(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
It may have been an amicable exchange but coming just days before Tuesday's important Florida primary it was hardly inconsequential. Some thoughts on the ballet in Boca:
The most recent polls have shown Romney building a very slight lead over the past few days and his debate performance can only help that trend. In a debate with almost no candidate-to-candidate attacks, Romney shined. His grasp of details on a range of issues and his optimistic disposition helped him stand out in a still-crowded field. It didn't hurt that he appeared to get the most time to speak. One trouble spot: Romney was yet again asked about how his Mormon faith might impact voters' willingness to back him. It wasn't a problem because of his answer but because it remains an issue for him. Still, if Romney wins on Tuesday, we might look back at last night as a key moment.
John McCain looked like the front-runner he is, at least nationally, and the rest of the field was very deferential to him, which gives him some gravitas everyone else lacks. And his strong stances on the war and flashes of humor serve him well in these debates. But McCain stumbled a bit on economic issues, falling back on generalities and well-worn rhetoric about spending restraint and bridges to nowhere. For a candidate who may be facing his final days in the race, Rudy Giuliani didn't appear anxious to find ways to separate himself from the field. His appeal to Florida voters on issues like a national fund to help the state's hurricane insurance problems was clear but he didn't find ways to hammer those points home. The most telling moment was when he compared his chances to those of the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Being that big an underdog at the most important moment in his campaign doesn't exactly project a lot of confidence.Mike Huckabee's populist economic message may make a lot of sense to many voters but they're probably not the ones who will be voting in Florida on Tuesday – or many other Republican primaries to come. Sounding like FDR at times, Huckabee's suggestion that the federal stimulus package would be better spent building roads seemed out of place. Huckabee's biggest economic worry is the financial health of his own campaign, something that won't be corrected by anything he said last night.Hillary Clinton became a major topic last night, just as McCain did in the Democrats' debate. While Hillary Clinton has occupied a special place in Republican rhetoric throughout this campaign, it was Bill Clinton who got his turn and Romney let loose a zinger that may resonate into the general election. Asked about the prospect of running against both Clintons, Romney said, "I frankly can't wait because the idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I can't imagine." Nothing unifies the party like the Clintons.The Gray Lady Speaks: The New York Times today endorses Clinton and McCain in their respective primaries, a slight boost for the Democrat and a potential headache for the Republican. For Clinton, it would have been a bit of a slight if the most influential newspaper in her home state had chosen to back Obama, so the backing is not unexpected. But the editorial does provide her with some outside help in her campaign argument: "The next president needs to start immediately on challenges that will require concrete solutions, resolve, and the ability to make government work. Mrs. Clinton is more qualified, right now, to be president."
For McCain, there's a fairly big downside in becoming the candidate of the paper conservatives love to hate. In fact, Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, trumpeted the fact that the paper not only passed him up, but spent a large amount of ink explaining why. "The real Mr. Giuliani, whom many New Yorkers came to know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police power," the paper writes. "Racial polarization was as much a legacy of his tenure as the rebirth of Times Square." Giuliani gleefully claimed that the paper never agreed with him during his tenure as mayor, indicating he couldn't have been happier. Don't be surprised when McCain's GOP opponents begin referring to him as the "New York Times' favorite Republican."
Obama's Top Ten: Obama appeared on David Letterman's "Late Show" last night where he gave his Top Ten campaign promises:
10. To keep the budget balanced, I'll rent the situation room for sweet sixteens.
9. I will double your tax money at the craps table.
8. Appoint Mitt Romney secretary of lookin' good.
7. If you bring a gator to the White House, I'll wrassle it.
6. I'll put Regis on the nickel.
5. I'll rename the tenth month of the year "Barack-tober."
4. I won't let Apple release the new and improved Ipod the day after you bought the previous model.
3. I'll find money in the budget to buy Letterman a decent hairpiece.
2. Pronounce the word nuclear, nuclear.
1. Three words: Vice President Oprah.
Around The Track
A new Clemson University poll shows Obama with a 7 point lead in tomorrow's South Carolina primary. Obama leads the Democratic field with 27 percent, followed by Clinton at 20 percent and John Edwards at 17 percent. But a whopping 36 percent said they remain undecided. A McClatchy/MSNBC poll shows a similar spread but identified a smaller pool of undecided voters at 14 percent.Clinton has often been accused of slipping into a drawl when speaking to Southern audiences but she's not the only candidate who speaks to voters in a way they understand. Speaking to a largely black audience in South Carolina yesterday, Obama urged voters to get to the polls on Saturday. "I need you to grab Cousin Pookie to vote," he said, according to the AP. "I need you to get Ray-Ray to vote." Obama accused Clinton of not putting forth a Social Security plan, saying, "There are some things that aren't right … and some things that just ain't right. And that ain't right!" South Carolina Democrats are bracing for a record turnout tomorrow, with over 300,000 voters expected to show up at the polls."There is a point at which you just realize that you, look, you accept it, that it isn't going to happen and you move on" – Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, explaining his decision to drop out of the presidential race.