I wasn't able to watch because of the kids–will try to catch it later.
Who did well, who missed opportunities, who stole the show?
UPDATE: If you missed the debate, check out the great liveblog over at Iowa Independent.
I haven't found all of the candidate-submitted videos in one place. I liked the Edwards “hair” video–the music and the visuals make it quite memorable.
2 Comments
Biden is wrong on Iraq, Richardson is on target
Biden castigates Richardson for wanting a rapid withdrawal of forces, but then Biden wants the anti-war vote. So what does he say?
<blockquote>Responsibly Drawdown US Troops
* Direct U.S. military commanders to develop a plan to withdraw and re-deploy almost all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2007
* Maintain in or near Iraq a small residual force — perhaps 20,000 troops — to strike any concentration of terrorists, help keep Iraq's neighbors honest and train its security forces
</blockquote>
That is from Biden's website. Going from 160,000 troops to 20,000 in less than six months is a rapid withdrawal.
The difference between Biden's and Richardson's plans is Richardson doesn't compromise and try to have it both ways. Richardson will get all of our troops out. Richardson understands that our troops are just targets of all sides in a civil war.
Baghdad is Iraq’s largest city with 7 million residents. Iraq has 15 other major cities, hundreds of smaller cities and towns and thousands of villages with another 20 million people in a nation the size of California.
We don't have nearly enough troops now in Iraq to bring peace and stability to the country – and never will absent re-instating the draft and sending over 600,000+ soldiers, which of course should not and will not occur.
<strong>Keeping 20,000 troops in Iraq as Biden advocates just means that the tens of thousands of insurgents and militia forces in Iraq will have a much easier time killing our troops</strong>. They can concentrate all of their forces on a much smaller number of U.S. troops.
iden, Edwards and Clinton were wrong to vote for the war. And Biden, Obama and Clinton are wrong today to advocate for an extended (even if reduced) deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq. The scars of this war of choice by President Bush and the members of Congress that supported it will last for generations. The longer we delay the inevitable, the deeper the wounds are inflicted.
Only Richardson has a solid, crystal clear plan for Iraq is Richardson, for two reasons:
1. He'll get the U.S. out completely and promptly – a total withdrawal.
2. Richardson has the foreign policy experience and expertise to wage the diplomatic offensive that will be necessary to see the region not descend into further conflict.
This is what <a href="http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/iraq?id=0002">Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard</a>, Jr. (USA, Ret.) has said about <a href="http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/iraq/">Richardson's plan</a>:
<blockquote>Overwhelming majorities of Iraqis, both Shia and Sunni, oppose the presence of US troops in Iraq and believe that US troops are more a cause of violence than a solution to it. Our presence in Iraq fuels the insurgency, strengthens Al Qaeda, and distracts us from the urgent task of defeating the real terrorists who attacked this country on 9-11. It's time for a phased and coordinated, but rapid, withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq, and Governor Richardson has a realistic plan to do it.</blockquote>
<strong>Richardson is listening to the right former general on Iraq.</strong> If you want to learn more about Gard's views read http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2005/11/00_gard-johns_there-are-risks-if-the-us-withdraws.htm
stephen-cassidy Tue 24 Jul 12:18 AM
Surprised and Pleased
I was surprised at how well (I thought) Clinton performed. I think I’ve been underestimating her. Obama’s performance was weaker than I expected. I was a bit disappointed by Edwards’ response on gay marriage.
I was pleased at the quality of the candidates — Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, Obama, Biden. Very strong group. The Democratic Party ought to be pretty proud of its candidates this time around. Certainly there’s no one on the republican side that comes close to any of these folks in terms of experience, thoughtfulness, and maturity.
Yea, Team!
mwd Tue 24 Jul 5:38 AM