
I can't believe I am saying this but Sharpton impressed me.
Braun's angling for another job -cabinet/ambassadorship/Dem.party.
Kerry continues to looks weird.
Graham looked like he was getting his bearings and looked decent for his first outing .
Am I the only one who thinks Dean either is trying get Graham's veep position or wants to have Graham as his veep? He doesn't rip into Graham and almost always seems to find a way to mention Graham in at least a somewhat positive way.
Dean seems to have decided to cut the confederate flag quip. Dunno if thats good or bad.
Dean's going to get in trouble with that Cheshire cat grin....
The Post reporter on NPR's "Here and Now" called Dean a 'gifted politician." I am pretty sure this was the same guy who was pretty dismissive of Dean a few months ago.
And oh yeah, I hate haloscan and Alan Murray.
azindy,
Your opinions pretty much mirrored mine, but I would like to add that Edwards came off fairly positive as well.
I don't really understand the fascincation with Kerry. I understand he has all the 'correct' stances on the issues, but he also seems to have a lot of Gore's bad traits. He just oozes that insider, politician feel.
Sharpton was actually pretty good I thought. I know he doesn't stand a chance, which is probably a good thing. But I enjoyed his responses.
Graham impressed me, but not as a presidential candidate. He just didn't have the power. I think there is definitly a possible VP thing here. Especially, since Dean expressed his appreciation of a Washington insider for VP, and the need for a foreign policy strong VP.
And last but certainly not least was Dean. I think Dean did very well. I too liked the way he answered the question first in a direct, simple manner and then explained why. I liked that he did so straightforwardly even if his answer was against what many of the audience might not have wanted to hear (as the question regarding the unfunded federal mandates).
I honestly think the rest just came across as comical. They answered the questions vaguely, if at all, and failed to explain the how's to any of their proposals.
Overall though my spirits are lifted about democratic chances in 2004. We seem have several strong contenders with the right priorities and abilities.
i still don't understand edwards's appeal. can someone please explain that to me?
Another take on the forum, which I missed:
http://www.prospect.org/webfeatu...ta-g-04-
11.html
"Dean answered many questions charmlessly and exclaimed, "This is like being on Tim Russert's show!" when pressed on critical remarks he'd made some years ago about welfare reform and event host Marian Wright Edelman. But he finished off on a high note with what should become known as his "I am a liberal" speech. It was a thing of beauty and should be emblazoned across T-shirts, postcards and buttons in the year ahead. And I hope he puts it up on his campaign site as soon as possible, because I got so wrapped up in listening to him at that moment that for the first time all evening, I forgot to take notes. "
Sounds like a pretty good off night, if off night it was, to me.
Re: comments that Dean was "off" at the CDF event. Consider that Dean has been home to VT about 2-3 days in the last few months. A local reporter who has interviewed him many times in VT commented last night (4-11) that he had never seen Dean looking so exhausted. Pretty simple to understand.
As I recall Governor Dean looked refreshed and sounded good. If the locals thought he sounded tired, can you imagine how he would look and sound when he's ready to rumble? Oh, yeah...the DNC Winter meeting and the California state Democratic meetings!
Anna - he's cute.