February 11, 2009 4:37 PM
- Text
Debate Showcases Clinton-Obama Rivalry
(CBS)
This analysis was written by CBSNews.com's David Miller.
Thursday night's Democratic debate had little in common with the two that preceded it besides the eight candidates on stage — the venue was in Washington; each hopeful got a crack at answering every question; no one was ever asked to raise their hands; and instead of focusing on Iraq, the questions revolved around issues like education, inner cities and racism.
But even though this debate was unlike those that came before it, the Democrats on stage seemed more comfortable and confident. They were in front of a crowd largely composed of blacks, who have been one of the Democratic Party's most dependable voting blocs since the Depression. Also, they were addressing issues that have been the bread and butter of their party's platform for decades.
Even the news events of the day allowed for an easy jumping-off point in a debate held at historically black Howard University, thanks to the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling that rejected racial integration plans in two school districts and could have sweeping effects nationwide.
Despite this most friendly atmosphere for Democrats, an intense battle was under way between Hillary Clinton, who has seen the support her ex-president husband enjoyed among blacks carry over to her campaign, and Barack Obama, perhaps the most viable black presidential candidate in U.S. history.
While Obama's appearance on the debate stage caused a swell in the opening applause in the auditorium, it was Clinton who drew the night's loudest cheers in discussing the spread of AIDS among black women. "If HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged, outcry in this country," she said, prompting an enthusiastic audience response.
Throughout the evening, Clinton spoke with the forceful words and aggressive tone that, in previous debates, she used in discussing the war in Iraq and combating terrorism — two subjects that received scant attention in a forum almost entirely devoted to domestic, urban issues. When one international issue — the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region — was raised, however, she was quick to show she would not hesitate to use military force to enforce a no-fly zone over the country. "We should make it very clear to the government in Khartoum," she said. "We're putting up a no-fly zone. If they fly into it, we will shoot down their planes. It's the only way to get their attention."
Obama, on the other hand, did something none of the other candidates, including Clinton, could do by emphasizing his membership in the black community. In his first words of the night, he invoked the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. "This is where Thurgood Marshall and the team from Brown crafted their strategy," he said, referring to the late justice who argued Brown before the Court prior to serving on it. "If it hadn't been for them, I would not be standing here today."
But Obama saved most talk about his common kinship with the audience for discussing HIV-AIDS, softly admonishing the black community for not being more open about the epidemic. "One of the things we've got to overcome is a stigma that still exists in our communities," he said. "We don't talk about this. We don't talk about it in the schools, sometimes we don't talk about it in the churches. It has been an aspect of, sometimes, our homophobia that we don't address this issue as clearly as it needs to be."
Thursday night's Democratic debate had little in common with the two that preceded it besides the eight candidates on stage — the venue was in Washington; each hopeful got a crack at answering every question; no one was ever asked to raise their hands; and instead of focusing on Iraq, the questions revolved around issues like education, inner cities and racism.
But even though this debate was unlike those that came before it, the Democrats on stage seemed more comfortable and confident. They were in front of a crowd largely composed of blacks, who have been one of the Democratic Party's most dependable voting blocs since the Depression. Also, they were addressing issues that have been the bread and butter of their party's platform for decades.
Even the news events of the day allowed for an easy jumping-off point in a debate held at historically black Howard University, thanks to the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling that rejected racial integration plans in two school districts and could have sweeping effects nationwide.
Despite this most friendly atmosphere for Democrats, an intense battle was under way between Hillary Clinton, who has seen the support her ex-president husband enjoyed among blacks carry over to her campaign, and Barack Obama, perhaps the most viable black presidential candidate in U.S. history.
While Obama's appearance on the debate stage caused a swell in the opening applause in the auditorium, it was Clinton who drew the night's loudest cheers in discussing the spread of AIDS among black women. "If HIV-AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged, outcry in this country," she said, prompting an enthusiastic audience response.
Throughout the evening, Clinton spoke with the forceful words and aggressive tone that, in previous debates, she used in discussing the war in Iraq and combating terrorism — two subjects that received scant attention in a forum almost entirely devoted to domestic, urban issues. When one international issue — the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region — was raised, however, she was quick to show she would not hesitate to use military force to enforce a no-fly zone over the country. "We should make it very clear to the government in Khartoum," she said. "We're putting up a no-fly zone. If they fly into it, we will shoot down their planes. It's the only way to get their attention."
Obama, on the other hand, did something none of the other candidates, including Clinton, could do by emphasizing his membership in the black community. In his first words of the night, he invoked the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. "This is where Thurgood Marshall and the team from Brown crafted their strategy," he said, referring to the late justice who argued Brown before the Court prior to serving on it. "If it hadn't been for them, I would not be standing here today."
But Obama saved most talk about his common kinship with the audience for discussing HIV-AIDS, softly admonishing the black community for not being more open about the epidemic. "One of the things we've got to overcome is a stigma that still exists in our communities," he said. "We don't talk about this. We don't talk about it in the schools, sometimes we don't talk about it in the churches. It has been an aspect of, sometimes, our homophobia that we don't address this issue as clearly as it needs to be."
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