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The Texas Blue
Advancing Progressive Ideas

Liveblogging the Texas CNN Democratic Debate - On Location

It's about that time — the debate circuit has come to Texas, and we are finally in the spotlight in what may be the last debate of any importance in this primary cycle. I'm liveblogging from the debate location in Austin, and Josh will be providing color for the debate.

7:00 The candidates have just come on stage for pictures; Clinton will be starting off with opening remarks, followed by Obama.

7:05 Clinton's reminiscing about her experiences in Texas, and having met Barbara Jordan and Ann Richard (sic). Boy, that's not a name to mess up. Clinton then starts talking about accomplishments, and cites her SCHIP work and desire to end "discrimination against sick people." Mentions her experience, of course, and taking money out of the hands of special interests. So please join my campaign! It is, of course, a heavily abbreviated version of her stump, as it should be; we'll be hearing the same from Obama.

7:09 Obama starts with a nod to party unity by naming Clinton as a friend. "We are at a defining moment" for the country — straight from the stump, of course. Discusses the people he's met as context for the problems he's seen — veterans' issues, job outsourcing, college costs, health care. Then starts on the change message: we're not short good ideas; our problem is that "Washington is where good ideas go to die." He wants to make America "as good as its promise."

7:13 Jorge Ramos from Univision gets to ask the first question: now that Fidel Castro has resigned, would you meet with his brother and heir apparent, Raul Castro, at least once to "get a measure of the man?"

Clinton says that she hopes that this opportunity in Cuba leads to a democratic system, but that she would not meet with him until there was proof that change was happening to that end. She mentions that this has been discussed before: that she believes diplomacy should be used in full, but that a presidential visit should be reserved for cases where there is an indication that change is possible so as not to validate leaders that don't deserve it.

When pointed out to Obama that he has stated he'd speak with the leader of Cuba, among others, he notes that that was said in the context of having a set agenda in place and that relations shouldn't be normalized until that is the case. When it is pointed out to him that that's not what he'd originally said, and that he'd said that the current policy with regards to Cuba was a "disaster," he says he does believe that, and that he believes in diplomatic negotiation, under those conditions.

Clinton replies, and says she agrees with increasing diplomacy and has been trying to open diplomatic ties with Iran for a long time. She gets applause for speaking to ending American unilateralism.

Obama seems to try to make one last differentiation between himself and Clinton, but he basically restates that America should be redoubling efforts at diplomacy.

7:22 Obama is asked how he and Clinton differ on the economy. Obama instead brings out his stump points for his economic plan. Obama wants to stop giving tax cuts to companies that ship out jobs overseas, and wants to repeal Bush's tax cuts to the wealthy and give breaks to the middle class. Trade agreements should include strong labor and safety standards. More investments in alternative energy. He notes that Clinton does agree with a lot of what he said. The question he proffers is, "how do we get it done?" He believes in making a coalition for change to overcome the dominance of special interests in Washington. I'm not exactly sure that answers how we get it done; as an undecided voter, that leaves me a little lukewarm.

7:27 Clinton also touches on tax cuts and on trade — her asking for a "trade time-out" sounds as awkward as it did the first time she used the line, and gets a couple of chuckles here in the press room. She adds to Obama's points that of ameliorating the home foreclosure crisis, with freezes on rates and such. She wants to encourage the development of "green jobs," and wants to end Bush's "war on science." She notes all the good research going on at UT, to much audience applause, of course.

7:30 Clinton is asked by Ramos about ending raids on illegal immigrants with children here until comprehensive immigration reform is passed, noting the 3 million children in the U.S. who have at least one parent who is here illegally. She says that she'd consider that except in egregious cases, but that leaving children to come home from school to a home without any adult left is "not the America [she] knows." She lays out her plan for immigration reform, where those have committed crimes while here are deported, and the rest have a real path to citizenship, and states that she'd establish that within her first 100 days.

7:34 Obama also addresses holding employers accountable for hiring illegal immigrants, which Clinton touched only in passing. He also mentions fixing the year-plus long waiting period for those legitimately seeking citizenship and the egregious costs required to do so.

7:36 The border fence is next up. Clinton starts by noting that both of them voted for the border fence as a part of a larger immigration bill. But she says that as she was in Brownsville last night, she saw the absurdity that this has turned into under the Bush administration, calling it the "dumb way" to do border security. They both voted for a border fence where carefully considered and appropriate, but "as with many things" Bush has "gone off the deep end." Big ol' reference to the Iraq military authorization vote right there. If that wasn't a sneaky justification of her vote, I'm a monkey's uncle. She wants the border fence to be reconsidered and applied only where appropriate, and thinks part of that should be listening to those that live on the border. Applause.

7:41 Obama agrees that they both think a fence should be used only when appropriate, and then speaks to the immigration issue in general, talking about how unfeasible it is to deport 12 million people and calling for the passage of the DREAM Act allowing certain students to apply for residency to remain in school.

7:43 30 million Americans speak Spanish; some are in the crowd. (And in the press room, may I add.) Is there a downside to the U.S. becoming a bilingual nation? Clinton encourages people to become bilingual, but believes English should be the unifying language of our country. She specifies that she is against making English the official language, which would be a detriment to the many in the U.S. without solid English skills. Obama thinks everyone should learn to speak English, but everyone should also be learning a second language in school. He uses that to get a shot at No Child Left Behind and how it's made education focused on passing state tests, and gets applause for that.

And we have our first break of the evening.

7:50 We're back, and CNN's trying to cause trouble. The rabble-rousers are noting that very often, the tone that the two candidates take individually at rallies are very different from the amicable tone they're taking tonight. Senator Clinton, do you think Obama is "all hat and no cattle?" Apparently, she stated that about Bush, not Obama, which of course gets some applause. Then a defense of the "speeches vs. solutions" line she's been using. She says she does offer solutions, because that's what she's been doing for the past 35 years of her life. Notes differences between their records and accomplishments. She brought out Sen. Watson's inability to come up with any accomplishments on Hardball. Ouch! I'm sure Sen. Watson, who is in the crowd, is smarting at that remark.

Obama starts, of course, by mentioning his accomplishments — doing work to prevent wrongful convictions, working toward transparency in government, helping veterans in Walter Reed... "I think I can say I've been engaged not just in talk, but in action." Applause. He also brings up that he has gotten the endorsement of every major newspaper in Texas. More applause. He notes that the two of them share a lot of policy positions, but that if they can't inspire Americans to come together, we'll continue to see the same gridlock in Washington that we've been seeing to date. Raucous applause as he finishes.

7:57 The next question is on the accusation of plagiarism in Obama's speeches from Deval Patrick. Boy, that's a softball. Of course, Obama notes that Patrick is in his campaign and suggested the line for him to use, and calls the accusation part of Washington's "silly season." Laughter and applause. He notes that in his speeches — some of which "are pretty good;" more laughter and applause; the crowd's eating out of his hand — he also brings up a $4000 tuition credit and other policy points. "Clinton has a fine record; so do I." Clinton answers that if you're running on words mattering (which Obama had stated previously), you should at least be using your own words. Applause — we've got ourselves a duel! Then she goes on: "lifting entire passages from other places isn't change you can count on; it's change you can Xerox." Read that again; that's going to be the line of the night.

She says that Obama is a great speaker, and she commends him for that. But she says that change is hard work, and it's something they both believe in and that she's been working on for years. There's the experience over message meme again.

Obama, in response, seems to have ceded the point as far as the issue of Patrick's words go. He speaks to the policy points Clinton brought up in her "experience" statements — he said there were two, but I think he may have only spoken about health care. He defends his health care plan and its lack of a mandate, and says that intimating that people are left out somehow implies that they don't have the shared goal of covering everybody because some choose not to purchase it. I can see Clinton's answer coming already: including everyone lowers the costs for everyone, and it's a critical part of making it affordable for everyone. Obama continues by saying that he'd be willing to have that discussion of whether mandates are appropriate, but that though Clinton deserves credit for trying to pass health care reform in the Clinton administration, she went about it in "the wrong way" — he states that she excluded some voices in that health care debate, and therefore lost some support. She doesn't get a chance to answer; we're on our next break.

8:10 We're back, and Jorge Ramos jumps right in on the rabble-rousing with Clinton's comments on Obama not being ready to be commander in chief. Clinton refuses to answer until she's answered Obama's remarks on health care; she says that's a substantive difference, because voluntary health care will not work — health insurance companies will still game the system, and everyone will still be paying the hidden tax that comes from not including everyone. Obama wants a brief answer, and criticizes mandates from the point of view of the penalties applied if someone doesn't get it — it's a mandate on people, not a mandate on government. Clinton fires back that Obama's plan already applies penalties to those that don't get coverage for their children, because he acknowledges that without some restraints we won't get to universal health care; his plan also fines people if they are uninsured and come sick to an emergency room. Some mandates are necessary, so that the price can drop to where it's affordable for everyone. Obama's answer, in reference to an example of Clinton's of a mother concerned about the cost of coverage: "she'll be able to get insurance under my plan." Not exactly reassuring, after hearing reasons why she may not, to hear that she just would.

8:18 Jorge Ramos gets to re-ask his question, of whether Clinton thinks Obama's qualified to be commander in chief. Clinton seems to answer more with reasons why she is qualified than reasons why he isn't. "Ready to lead from day one." You've heard the line. Obama then gets to focus more on differences, and how he thinks Clinton's votes were mistakes in judgement.

8:21 The next question is to Clinton, on Iraq; if McCain wins the Republican nomination, which seems likely, one of them will be running against a candidate that will cite his military experience in saying that he's more qualified to be commander in chief; both candidates have said that it's more about judgment than experience in that case. Both candidates voted against the surge on their judgment; is Iraq better today due to the surge than it was six months or a year ago? Democrats know the answer to this: the premise of the surge is that we'd give the Iraqi government the space and security to work towards a political solution. She's more explicit as to the military issue (good for her!) — given the skill and commitment of our troops, putting more of them in will inevitably result in reduced violence in certain areas. But we have not seen the political gains we were supposed to out of it.

Obama follows along with the "dedication of the troops" line, and gives a shout out to Fort Hood — good call; the crowd likes that, of course. He mentions that Iraq has drawn our attention away from al-Quaeda in Afghanistan as well as other military hot spots, like Latin America. Straight Democratic talking points to the rest, which we'll be hearing a lot of come the general election: the surge was a tactical maneuver in a gross strategic blunder.

And we have what will probably be the last break of the night.

8:32 Obama is asked about his $91 million in earmarks — less than average, the host notes — and how he has refused to disclose where that money has gone. Obama says that's not true, and that they've disclosed all their earmarks and would be happy to provide that information, and that he's been consistently in favor of more disclosure for earmarks — that many are for important projects within particular states, but they should not be acquired under cover of night, but should be done transparently.

Clinton, asked about whether Obama has more credibility on that issue than she does, with around $340 million in earmarks, says that no — he still supported the Bush tax cuts that made us borrow money from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis. She notes that when Bush came into office, he was working with a significant surplus that has been completely squandered, and that she has the ability to exercise the fiscal responsibility needed in government.

8:36 Clinton is asked about superdelegates, and what would happen if they don't choose the same candidate as the Democratic nominee? Clinton says that those are the rules that we've agreed to play by, and that everyone has the same intent of bringing change to the White House. Obama, unsurprisingly, says that people don't feel like they have a voice, like they're represented in Washington. He doesn't explicitly state that he doesn't want superdelegates to vote against the candidate with the majority of pledged votes, but he strongly implies it.

8:39 Last question: what was the moment in life when you were tested the most? Obama cites his struggle childhood, and works from that to describe his efforts as community organizer and eventually in government.

Clinton says that everybody knows she's lived through some challenging moments in her life (laughter and applause), and is grateful for everyone's support, but her problems pale to those of the people she's met. She turns her answer into an anecdote about the people she's met and their daily struggles, just as Obama turned his into an anecdote on his history doing community work. A happy handshake, as Clinton says that they're making history, and that she's honored to be there with Barack Obama. Whatever happens, the two of them will be fine, and she just hopes that we'll be able to say the same about the American people — that's what the election should be about. Hey, look at that — she closed with an Edwards line! And that's the end of the Texas debate. Next comes the spin room!

On Immigration Policy

The immigration policies from both camps are going to have to clarify a great deal in the next two weeks. Tonight has been a pretty good start.

The Watson comment

Man, even the reaction in the press room was a little iffy to the Watson comment.

The Watson comment

That remark is going to cost her. It was not required and shows a lack of understanding of his accomplishments. Even though Sen. Watson and I differed on some points, he listened and even changed on some issues. Sen. Watson has my full support!

Zingers

It is starting to feel like everyone went to zinger school this week. "Change you can Xerox" indeed.

Wow, tone change

Everything went from hackles to handshakes by the end of it. It feel like Senator Clinton got the last word, and she looks like she knows it.

Tie goes to Obama

On most issues the two of them are pretty darn close (especially compared to McCain). Where they had differences, like on Cuba and health care, both of them looked very knowledgeable and confident. Where they didn't have differences, they both gave the party line forcefully. A viewer who just tuned into the race would say that they're both qualified to lead. That helps the Democratic Party, and that helps Obama. If Texas and Ohio voters ask "who's better qualified?", they may go for Clinton, but if they find both qualified and ask "who do you like better?" most will go for Obama.

I had the feeling that Clinton had a bunch of attack lines ready, and ultimately chose not to use them. The announcers practically invited her to trash Obama, and she didn't bite. Later she dropped the "change you can xerox" line (which drew boos), and after that she became very gracious towards Obama. I don't know if that's because she felt her attack lines wouldn't work tonight, or because she's essentially conceding the race and wants to exit with dignity.

In any case, her (powerful!) closing statement sounded like a valedictory.

He needed a debate coach

Obama was going in circles on questions. Which would be fine on the lecture circut. But in a timeed high-pressure debate, it came across as empty rhetoric. What was he trying to say and to whom? The size of the words counts less than the content.

Looking physically uncomfortable is not the image I'd want to project on live television. Why was he nervous if currently the front runner?

The streets of Austin were PACKED, and I had even left for downtown at what I perceived to be early. My mistake!

I did not get into the 'official' watch parties. The party I was on the list for took forever getting to--and it was just on Congress Avenue. The Mexican resturant which our private party was in was 'elbow' room only.

And in one of those weird psychic coincidences--I was seated next to a woman also named Robin who had lived in the same Houston-area neighborhoods. Maybe our hosts did this to us on purpose--hee-he!

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