A Double Date in New Hampshire

For anyone brave enough to sit through nearly four hours of debate coverage on ABC Saturday night, I commend you. For those who didn’t, here are some thoughts concerning both the Republican and Democratic debates.

Republicans:
The candidate clearly in the cross hairs of every Republican this night was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Mitt’s trademark cool was tested time and time again and by the end of the night Romney was clearly damaged. Relying on a plea to his fellow Republicans to stay on the issues, Romney tried to deflect unsuccessfully other GOP hopeful’s assaults towards his tendency to change his mind on issues. Romney’s lead in New Hampshire has evaporated and now he is tied or losing to Arizona Senator John McCain in most polls. Saturday did nothing to stop the bleeding for Romney.

Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator John McCain were most successful in their swipes at Romney. The tag team of Huckabee and McCain tried to portray Romney as the candidate of change; however, unfortunately for Romney change referred more to flip-flopping than visionary ideas.

While the clearest results of the Republican debate was a weakening of Romney’s floundering campaign, both McCain and Huckabee came out with the most gained from Saturday. McCain’s gains are likely to help him more in the short term as he is locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Romney for the top spot in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Former Senator Fred Thompson was able to score points throughout the debate but more so in terms of the contrasts he drew from Congressman Ron Paul, the radical in the Republican grouping, than from any actual accomplishments himself. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani maintained his focus on continuing to be tough on terror and pro offense against radical Islam; however, his decision to largely skip the early primaries and focus on later states, namely Florida’s January 29 primary, continue to make his presence more that of a spectator than a competitor.

Democrats:
Hillary Clinton, dictating the pace more than any other candidate, seems to have won Saturday’s debate; however, more in the form of a split decision than a knock out. Clinton was successful in answering Senator Obama and Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards claims that they were best to lead because of their focus on change by countering that a resume of change trumps mere calls for change.
Constantly recalling her 35-years of experience in public service, Clinton tried to draw the contrast between herself, Obama, and Edwards as that of those willing to talk and those willing to roll up their sleeves and work. While this tactic was successful and this night made Clinton the victor, her debate performance is unlikely to single-handedly bring her victory on Tuesday.

What has made Obama successful, a strong personal story and refusal to get mixed up in political bickering, is what likely lost Obama Saturday’s debate. And while a refusal to mix it up may loose points on a debate scorecard, it has not damaged in the least bit the wave of momentum that Obama road into and out of Iowa.

John Edwards, returning time and time again to his passionate cry for change, finds his populist message muffled by both Clinton and Obama. On this night, Edwards was clearly the most energetic of the four candidates, however, his message of change has been added late in his political career and never packs as much punch as Obama’s does. Edwards who trails Clinton and Obama by more than ten points in all New Hampshire polls is hoping for an Obama victory in New Hampshire and a position as chief competition for Obama going into the January 15 South Carolina primary.