Who won the Iowa debate?

[Padraig18]

Poll question: Who won the Iowa debate?

Please vote. :)

[BrewCrew]

1. john edwards was good

i'm a gephardt fan and thought he did well, but Edwards was great!

[TeriS]

75. John Edwards was GREAT!

JRE did a terrific job, however I must say that overall I was proud of all of the candidates. The Des Moines Register put on by far the best debate we have had to date. I am looking forward to the next two, I hope those who moderate them follow this model!

[TahitiNut]

84. Welcome to DU, TeriS!

:hi:

[Padraig18]

2. Edwards and Dean have both done EXTREMELY well today!

:)

[newsguyatl]

6. i concur

dean and edwards...


i'd give the edge to dean though for being able to withstand the heat and still come off so well and with a smile..

[Zynx]

3. It's a tie between Edwards and Dean.

However, because Dean was already in the lead he gets the nudge.

[Padraig18]

5. I agree n/t

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

4. Kucinich got the most laughs and applause

Edwards did quite well, CMB did the best so far, and Lieberman came off well on TV. Dean, Gephardt, and Kerry didn't really distinguish themselves.

[hellhathnofury]

22. Lieberman did not come of well. He name called and whined.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

33. I wish people didn't underestimate Lieberman

He came off pretty well and seemed quite at ease. He of course whines and his attacks make him look like a jerk, but he's a seasoned politician. He also sets himself up as the opposition candidate by being more conservative than everyone.

No way I'm voting for Lieberman, I'm just saying he did okay at the debates.

[Lobo_13]

50. the pen stunt didn't come off too hot, either.

I thought Dean handled that little bit of theatrics really well.

[TeacherCreature]

7. Dean and Mosely -Braun

Dean won just for the fact that all the others asked him questions and several made themselves look petty. He answered everyone wonderfully.
Carol because she is just right.

[YellowDawgDemocrat]

12. More importantly, who lost the debate?

Kerry didn't make any splashes. He's cooked.

Gephardt may have done just well enough to make a difference in Iowa. Dean held his own.
Edwards did well and may have helped himself back home.

Lieberman...well...he may appeal to the right leaning Dems, but not anybody else.

[Padraig18]

15. Kerry and Lieberman lost. Gephart treaded water.

:)

[incapsulated]

18. Kerry

Didn't do well today.

[AP]

51. Kerry had a rebuttal that sounded like talking for the sake of talking.

I think it was in response to something Edwards said -- the thing about not being the only person for something. Kerry said, "I'm the only person for..." and then proceeded to so narrowly define what he was for that he sounded pedantic. Edwards wasn't even criticizing him. Edwards was just saying, you're for it and I'm for it too.

Kerry worked himself into a rhetorical bind. One thing you don't want to do is have people associate the sound of your voice with the idea that you don't care what you're saying, which is what Kerry did a little bit of.

However, his new haircut looked great. I bet more people will think he looked great than will think he sounded bad.

[patricia92243]

8. It's not over-so nobody has won yet

[OhioStateProgressive]

9. obviously Dennis, and strangely humorous no one will admit it(nt)

[Padraig18]

10. Nothing 'obvious' about it. n/t

[OhioStateProgressive]

16. im sorry

I snapped a bit too hard


It was very obvious to me and I am sure many others as well, for what it is worth

[Padraig18]

17. No blood, no foul.

:hi:

[poskonig]

11. Dean decisively.

Dean was firm and presidential, handling all of the attacks professionally.

[Tinoire]

29. Dean did well but I thought

but he seemed a bit deflated after Lieberman's attack on his records. Still came off well afterwards but seemed a little deflated for the next 15 minutes.

Lieberman took an opportunistic shot but Dean should just get those records opened so we don't have to hear about this for the next few months because the issue is not going away- it really does mean something to people and will mean even more when Rove starts in on that.

Not opening them makes it look like he has something to hide and can be really, really exploited.

[BootinUp]

13. Edwards did the best today

He showed quite a range of ability and knowledge. I wasn't really impressed with Dean today.

[incapsulated]

14. Edwards

He really impressed me today.

[Tinoire]

19. Tie between Kucinich and Edwards

for giving substantative answers and addressing the questions vs preaching or attacking Bush or dodging the question.

They all did well though.


On edit: Whoops forgot my caveat *minus Lieberman*. No one cares about hearing Clinton, Clinton, Clinton. We've learned a few things since then, NAFTA/GATT/WTO are not popular and Clinton is not running for office.

[wndycty]

25. Edwards was strong today. . .

. . .I was very impressed with him.

[Bucky]

28. I care about Clinton--best Prez in my lifetime. Dennis blew the Iraq Q's.

Carol Moseley-Braun chewed Kucinich up on the Iraq question, made him look undependable. But she did it with class.

[OhioStateProgressive]

37. i think the opposite

i think when Dennis followed up strongly by showing that Moseley Braun would CONTINUE the war, Dennis will continue to take her support

the same with Dean

[Bucky]

20. Kerry's been atrocious. Dean botched the "mistake" question.

Kerry's been atrocious. He comes off as egomaniacal, upper crust, and a fuddy duddy. Yes, I've used the F word, too! Lieberman is Kerry lite. Both are just too negative. Lieberman is probably best at attacking Bush, ironically enough. Definitely not "birds of a feather" as some people with extreme views around here claim.

I think Gephardt just edged out Braun as best debater. I disagree with much of his positions, but he's a real straight shooter, not just a "pose-like-a-straight-shooter."

Braun is classy & remains the most "presidential" up here in terms of temperament. Her vision is clear, but she's not as solid as she needs to be on

Dean is out of the dork category for me, but he's not past some the character concerns I have. When faced with the "mistakes I've made" question, he just couldn't say what he's learned from it. He's coming off as someone who doesn't learn from his mistakes. The response he gave was process oriented (he lied about Edwards during this race) and still isn't showing himself as a leader on substantial issues.

Kucinich is a good debater, but his responses show him as too far out of the mainstream.

I'm impressed with Edwards, but his responses seem to lack meat too often. I've been around lawyers enough to see thru smoothness.

[Alex146]

21. If Dean is still alive at the end he wins, but CMB did the best this time

nt

[JNelson6563]

23. Dean, he got the most thrown at him

from all sides and he did great.

Julie

[citizen snips]

24. Edwards and Dean.

Edwards and Dean won. Lieberman Lost.

[Sean Reynolds]

26. Edwards and Dean.

Though I give the edge to Dean because of the attacks in the Q/A - he answered them very well.

[bearfartinthewoods]

27. Edwards ruled but DK charmed

gotta go with Edwards though.

[hellhathnofury]

30. Edwards and Dean.

[White Mountain]

31. Clark

No Gaffes. Nice change for him!

[Lobo_13]

32. It was a push

between Edwards and Dean.

Dean because no one touched him.

Edwards because he's started to define himself as a kind of outsider.

Loved it when Edwards punked Gep and Kerry. I smell VP.

[hellhathnofury]

35. I smell VP too.

[Padraig18]

36. I got a distinct whiff of VP today, too.

Hmmm.... :shrug:

[hellhathnofury]

40. Except for the Iraq vote they mesh well.

[Padraig18]

42. I noticed that, too.

Hmmmm.... :)

[hellhathnofury]

45. Maybe. I think it would work.

If we kill BUsh on domestics and tie on defense it would work. Announce a defence cabinet 2 months before the general.

[Padraig18]

56. Imagine this ticket and cabinet:

Dean/Edwards, Clark as SecDef, Kerry as AG (THAT would scare the crap out of the Repukes!), Al Gore as SecState, Bill Clinton as UN Ambassador, CMB as SecHUD, DK as SecHHS... :)

[hellhathnofury]

62. Hmmmm....

Dean/Edwards
Clark as Sec State
Zinni as Sec Def
Bill as UN-Ambassador

I think Kerry should stay in the senate. I have no idea who to elevate to Attny Gen. Fitzgerald if he gets Rove.

[Eric J in MN]

65. I like the fact that Kucinich can introduce bills in Congress (nt)

nt

[janx]

71. SOMETHING was going on. Might not be VP, but it was

clearly there. I was so proud of both of them.

And I was so very proud of Carol. She really scolded a couple of those guys!

[Padraig18]

72. Carol did well.

Dean helped himself enormously when he asked the "ABB" question, and then ceded her the balance of his time. :)

[mzmolly]

77. Ya'll smelled that too?

So did I. Especially when Dean noted one of his political mistakes was mis-quoting John Edwards? hmmmmmmmm..... :freak: Perhaps there is something a brew???

[NoPasaran]

34. Edwards

Then Dean.

This was a good debate.

[incapsulated]

38. According to the media

Dean won of course. Dean always wins. Dean is the candidate we have chosen for you. Listen and obey.

[Padraig18]

39. Sour grapes.

DU seems to think Dean and Edwards won, so maybe the media are right. Maybe Clark would have won, if he'd bothered to show up!:)

[incapsulated]

43. Edwards was barely even acknowleged on CNN

It's all Dean. C'mon, even a Dean supporter has to admit the media bias.

[Padraig18]

44. We don't *have to* admit SQUAT!

This isn't a grand jury room. :eyes:

[incapsulated]

49. It's a figure of speech

And an offering to a Dean supporter to be honest. You can certainly afford to be, your guy is out in front. What will it cost you to say the media is ignoring Edwards because they love to talk "frontrunner"? Jeez.

[Padraig18]

52. I am being honest.

Your point would be....?

[incapsulated]

59. My point would be...

That to ignore the obvious slant in media coverage is not being honest. Let's just stick to this debate. Is it fair to ignore Edwards and just about everybody else in this debate and talk Dean 95% percent? Was he really that good?

[Padraig18]

He's the front runner and...

... no one laid a glove on him, and no one scored a k/o, so yes, it's THE story.

[incapsulated]

67. Ok, fine, I give up.

The media are a bunch of whores, except when it comes to endlessly pimping Dean, got it.

[Padraig18]

69. LOL!

Whatever. :shrug:

[AP]

47. Candy Crowley just said "Dems are looking for person toughest on Bush"

Huh?

I still want the guy with the best ideas who captures the "Happy Days are Here Again" FDR-feeling.

They have barely mentioned Edwards and have said the name "Dean" probably 100 times in the last 15 minutes.

[bhunt70]

48. very true

CNN didnt do justice to Edwards at all. Everything is seemingly tied around HD. If its a story about anything in the democratic nomination then it seems like Dean has to be in the slugline for it to get published.

[hellhathnofury]

54. I think theyre ignoring him because they don't want a Southern face

on the Democratic agenda.

[AP]

55. To me, biggest Dean story was Lieberman's thing about "You have the power

to open your records."

Dean's reply was lame. CNN didn't talk about it at all (unless I missed it).

[hellhathnofury]

58. They did. It was the first clip they showed, I think.

[janx]

73. Well Edwards is certainly acknowledged here.

He was at the very top of his form.

[incapsulated]

46. Yeah..

Then the handful of people actually watching this debate would have been really impressed! :)

[BootinUp]

63. Thats not surprising, but what did they say

to support it? I'm still on Cspan.

[zulchzulu]

41. Kerry had some great applause in his statements

All in all, there are still too many candidates on the stage. I feel the average voter just getting into the process probably walked away confused...

I back Kerry but found that everyone did well with the exception of Gephardt, who was basically shown that he was not the "only candidate" on a number of issues.

I plan on watching the debate again just to see the dynamics again. It's pretty fascinating stuff, but then again everyone here are pretty much political junkies like myself...

[askew]

53. I voted for Dean, but I would put Edwards and CMB as a close second.

I think Dean won mostly because he survived all of the attacks, while giving great answers to questions to moderators' questions. I would put Edwards and CMB as a close second though. This was the best I've seen Edwards. He normally comes across as too rehearsed for me, so I really liked him in this format.

This was by far the best debate, both due to the better moderators and the smaller number of candidates. If we only could have gotten rid of Lieberman, the debate could have really stayed on topic.

[janx]

57. I voted Dean as well, but Edwards and Mosely Braun did

VERY WELL!

AP: Did you notice anything like some vibes between Edwards and Dean?

[CalebHayes]

60. Tie: Kerry and Kicinich

They won.

[Padraig18]

61. Did we watch the same debate you did?

DK did OK, but Kerry sucked.

[firestarter]

64. The viewers won

Hope Ted Koppel and Judy Woodruff were paying attention. This was a great debate.

Edwards did well. Dean did fine. Lieberman and Kucinich and Braun distinguished themselves. Gephardt and Kerry did okay.

[hellhathnofury]

66. I agree, the viewers definitely won. Best Debate Yet/Ever.

[Padraig18]

68. I agree.

Local media folks don't have the 'it's all about MEEEEEEE' syndrome the Candy Crowleys and Ted Koppels do...

[salin]

83. I agree, it was the most substantive debate

and while the moderators asked questions tailored to each candidate often on 'perceived weakness' it wasn't done in an "entertainment value" way - as if to try to spur infighting and sniping.

In my viewing opinion, however, Braun looked the best (but I only saw the last hour and a half). Edward looked very good. And the others all looked fine.

[Raya]

70. Extra! Extra! Mosley Braun beat Kerry. So says DU Board. Dem on Roll

[Padraig18]

74. The board has spoken:

A tie between Edwards and Dean!:)

[stickdog]

76. Edwards, Dean, Moseley-Braun, Kucinich

In that order.

If it had been The Gong Show, Lieberman would have lasted about 10 seconds.

It looks like Dean/Edwards is a real possibility.

What a difference it makes to use moderators rather than media whores!

[Northwind]

78. I actually think it was a tie

Between Edwards and Dean

[mzmolly]

79. Edwards/Dean...

John Edwards did great! Dean remained out front.

CMB is always amazing. She is always a class act.

[Leilani]

80. Edwards Won

He was terrific; Dean had the best closing statement.

Callers to C-Span are very pro Edwards.

[TeriS]

81. John Edwards 44th president of the USA

John Edwards displayed the most presidential, solutions oriented, positive message of all the candidates. I particularly appreciate his remaining within the campaign finance limits! Not dropping out like 2 of our candidates did, I thought it was interesting that Sen Kerry did not answer that question!

[salin]

82. I only saw the last 2/3 - but Braun sounded the most

fluent (responding to points on the moment rather than seeming like finding ways to hit "talking points.") She impressed me a great deal, and I thought sounded the most reasonable.

Of the others I think that Edwards sounded strong and did a good job projecting a message.

Others did fine. Not outstanding. Not bad.

[_NorCal_D_]

85. Edwards kept it positive,

and definitely did the best in this debate. B-)

[Skinner]

86. Interesting results.

Edwards is making a good showing here. I wonder if he's getting all of the folks who would otherwise vote for Clark. I agree that he did a great job.

I think Dean, Edwards, and Gephardt did the best. Kerry was bland and unispiring.

But I think the big winner was probably Howard Dean, because nobody else drew blood, and he avoided making any gaffes. A good showing for the frontrunner which should not change his status as frontrunner.

[Padraig18]

88. I agree, mostly.

I found Gephart's performance so-so, however.

[maddezmom]

87. Edwards nt