What did you think of last night’s debates?

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

I was speaking at Rutgers University last night, so I missed ABC’s Democratic candidates debate. But judging from what I read this morning, it was a hot mess.

Lerone Wilson at Blackline compared the debate to an old Lakers game:

…in place of Kobe dazzling viewers with his superior ball control and perimeter shooting, only to feed it in to Shaq, I saw Charlie Gibson playing point guard to Hillary Clinton, who like Shaq, just stood around the basket waiting for the easy dunk.

Here’s Baratunde, aka Jack Turner, on Jack and Jill Politics:

Half of the debate. Half was entirely about bullshit the country has already processed and was more than ready to move beyond. I could barely contain myself, and I got even more frustrated when my fellow debate watchers weren’t ready to storm the place with me.

Here’s dnA’s take on Too Sense:

You know what would have made it clear that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton actually care about the issues facing American citizens? If one of them had taken just five seconds to stand up to the moderators and point out that they weren’t addressing the issues that are important to voters. But they didn’t, because they were too busy sitting there thinking about themselves and how to stay out of trouble or embarrass each other.

But my favorite commentary is this bit from Tom Shales’ column in The Washington Post:

At the end, Gibson pompously thanked the candidates — or was he really patting himself on the back? — for “what I think has been a fascinating debate.” He’s entitled to his opinion, but the most fascinating aspect was waiting to see how low he and Stephanopoulos would go, and then being appalled at the answer.

If you watched the debate, what did you think?

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Trackbacks & Pings

  1. TTFN | afrobella on 17 Apr 2008 at 11:36 am

    [...] Racialicious on last night’s debates, which I hear was a trainwreck of rehashed media hot-button crapola. [...]

Comments

  1. Talia wrote:

    I can honestly admit that Obama didn’t have a good night at the debate. Furthermore, I think he should have been better prepared to answer the questions about Rev Wright and the “bitter” comments.

    With that said, I also don’t think so much time should have been spent on these “semantics games” by over examining every little thing that either the candidates or affliates have said.

    There is a mortgage foreclosure crisis, crude oil is now over $110 a barrel, people are rioting worldwide over soaring food prices, America’s on the verge of a recession with unemployment especially among people of color at an all time high, people are worried about paying for health care…

    …and all the candidates and the moderators could talk about was who isn’t wearing an American lapel pin!

    Hell, you would have thought that someone would have wanted to talk about the high murder rate in the city (Philadelphia) were the debate was being held.

    And people wonder why no one cares about politics anymore. Politics don’t care about people!

    Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 11:58 am

  2. Li wrote:

    I have to admit that I do not follow debates regularly. I just watch them when I happen to come across them while channel surfing. I came across last night’s debate and was thrilled that I could catch up on what I have been missing. After the first 1/2 hour segment, I was so disappointed and frustrated that I ended up cleaning my bathroom while listening to the rest of the program.

    Why why why did they not take the necessary time to talk about the issues I (and I am assuming many other people) care about? I really wanted to know what their plans were for the healthcare and education crises, as these are the issues that affect me the most right now. (I am an educator in a low-income urban community, and I am struggling to pay health insurance out of pocket. ) These topics were glossed over at best, and Clinton even told viewers to visit her website to see her plans for key issues in more detail. I don’t want to watch an entire debate just so that I can be referred to a website to get answers I should have gotten last night. Instead of spending over half the debate discussing unimportant, nit picky subjects like the flag pin, they should have used that time for more productive DEBATES.

    So frustrating!

    Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 12:18 pm

  3. Latoya Peterson wrote:

    I’m liking Ta Nehisi Coates’ reponse:

    Here’s my problem–That’s what the MSM does. The same folks who are crying about last night’s travesty are the same folks who–with much justification–have been putting the MSM on blast for years. We knew what the terrain was. With that in mind, it does almost no good to complain about vapid moderators. Who here thought that ABC News was some font of intellectual dialouge to begin with? The hard truth is that our boy fumbled the ball last night. He got hit hard and low and he wasn’t ready.

    But here is what I believe–it won’t happen again.

    http://www.ta-nehisi.com/2008/04/a-message-to-ob.html

    Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 12:23 pm

  4. berrybrowne wrote:

    at worst it was petty and, as talia said, not obama’s greatest night. he looked incredibly worn.
    at best it was redundant and uninspiring.
    i think both campaigns would have been better off if the debate had never occured.

    Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 3:04 pm

  5. Jay Smooth wrote:

    I agree with Ta-Nehisi, altho my guest vlogger Soulja Boy didn’t get into that aspect on my site.. this was an 0-for-5, A-rod in the playoffs type of night from Obama, and ABC’s shortcomings should’ve meant home-run balls for him if he had the right swing.. hopefully the lesson help him work on his mechanics.. (hm how much farther can i stretch this metaphor)

    Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 3:22 pm

  6. Michelle wrote:

    The debate last night were nearly as bad enough to have been moderated by Paris Hilton and Harvey Levin — no one would have known the difference.

    Posted 17 Apr 2008 at 11:39 pm

  7. Ha! wrote:

    The debate was a complete waste of time. While watching it, I almost felt as if I were reading a dumbed down version of the New York Post, it was so sensationalist. How dare they waste our time and condescend to us so blatantly. Oh, and those American flag questions posed to Obama were not just insulting, they were ridiculous.I guess this is true democracy in action huh? We need to find some other means of getting our news, ABC just isn’t cutting it.

    Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 2:43 am

  8. MNC wrote:

    I heard it was a H.A.M. and that they came out with the cleavers on Obama.

    I couldn’t watch it. I say wake me when he’s President.

    Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 10:53 am

  9. FranSky wrote:

    My partner & I at one point were nearly screaming at the television asking “why aren’t they talking about issues that actually affect Americans?” After an hour we turned off the TV & hoped the next debate would have some actual relevance to our lives. I did like that Clinton said she felt republicans should apologize to the American public for the Bush administration. That was the only really good thing I heard.
    ~F

    Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 12:19 pm

  10. Tree wrote:

    Sneak attack–remember the “boxers or briefs” debate back in ‘92?
    Basically, nothing here will change public consciousness. Infuriating waste of time? Yes. Loss? Hardly.
    The media circus seems to be designed to make both candidates look a bit silly, which is a shame considering the lack of real journalism regarding the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the damages left in the wake of Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher–
    Sorry. President Bush and several members of the ‘committees’ in the HoR.

    Posted 19 Apr 2008 at 10:23 pm

  11. lilah wrote:

    You know what i am 12 yrs old, but i had to watch the debate for a project, McCain just lost it, he was busy trying to make Obama look bad, instead of making himself look better, and the whole debate was based on “Joe the Plumber”, McCain is a slow thinker, and cant remember things like Obama does, if he becomes president, I wouldn’t say I am from America!!

    Posted 19 Oct 2008 at 2:07 pm

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