One Day After the Debate
Whew. Philadelphia still stands. The debate between American democratic hopefuls is over.
The debate’s lingering impact will be known on April 22 when Pennsylvania hosts its late yet highly anticipated primary election. It is certain this debate created a shift in tact of both the Obama and Hillary campaigns. However in the upcoming days, it will be seen how the strategies of Obama and Clinton will morph to address concerns vital to winning Pennsylvania’s primary.
The Obama Camp is sick of the media’s inapt ability to sift out real issues for the American people. Changing media is an Obama campaign issue and strength. The debate proved to Obama supporters how much the media really needs to change and the Obama camp now is lashing out and pressing for shift in media foci.
And, as for the Hillary camp and how the debate has changed her tune, she now seems to be portraying a different, more delicate nature when on Obama attack. Perhaps the recent support from ABC (Gibson and Stephanopolis) calmed her crippling flaws of charisma as she keeps speaking out to gun-holding, religious Pennsylvanians.
What matters most now, is not what the debaters said last night, but what there is still left to say. I know it’s fair to say, being myself a voter, and taking this even further, a young voter, last night did not do justice on either candidate. The debate failed to showcase how the two will differ in delivering for our nation. To make all of this worse, both claim to endorse one another.
No, I’m not lying, both Obama and Clinton endorsed one another last night when questioned if he/she believed his/her opponent could beat McCain. Leading the debate, Charles Gibson and Stephanopolis proffered boring questions. The poor questioning resulted in pop-culturalization of politics and the sugar coating of the major issues that we as voters care about.
So because of crappy questions I learned last night a lot of stuff I could care less about. I learned who Hillary was and who Obama isn’t. I now am the proud knower that Hillary is the granddaughter of a first generation immigrant paper mill worker and that Obama is no longer friends with Bill Ayer. Hillary is sorry for Kosovo and Obama disowned Wright, I mean Wright’s words.
I also learned for certain what the media is and isn’t. I can only hope the watching public learned more about media than the candidates. ABC sucks at hosting debates not because of the orators or the time or the location or the candidates, but because the media is guilty of holding a greed for ratings and when this greed is carried over into debating the result is mediocre reporting.
The debate did not lead into a conversation about the future of our nation’s political campaign for the election of 2008. Obama and Hillary should have been pushed during the debate to prove themselves by standing strong to their respective visions for America. Instead the debate highlighted the Democratic candidates’ weaknesses and campaign short-comings. ABC used the constitution, religion, lapels, and philanthropic activity to taint Obama and Clinton.
But I will lay to rest my dismay over what seemed to be an unabashed bashing of Obama because what matters most now is who will win Pennsylvania?
The city’s mayor and the state’s governor endorse Hillary. Last night showed that the two democratic candidates will keep on huffing and puffing until the very bitter yet sweet end, but whoever wins, will win the White House in 2008.
“We feel a certain sense of freedom and progressiveness here,” Nutter [Mayor of Philadelphia] said of the City of Brotherly Love. “The notion that all black people vote one way has to be destroyed.”
But let’s be honest. Endorsements don’t really mean anything. Or do they?
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