# Ohio Democratic Debate 2008: Predictions and Commentary. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 26, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310 "2008-02-26T23:24:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/41 "2008-02-27T03:15:23Z")
Obama is anti-semantic. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/42 "2008-02-27T03:15:39Z")
Perfect response to her reject/denounce distinction. What are the Hillary people thinking of her performance so far? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/43 "2008-02-27T03:16:27Z")
What did Obama just say that got applause and had Clinton saying “Yes, good”? I missed it. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/44 "2008-02-27T03:16:32Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Reject and Denounce. Was this a win for Obama or Clinton? [/QUOTE] I thought that was a clear win for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/45 "2008-02-27T03:17:56Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] What did Obama just say that got applause and had Clinton saying “Yes, good”? I missed it. -FrL- [/QUOTE] She said something along the lines of “I rejected [anti-semitic] support. There’s a difference between denouncing and rejecting.” Obama says: “I don’t think there’s really a difference, but if Hillary thinks there is, I’m happy to concede the point: I both denounce and reject Farrakhan” ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/46 "2008-02-27T03:20:40Z")
[QUOTE=MilTan] I thought that was a clear win for Obama. [/QUOTE] The whole debate is…Hillary started off really bad in my opinon. We’ll see how it closes tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/47 "2008-02-27T03:22:22Z")
Oh god, are we gonna see a series of gotcha questions now? ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/48 "2008-02-27T03:22:36Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] And the repubs don’t? [/QUOTE] It’s not what they do best. What they do best is insult our intelligence. The fact that Republicans win a lot is based on the fact that many people are OK with having their intelligence insulted but don’t like to be bored. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/49 "2008-02-27T03:25:37Z")
Heh. Clinton flubbed the name, then said “Whatever.” That’s going to be on The Daily Show etc. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/50 "2008-02-27T03:26:56Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Heh. Clinton flubbed the name, then said “Whatever.” That’s going to be on The Daily Show etc. -FrL- [/QUOTE] That was a totally unfair question, in my opinion. I was totally wrong about Obama getting the harder questions. The Farrakhan stuff was a little gotcha, but asking the name of Putin’s successor is pushing it, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/51 "2008-02-27T03:30:51Z")
[QUOTE=Richard Parker] That was a totally unfair question, in my opinion. I was totally wrong about Obama getting the harder questions. The Farrakhan stuff was a little gotcha, but asking the name of Putin’s successor is pushing it, IMHO. [/QUOTE] I know, what a ridiculous thing for the head of state to know. I mean, the name of President Medvedev isn’t really relevant to being prepared on day 1, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/52 "2008-02-27T03:31:05Z")
[QUOTE=Richard Parker] That was a totally unfair question, in my opinion. I was totally wrong about Obama getting the harder questions. The Farrakhan stuff was a little gotcha, but asking the name of Putin’s successor is pushing it, IMHO. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah, I had no ill-will toward Clinton for not remembering the name. It’s the kind of thing where, if she _can_ do it, that’s points, but if she _can’t_, no problem. But the “whatever” comment was a bit cringe-inducing. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/53 "2008-02-27T03:32:55Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Oh yeah, I had no ill-will toward Clinton for not remembering the name. It’s the kind of thing where, if she _can_ do it, that’s points, but if she _can’t_, no problem. But the “whatever” comment was a bit cringe-inducing. -FrL- [/QUOTE] Not knowing the name of the incoming President of Russia is evidence of your lack of foreign policy cred in my opinion. It’s probably her biggest single blunder of the whole night IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/54 "2008-02-27T03:33:06Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] I know, what a ridiculous thing for the head of state to know. I mean, the name of President Medvedev isn’t really relevant to being prepared on day 1, after all. [/QUOTE] I disagree. What’s arguably necessary is to be able to _recognize_ the name, but that’s quite different than being able to _produce_ the name on demand. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/55 "2008-02-27T03:33:36Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] I know, what a ridiculous thing for the head of state to know. I mean, the name of President Medvedev isn’t really relevant to being prepared on day 1, after all. [/QUOTE] He isn’t the President. He is the likely successor. Moreover, she knew all kinds of relevant things about him, just not how to pronounce his name. This isn’t a guy that has been in the picture for years. It was unfair. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/56 "2008-02-27T03:34:34Z")
I could tell she didn’t know his name when she started speaking. If she doesn’t know his name, she doesn’t know who he is. Foreign policy cred really comes down to one thing. Knowing who the players are. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/57 "2008-02-27T03:34:38Z")
I only watched the first hour, but I thought Hillary did very well. Kinda reminded me of the early debates, where she was definitely the best. Problem is, Obama has gotten much better, and I’d call it a draw. She needs to trounce him to stop her slide, and that wasn’t even close to happening. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/58 "2008-02-27T03:36:34Z")
[QUOTE=Richard Parker] He isn’t the President. He is the likely successor. Moreover, she knew all kinds of relevant things about him, just not how to pronounce his name. This isn’t a guy that has been in the picture for years. It was unfair. [/QUOTE] Nah, f\*\*\* that. She didn’t say anything that wasn’t boilerplate Time/Economist half page article on the subject. It’s not unfair, she’s shown her hand on foreign policy. If I were up there I could’ve said exactly what she said, and I wouldn’t have flubbed the name if I were running a Presidential campaign. It’s not like this guy hasn’t been the name put forward for more than a year. Now she is going to have to apologize to him on day 1. Foreign policy is a lot about etiquette. She just said, “This guy is so irrelevant that I don’t know his name.”, it would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall when she has to go through him to get to Putin. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/59 "2008-02-27T03:37:17Z")
The debate changes nothing. Even the group hug will be forgotten by tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310/60 "2008-02-27T03:43:59Z")
Well the closing was … good. On both parts, HIllary has to make up for her blunder in the first 10 minutes, bitching about getting the first questions and whining about it will get center stage on the morning news…definitely. Obama has come eons from where he was 6 months ago, I’ve watched evry debate and he looks very presidential. Clinton not-so-much. I love Obama’s “proud” comment about Hillary, especially when he said he was happy to have campaign_ed_ with Hillary Clinton. Nice. It was sort of boring I think Obama got some leverage in his Ohio statements, and foreign affairs, and his remaining calm and cool. I think he didn’t give anybody any good sound bites… In all I’d give the debate by in large to Obama for remainging calm and being all business. Clinton’s fire-up and subsequent whining set the stage for her…she tried to pull it out and on some points did well. But in terms of trouncing Obama - no way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-democratic-debate-2008-predictions-and-commentary/439310.md?page=4)