First Impressions, Day 2

Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007 3:33 PM by Chuck Todd

From NBC's Chuck Todd
I have to admit, I can't sit here and say, "this person won" or "this person lost." It was very similar to yesterday where the format basically prevented any back-n-forths; The mood was chipper on that stage and that kept everyone comfortable.

Perhaps no one benefitted more from this subdued format than Obama since he's the guy with the momentum. Clinton, oddly, didn't get as much time in this debate (or forum) than she has in previous ones which may lead some to believe she was not at her best. But she had plenty of good moments, just not enough air time. (Can't believe I'm saying this about a Clinton that they didn't get airtime at a debate!) Obama did get the YouTube moment with the shot back at Hillary on Clinton advisers.

All of the candidates seemed overly prepared with this debate as if they got all of the questions in advance (oh, wait, in some cases they did!).

Biden, as usual, came across very well, if anything, though, he was too emotional (which isn't always presidential).

Edwards seemed to do a good job of talking to Iowans specifically; he strikes me as being the John Edwards of late 2003; Could he be on a similar comeback trail that he experienced in '03 in Iowa? Time will tell.

Dodd and Richardson clearly were the favorites of the moderator and that may help them if plenty of Iowans watch this debate today and tonight.

EMAIL THIS

Comments

Hillary is trying to limit the amount of time she talks at the debates. The more she talks, the more ground she loses in the polls.

Jimmy Kimmel (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 7:46 PM)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LZ61kgQ0cz8

The Fox Group said Hillary wasnt impressive. It was all about Edwards and Obama! Hillary's drug accusation about Obama was a huge negative for all 29 people in the focus group.

Dan Nyack NY (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:13 PM)

I agree with Meg that Edwards supporters are a mystery to me. He is so obviously, transparently phony and opportunistic. How many Katrina victims has he invited to live with him and Elizabeth in that 28,000 sq. ft. house? I haven't heard of any but he's got room for a few dozen. He is just one huge ego trip and I wouldn't believe he could accomplish anything in the unlikely event he became president. I also think his appeal is basically that only a white person can win and its not Hillary Clinton.

Tanya, Colonia, NJ (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:18 PM)

Looks like Edwards was a hit among the undecided voters. Both the Fox & CNN undecided voters overwhelmingly picked Edwards. They were impressed with his authenticity and his message. Don Fredericks over at the LA Times blog even wrote a fairly nice piece about Edwards debate performance (he never does that).

While Edwards is not popular among the pundits evidently the voters like him.

Did anyone notice Senator Clinton using some of Edwards lines during the debate? She talked about a "new kind of patriotism" (Edwards always talks about having a president that asks voters to be patriotic about something other than war). She talked about the bully pulpit (Edwards always talks about the bully pulpit). And finally she said if the voters stand up for her she will stand up for them (another Edwards line). They say immitation is the sincerest form of flattery and in this case I would agree.

pmorlan, Louisville, KY (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:33 PM)

Joe Biden is still the one who seems to have the ability to move our country forward in a positive direction. He has already proven that he can get votes from both sides of the aisle on his proposals. I can only hope that the polls are wrong and that the people of Iowa will caucus for Joe Biden.
It is amazing that the pundits on MSNBC, Meet the Press, and this site, will mention how Biden does so well in these debates and that is the only mention he gets. Why not discuss why he did so well and what he knows on the issues instead of who said what about the other candidate.
We need Joe Biden for President.

Tammy, Bluffton, Indiana (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 9:15 PM)

I'm starting to believe a Biden/Anyone - Edwards, Obama, Clinton, Richardson, Dodd, would be a better ticket and would have the ability of receiving crossover support from independents and discouraged republicans in the general election. If the only thing they can attack Joe on is plaguerism, (who hasn't repeated someone's good words, college maybe?)he will carry the election forward to a positive outcome. He of all candidates has been working the most lately to implement polcy and not continually campaigning, nor continually to seek donations, but working!It also appears he has the support and trust of all the other candidates and would receive the respect and trust from many republicans to move an agenda the American citizens demand now! It also appears he is one candidate who does'nt believe the average American is ignorant and that our voices and concerns should be addressed. Hoping more of you feel the same way here in the near future and perhaps give us a real chance of changing our current path that this current administration has put us on. MSNBC thanks for letting me voice my opinion. The rest of you, I hope you have a great holiday season and keep posting, America needs your voice!!!

Joe, Houston (Sent Thursday, December 13, 2007 10:27 PM)

Edwards is NOT electable. He's already been part of a losing presidential ticket (Kerry/Edwards '04) and despite him being the steretypical "southern male", Edwards wasn't able to help Kerry win a single southern state in 2004.

As well, despite campaigning in Iowa for 4 YEARS he's in 3rd in Iowa (an in all the other polls). Now that's pathetic.

Kerri (Sent Friday, December 14, 2007 8:08 AM)

How many times is MSNBC going to report on First Read about Obama claiming he would use her an ad advisor?

I used to question those that claimed MSNBC was anti-Hillary - but now agree. This is the third time in First Read (that I have seen) that they talk about this.

Sean (Sent Friday, December 14, 2007 11:53 AM)

<< Previous

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=514795