November 01, 2007
Hotline After Dark -- Spin Cycle
Still lots of talk about the Dem debate last night:
CNN's Crowley: "Literally and figuratively, Hillary Clinton was center stage last night. It's a familiar position for her, but last night not an altogether comfortable place" ("Situation Room," 10/31).
MSNBC's Shuster: "On a night when Dennis Kucinich said he once saw a UFO, Hillary Clinton may have been seeing stars thanks to the pounding she got from most of her Democratic rivals" ("Hardball," 10/31).
Washington Post's Kornblut: "Part of the problem for her is it has been so flawless and she does get so much credit for when she does well. So when the opposite occurs, the reverse happens for her" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/31).
Time's Halperin: "The most damage was done by Hillary Clinton herself. She had been so sure-footed in the previous debates, part of an exceptionally strong performance throughout her candidacy. Her campaign has been saying for months all front-runners get a test. Maybe last night was the test; maybe it was the beginning of a series of tests. But the dynamics for the political class of this race dramatically changed in that debate" ("NewsHour," PBS, 10/31).
National Journal's Douglass: "She showed a number of things about herself that are potential vulnerabilities in a general election campaign, the charge that she's not always forthcoming, the charge that some of her answers might be calculating. All the words that people tend to use against Hillary Clinton, she opened herself up for those kinds of charges. But did it help her opponents? Not necessarily. Did Barack Obama look any stronger or tougher, as his supporters want him to do? Not necessarily. Did John Edwards appear to be more likable, more appealing? Not necessarily" ("NewsHour," PBS, 10/31).
Dem strategist James Carville: "I would say that I've seen her do better in debates. ... Having said that, I think the overreaction to this thing is like almost laughable. But it hardly is the end of days" ("AC 360," CNN, 10/31).
STILL GETTING HIS TV TIME
Mike Huckabee was on "O'Reilly Factor" last night:
Asked if being a Mormon will impact Romney: "I think there will be some, just like being a Baptist is going to impact some folks for me. I always tell the story of a lady who asked me, was I a narrow-minded Baptist to think only Baptists go to heaven? And I told her, no, ma'am, I'm more narrow than that, I don't think all the Baptists are going to make it either. So you know, I know that it is going to be an issue for him, it's going to be an issue for me. The most important thing that we can do is to be honest about our faith. I'm going to be honest about mine, tell people how it influences me, how it affects. That is important."
More: "You know, that is not the role of the president, to tell people about going to heaven or hell. The role of the president is to leave this country and to improve the tax situation, secure our borders, to give us a sense of peace and safety and let people believe whatever they want to believe."
FNC's O'Reilly: "Now do you believe that Jewish- and Muslim-Americans are not going to heaven because they don't believe in Jesus is God?"
Huckabee: "I think that is going to be something they will deal with. But again, it is not the role of the president" (FNC, 10/31).
NO UFO TALK HERE
Dennis Kucinich was on the "O'Reilly Factor" last night:
On HRC and debate: "She was spun around. It was not her finest moment, but the fact of the matter is, there is a lot about those debates that are totally artificial. It is almost laughable when you have John Edwards criticizing Hillary for taking money from Washington lobbyists when his campaign is heavily funded from New York hedge funds; or Barack Obama criticizing her for her support of the war when she and Barack Obama have identical positions when it comes to funding the war. So a lot of this is about nuances and not about a real difference or distinction without a difference."
More: "I don't agree with Hillary Clinton on Iraq, on Iran, on trade, on health care. I have established very strong positions challenging her on every turn. But you have to look at the environment there. That could happen to anybody getting spun around like that. It is not necessarily the best judge of who is going to be the best leader of the country.
Kucinich: "I think that she does have that problem where she tries to please people on both sides of an issue. You can't always do that. And I think she found that out last night" (FNC, 10/31). [EMILY GOODIN]
Posted at 09:38 AM
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