Live Blog Of MSNBC Democratic Debate In Pennsylvania (October 30, 2007)

We are ready to go! The debate starts at 9pm EDT. It will air on both MSNBC and on MSNBC.com and will be moderated by Brian Williams with supplemental questions from Tim Russert. The debate is taking place at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

8:05: Less than an hour to go. Currently working on getting some pictures from the press photo pool, although they’re usually just taking the preliminary pictures about now, so it may still be too early…

8:11: Candidates from left to right: Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson. And, if you’re just dying to know, Brian Williams is indeed “happy to be back in Philadelphia.”

8:52: Where in the World is Mike Gravel? Well, he’s having his own online debate here, which is being broadcast from a spot in Philadelphia, where he is protesting GE (owner of NBC) for censorship. Sorry, Mike, but one debate per night is enough for us. Who do we look like, leaders of the Florida Democratic Party?

9:02: Brian Williams introduces Drexel University by talking about the school’s mascot, Mario The Dragon.

9:03: First question to Obama about whether or not he’s going to get tough with Hillary Clinton. He gives a solid response about changing politics. Hillary’s rebuttal was sure to ignore the fact that Obama even spoke and to note that the criticism she receives from the right is ample evidence that she is very different from the right.

9:06: John Edwards makes a point to use a positive tone when asked about using the harshest rhetoric in the campaign against Clinton. Clinton responds by referring to her record in very generic terms, and refers vaguely to battles in the 90s. She’s referring more and more to the policies of the 90s, and she only does that when on defense.

9:08: Russert doesn’t let Hillary dodge the question and frankly asks her about her Iran policy. She adimately denies that the vote is a pretext for war. Clinton loses her cool a bit and sounds like the guy that flipped out on the Bobs in that movie, Office Space.

9:13: It’s Doddtime! Dodd calls for leadership and notes that although the Kyl-Lieberman amendment is not an overt pretext for war, the 76 votes in favor of it could be used down the line in order to pressure support for military action. Dodd notes that it was critical to oppose it in order to stop the trend.

9:14: Biden says, the president already had the authority to do everything that amendment called for and contends that the real harm in passing the amendment was that it feeds into the negative impressions of the United States abroad. Says it was a bad foreign policy. Ultimately, Dodd and Biden frame their answers on Kyl-Lieberman in a way that significantly hurts Clinton and adds credence to the attacks that Obama and Edwards have been laying.

9:15: Obama is asked about attacking Iran, and says it should not be the focus or the concern, and focuses on diplomacy while referencing the points Dodd and Biden made. He eventually concedes that should Iran be on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon that war would be an option.

9:17: Clinton notes that the amendment didn’t give Bush any special powers. Calls for action on Sen. Jim Webb’s legislation, which explicitly requires the President to get approval from congress before taking military action in Iran. somehow claims to agree with Biden on Iran, even though he spent his whole time criticizing her.Clinton reiterates that she will not let Iran get nuclear weapons, stresses diplomacy and economic sanctions. Specifically, she mentions economic sanctions in regards to Libya and North Korea but does not mention the elephant in the room with sanctions - Iraq.

9:20: Edwards asks the obvious question of why Clinton voted for the resolution if she’s as demanding for diplomacy as she claims. Edwards goes on to chide Democrats for not standing up to the Bush administration. I imagine that’s a lot easier to do when you’re not in the Senate any longer.

9:22: Kucinich gets to speak. Invokes Article 2 Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution and calls for the impeachment of President Bush.

9:24: Russert asks for a pledge to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Hillary pledges that she will do everything she can do to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, John Edwards says he would take every responsible notion. Obama notes that all of them likely want to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, says “let’s short circuit this” and begins talking about the politics of fear and how they impact foreign policy and erode civil liberties. Biden pledges to keep the U.S. safe and notes that “it is complicated stuff” (because, stuff really demonstrates just how complex it really is). Biden goes on to put things into perspective and says that there are other more immediate problems that need to be considered when considering Iran. Dodd talks about experience and says Pakistan is more immediate problem. Richardson takes the bate and pledges to ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear, then points to his experience in foreign diplomacy. He points to one of the hostages from Iraq whom he negotiated the release for (during the 90s, not now). Kucinich asks the media to be more cautious with their rhetoric; calls for nuclear nonproliferation.

9:32: Hillary Clinton opposes the Iraq War, but not the soldiers (duh). Says that there is no military solution and that she will begin withdrawal as soon as she takes office. Clinton criticizes Bush for only relying on a small group of people for advice (Pot, meet Kettle, he’s black too).

9:35: Edwards draws a dichotomy: ‘If you believe that combat missions should continue in Iraq, if you believe that there should be no timetable for withdrawal’ then you should support Clinton; but if you want the combat missions to end within the first year (so he won’t immediately stop them?) and if you want the troops out then you should support Edwards. Edwards criticizes Clinton for her general election strategy and says that there should only be one type of rhetoric, the truth as opposed to rhetoric for the primary and rhetoric for the general election.

9:38: Clinton clarifies the combat missions critique. Notes that she will have a responsible withdrawal and that troops will remain to protect our embassy and pusue al-Qaeda. Says that combat missions will continue in a limited way so that soldiers can defend themselves while the withdrawal is occurring.

9:43: And we’re back, Hillary gets her 9th opportunity to speak. This time it’s to respond to Giuliani’s recent critique that she is inexperienced. Clinton says, “the Republicans and their constant obsession with me demonstrates that I am communicating effectively what I will do.” Clinton speaks broadly about what she will bring. Clinton one ups Obama’s catchphrase of turning the page by saying that she wants to “throw the whole book away.” Good metaphor.

9:44: Russert follows up. Asks if Clinton will the national archives to release Sen. Clinton’s communications as first lady with then president Clinton. Clinton says that the archives are moving as quickly as they can. Russert asks about a letter written by Bill Clinton requesting that specific records not be released until 2012. Hillary dodges, not even mentioning Bill’s letter.

9:45: Obama says that Republicans are “obsessed with Hillary” because that is fight that they are comfortable with and one that they are used to fighting. Goes on to say that it is precisely the reason why he should be the nominee because if she is elected partisan bickering will prevail for the next 8 years, whereas he has an opportunity to transcend it.

9:46: Edwards follows Obama with a nonsensical response. Mentions Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and asks, “Will America Be Fine?” if a Democrat who can bring change is not elected.

9:50: Hillary responds to the criticism by saying that progress was being made in the 90s and hits a home run by saying “change is just a word if you don’t have the strength and experience to make it happen.”

9:52: Obama asked about his specific experience. He cites a few things. I can’t help but think the other candidates must be frustrated by their lack of attention.

9:54: Richardson gets a turn. Cites some differences with Clinton but resorts the same old, “Look, I’m a Governor…” line.

9:55: Dodd is asked about his recent criticism of Hillary’s electability. He doesn’t really explain why she isn’t electable. Edwards gets a follow up and talks about Clinton’s lobbying.

9:58: Kucinich gets his.

10:00: Biden says he is not running against Hillary Clinton, that is he running to be the leader of the free world. He then launches a strong attack against Rudy Giuliani. Criticizes him for not having foreign policy experience and delivers his first YouTube moment, saying: “There’s only 3 things he [Rudy Giuliani] mentions in a setence…a noun, a verb and 9/11.” Biden then turns to Richardson and reminds him that he’s the one on the stage with the most experience, talks about things he was doing in the 70s, then says another great line: “maybe I’ve been around too long that you’ve forgotten all the good things that I’ve done.”

10:05: Russert challenges Hillary on an apparent difference between her private and public positions on social security taxes. As an aside, Russert’s questions can basically be boiled down to: ‘you’re a hypocrite….why?’

10:06: Obama says that it’s common sense that something needs to be done about Social Security and says that of the options available raising the cap on social security is the best one of the options available. Returns to politics in general and says that the problem is ultimately that candidates are afraid to discuss good ideas that are on other side of the political spectrum and says that he is not afraid to embrace good ideas.

10:10: Obama responds to concerns about swift boating by saying that when he was running for Senate, he was told it wasn’t going to end well because no one would vote for a “black guy named Obama.” Says that what matters is dealing with the swift boat ads fast and strong.

10:12: Break time. It’s worth noting that Ron Paul spammers have completely taken over the chat room for Mike Gravel’s protest debate. *sigh*

10:15: And we’re back. This time with a rule change - enforced 30 second responses.

10:17: Chris Dodd responds to a question about the price of oil by plugging his website. Biden’s response to the rising price of oil: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.” Edwards says that Americans need to be willing to sacrifice and talks about the importance of conservation in dealing with oil prices.

10:22: Dodd talks about his call for a corporate carbon tax and overall energy independence plan. To his credit, Dodd rightfully points out that his plan is the most ambitious and comprehensive of any presidential candidate.

10:26: Russert asks Sen. Clinton about Rangel’s proposal to change the Alternative Minimum Tax. Hillary says that she supports a better and more fair tax system (dodges the question really, other than to note that she doesn’t fully support Rangel’s plan), then launches into an attack on the Bush Administration and their tax breaks to the wealthy. Of note, earlier in Clinton’s response she said she didn’t know all the details, then later goes on to say that she disagrees with some of the details. Obama gets a shot to speak about taxes, rolling back the Bush tax cuts. The verdict: Democrats talking about taxes in a debate setting is painful.

10:31: Russert asks Kucinich about hedge funds and Harry Reid’s decision not to adjust the tax rates for hedge fund managers. Kucinich chides Democrats for not standing up to fight for fair taxes, for not standing up against the war and for not standing up against insurance companies. Concludes that in the status quo, people are confused about the difference between Democrats and Republicans.

10:34: We’ve entered the hyperbole portion of the debate…

10:35: Lighting Round!

10:36: Oversees students spend about 1 additional year in school than in the United States. Richardson believes the school year should be extended, underscores the gap and talks about better pay for teachers and getting rid of no child left behind.

10:39: Edwards responds to the education question by noting that there are two school systems in America (makes sense since it’s consistent with his campaign theme of two americas).

10:40: Biden hits a home run on the education question by giving a strong concise answer. He proposed extending the school year back in 1987 and observes that unless we believe our children on naturally brighter than children in the rest of the world, then we absolutely need to extend the school year.

10:46: In response to a question about medical care, Edwards talks about a nursing crisis in an obvious plea for more SEIU unions to endorse him.

10:50: Obama is asked about the awfulness of air travel. There’s no serious answer to this question and his flubbing of the response only demonstrates this.

10:52: Clinton is asked about New York’s plan to provide a license to illegal immigrants.  Clinton sinks herself, or drives off the road for a more apt metaphor.  We’ll deal with this issue in a specific post.

10:57: Russert asks Kucinich about his UFO sighting.  Kucinich says he did see a UFO and that it’s not that crazy.  Russert asks Obama whether he believes there is life on other planets, Obama says he doesn’t know, but knows that there is life here on earth and that as president, these are the people he’ll be tending to first.

10:59: Clinton is asked about whether she’ll fight focus on fight against cancer.  Obviously, Clinton notes that she will oppose cancer.

11:00: Edwards states that he opposes decriminalizing marijuana because it sends the wrong message.  Dodd replies that the reality is that too many people are being locked up in jail and that it’s important to get a lot smarter on the subject.

11:02: Asked about Halloween costumes, Obama says that he will likely wear a Mitt Romney mask (that has two sides to it that go in opposite directions).