In an earlier post I mentioned how the liberal blogs and MSM that beat up on Hillary Clinton on a daily basis would have reacted if she had run away from debates with Senator Obama in the way that he is running from her now. They would have been on her like flies on stink.
The California debate, the only one-on-one debate the two Senators have had, Hillary Clinton dominated. It had a definite effect on voters. In spite of the polls which all the Hillary Haters, bloggers and pundits threw up on their sites to show the massive surge and movement of Senator Obama, all done to deflate supporters of Senator Clinton. She not only won the states the polls said were now a toss up but one poll, the Gallop showed Clinton moving ahead. Now of course the thing to do is discredit that poll. I get that. The methodology and accuracy of all that polling is madness. But when the poll suits ones purpose in promoting their guy or gal their is no hesitancy to throw it up there and say SEE, big surge for my guy, why don't you just give up! ( just a note: I see that TPM and others are at it again with the polls. Obama Stronger Than Clinton Against McCain.)
But the important part of all this is that the debate mattered. Had an impact. Made people think. I'm currently working with seven young men and women in their mid twenties. Bright, well educated and living in Illinois. Barach Obama supporters. We've had political discussions. He is their guy. They all watched the Los Angeles debate. Next day at work they are talking about what happened and to a person they were stunned at how ( to use their phrase) she wiped the floor with him. Impressed with her command of the facts, knowledge and the nuts and bolts of what she wants to do in addressing the mess President Bush and the Republicans have left this country in. They were surprised at the lack of depth in his responses, just slogans and feel good phrases. On Super Tuesday four of the seven voted for Hillary Clinton. Now, I completely buy the fact that this happens the other way also. But we were suppose to be having a surge here. We were suppose to be burying Senator Clinton after Super Tuesday. I'm suppose to vote on progressive blogs whether Hillary is finished or not. And now, and to me this is big, this is why I'm writing for the first time on a blog, we have the candidate who is for change, change we can supposedly believe in and he's scared to debate this women one-on-one. And the sad nonsense the Obama camp is putting out that they have already debated 18 times could be spitting out of the mouth of Karl Rove. The two Senators have debated one-on-one only once. And it had an impact.
And yes, of course not debating is strategic. Strategic in the way of all run-of-the-mill politicians...manipulative, calculating, shrewd, all the things Clinton gets skinned alive for on progressive blogs and the MSM. And of course Senator Obama will continue to get his free pass on this too.
Change we can believe in? Really? Sounds like the same-old-same-old. He's afraid to debate her and that tells me something. That tells me a lot.