Great Debate review from Campaigns and Elections Magazine

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One Word Answer, "Potted Plant" Candidate Define Democratic Debate

By - John Boyanoski
(April 27, 2007)
Hillary Clinton opened the debate, Joe Biden closed it, and in between was 90 minutes of mildly heated and sometimes humorous back and forth to kick off the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign.

It was a 90-minute spectacle that saw what pundits called the first one-word answer in debate history, one candidate saying he felt like a potted plant, five candidates admitting to owning a gun, each candidate using some variation of "when I am president," and each candidate owning up to his or her biggest political mistakes.

The debate at South Carolina State University saw U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York lament three times about her failure to push through universal healthcare in the early 1990s. It saw New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson consistently push his one-minute allowance to speak on a topic, and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina push his South Carolina roots.

It saw U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut answer a question about whether people on welfare should be required to take drug tests by saying people need to show more compassion.

And finally, as NBC News anchor Brian Williams wound down the debate, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel got into a semi-argument that started with global warming and ended with global warring.

"Who the hell are we going to nuke? Tell me that, Barack," Gravel challenged.

"I'm not going to nuke anybody," Obama answered.

Then there was U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, who may have made the biggest impression by saying the least. About 30 minutes into an evening that was sedate up to that point, Williams asked Biden about whether he could control his sometimes "uncontrolled verbosity."

Biden simply answered yes, which prompted many in the crowd at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium to break a rule against laughing during the debate, and in turn, forced Williams to loose composure with a few chuckles.

Afterwards, MSNBC pundits Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews said it may have been the first one-word answer in debate history.

The debate ended a long day in Orangeburg, but kick-started a weekend-long Democratic Party coronation. The various candidates are fanning out across the state this morning before meeting again tonight for the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Columbia followed by a fish-fry hosted by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn.

Dodd will do an early morning breakfast in Orangeburg and then head to Charleston, while his wife Jackie heads to Newberry. Clinton's campaign will head to Greenville for two stops. Edwards heads to Charleston in the morning and then to Columbia for a happy hour mixer.

As for the debate itself, the NBC crew tried to keep the questions and statements by the candidates relatively mixed. Obama got the most talking time with 12 questions or rebuttals. Edwards had 11. Clinton, 10; Biden and Richardson, 9; Dodd, 8; Kucinich, 7 and Gravel, 6.

Gravel acknowledged what he felt was a lack of time in the limelight.

"I was beginning to feel like a potted plant up here," he told Williams after a long delay in him being called on.

Williams' questions were a mix of items prepared by NBC staff as well as e-mails received during the live telecast.

One group of questions that Williams described as "elephants in the room" seemed to put the most pressure on the candidates. Obama had to explain some questionable people on his donor list, Edwards about his vast fortune made as an attorney. Richardson was put on the spot about having a Hispanic bias; Dodd about being too much of a political insider. Clinton was challenged about being the candidates the Republicans think can be beaten easily. Kucinich and Gravel were asked what hope their longshot campaigns had.

Gravel, Dodd, Biden, Kucinich and Richardson all admitted to having guns in their homes as adults after a show of hands question from Williams.

The Confederate flag and the NAACP's economic boycott of South Carolina also entered the fray after coming from an e-mail from a state resident, who wanted to know why the candidates were here despite the asked-for ban on events.

Biden, who previously said the flag needs to come down, said Congressman Clyburn asked the candidates to come, and that is why they didn't honor the ban. Obama added there are more important issues than worrying about the flag.

The candidates, of course, took the opportunity to make some subtle personal jabs at each other during the debate. Richardson made a comment about "blow dried" candidates. Kucinich went after Clinton several times, as did Edwards.

Gravel, though, may have made the biggest slap at his fellow candidates when talking about what it is like working on Capitol Hill.

"When you're first elected you say how the hell did I get here?" Gravel said. "Then after six months you say what the hell are they doing here?"


John Boyanoski can be reached at [e-mail].