Everyone: Band together and tell Tim Russert you don't appreciate him perpetuating the Gender v. Race paradigm by focusing a good quarter to a third of the debate on "he said" "she said" flame-fanning between Obama and Clinton. As I was watching this, I thought, "You know what? I finally understand why most Americans hate politics and the media." Hillary Clinton: Don't fall into the John Kerry trap. When you're asked about why you once supported a bill you now oppose, do not do the following: Apologize for supporting the bill, give an explanation of how it got tied up in committee, and then say that although you voted for it, you're glad it never became law. That's what actually happened tonight when you were asked about the Bankruptcy Bill. Don't let it happen again. Barack Obama: Nix the professorial tone and give shorter answers. Do more to explicitly distinguish your opinions with that of President Bush and the Republican candidates. In other words, make yourself look like a general election candidate. Clinton is beating you at that game, as she demonstrated with her gambit asking you to co-sponsor a bill that would prevent Bush from signing deals with the Iraqi government to limit the next president's power to withdraw troops. That downgraded you to V.P. level -- ouch. You can own the foreign policy debate, as you proved later on when you commented, "Resources that could have been spent hunting down Bin Laden have been diverted to Iraq. And that’s what happens when your judgment is clouded." You've proven your judgment is often superior to your opponents' when it comes to foreign policy. Now, can you take that message on the offensive? John Edwards: You did a fantastic job last night presenting the issue of economic inequality in a consistently accessible, powerful, progressive way. I was impressed. But do you think you could, from time to time, take yourself out of the story? For example, did you really have to "fight for your life" growing up in that mill town? Or was it actually, you know, not so bad of a childhood compared to those other folks you talk about, like Natalie Sarkysian and James Lowe? I believe your heart is in the right place, but you make it easy for folks to attack you sometimes. In other news, as you must already know, Mitt Romney won the Republican primary in Michigan tonight. More on that tomorrow morning. A good night to all. --Dana Goldstein
