blog - gObama 2008
The tricky question again
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
(Berlin, Germany - 4.17 a.m. local time)
The MSNBC Ohio debate is serious and sweaty. Denouncing. Rejecting... What is the question? Hillary pushes herself forward with the might of a storm trooper rejecting Obama... The tension and differences are flaring out sharply - after clever questions of NBC’s journalists. I feel that the stakes for Hillary (losing grip of the working class voters as her power base) make her fight look desperate.
Here is what the MSNBC online media says about this point of the debate:
The tone settled down thereafter, flaring only briefly when Obama said he “denounced” Minister Louis Farrakhan’s long history of anti-Semitic statements but hesitated to “reject” Farrakhan’s support. Clinton said Obama needed to take a stronger stance.
Indeed it’s expected that Hillary will use every vulnerable Obama moment for her attack despite not being asked in the first place.
“If Senator Clinton thinks that ‘reject’ is stronger than ‘denounce,’ then I’m happy to concede the point, and I both reject and denounce” Farrakhan’s support, Obama said to scattered laughter in the hall.
So far - so good. Israel and anti-Semitism again are razor sharp battle moments and no doubt did Obama get punched in the face. I think the laughter in the audience shows he turned it around for his advantage in the end. What a different energy to the debate they had in Texas! They need to loosen up a bit up in Ohio. The stakes are high...