I'm going to take a stab at using the early hour to get my thoughts up before the chattering class can come up with theirs. I just watched the video of the debate this evening, and I can see 3 clear outcomes for various candidates, winners, no change, and losers, in no particular order.

Winners:

Kucinich

Say what you will about the man, he was on a roll. The line about having already dug through the earth to China was pure gold, and he managed to outshine the presumptive favorite of the AFL-CIO crowd: John Edwards. Anything Edwards could do, Kucinich could do better, and funnier, I might add.

Obama

In the interest of full disclosure, this is my candidate, but he came into his own tonight. He went toe-to-toe with Hillary, Dodd and Biden, and came out looking to be the true candidate of change. There was a slight flub with the "President of Canada" remark, where I groaned, but other than that, he was money. He seems to have finally been able to reduce some of his complex and thoughtful meandering into some very powerful sound bites. Additionally, his exchange over Pakistan may very well have turned that little episode into a win for him.

Neutral:

Edwards

I like John a lot, if Obama doesn't get the nod, I hope it goes to him, additionally, I thought he had a pretty good night and I'm tempted to put him in the winners category. There is a small problem with that. Edwards should be the presumptive frontrunner with the AFL-CIO. Despite the fact that this was Obama's turf, this is his crowd. He did very well against Hillary, and his answers were awesome, but he let himself get out shone with his natural audience by Kucinich. That's problematic for him at this juncture, and makes me lean towards tonight being a draw for him.

Clinton

She didn't have to go on the offensive tonight because Dodd and Biden did it for her (running for Vice President much?). Her answers, as always, were polished, knowledgeable to the point, and most importantly cautious. Not a great idea in what seems to be shaping up as a change election. Additionally, she got served by Obama on the question of Pakistan...Twice. Once when he chastised those who authorized the war, and again when he accused her and Dodd of trying to keep important foreign policy decisions away from the American public.

Richardson

He didn't make a lot of gaffes, but he didn't shine either. In fact, when trying to come up with Richardson's big moment in the debate, I'm sort of drawing a blank, which leads me to label him as a draw. Keep in mind, at this stage, a draw for Richardson isn't fatal, but he needs to make some more moves to crack into the top tier. Were it closer to January, and were he not in double digits in Iowa, this would be a loss for him.

Loser(s):

Dodden

They became lap dogs for status quo Washington tonight. They allowed Hillary to avoid making attacks, because they did it for her. Additionally, they were indistinguishable, at a time when then need to start making a brand for themselves, they both wilted into obscurity, and were only noticeable when they were attacking Obama and Edwards. Good if you're running for Clinton's Veep, bad if you're running for President. It's a pity too, because Biden had a shot at one point to score points on Obama (the President/Prime Minister of Canada flub mentioned above) but was so subtle with it most Americans wouldn't have caught it. Bad news when you're in single digits in both national and state polls.