Obama said no thanks to 80 million public dollars and decided he will go it alone. His justification? It’s not that he can make more through private donations, but that it’s a broken system rife with underhanded ploys.

Well, not really but she’s not conceding yet. Looks like Clinton is angling for a VP position but the question is…would Obama even consider it? I’m torn on this one. On one hand, this has been such a long process and she does have a good portion of the voters that together, they may have a good chance as clinching a victory. However, as a newbie to the White House (if he wins) I don’t know how well the Clintons would do with taking orders from Obamarama.

I’m not going to say I told you so because I think most of us assumed that John Edwards was waiting for just the right moment to throw his support behind the man he believes could name him second in command if he gets the nomination. In case you missed it, John Edwards officially endorsed Barack Obama this afternoon because, he says, Obama is willing to fight poverty.

On another note, Lou Dobbs made a couple of good points tonight. The democrats kept saying over and over they didn’t want a brokered convention and yet, that is exactly what is happening. They are allowing superdelegates to determine the candidate because neither Obama nor Hillary have the number of committed delegates needed to secure the nomination. Dobbs was saying the Democratic party is breaking some of its own rules while it strictly adhered to other rules that threw out the Florida and Michigan votes…states that could have taken this primary in a much different direction. What happens next is anybody’s guess but fine, I will say I told you so on this one.

It looks like with 10% of the precincts reporting, Clinton is winning Indiana’s primary so far…

Election Results

Clinton

58%

Obama

42%

Obama gave his famous race speech and its been all the news can talk about for days. Here is the latest analysis on that speech:

“Sixty-nine percent of voters who have heard or read about Obama’s speech say he did a good job addressing the issue of race relations, and 63 percent of voters following the events say they agree with Obama’s views on race relations. Seventy-one percent say he did a good job explaining his relationship with Wright.

When registered voters were asked if Obama would unite the country, however, 52 percent said yes — down from 67 percent last month.”

Here are some more comments from Jeremiah:

Have you noticed whenever those who don’t like Obama call him by his middle name Hussein, the Obama camp gears up for damage control?

I’m just curious as to why it is acceptable for politicians like Iowa’s Rep. Steve King to say things like “Al-Qaida would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror.”….if Barack “Hussein” Obama is elected president.

Obama’s response is not, “why should it matter if my father is Muslim or if I were Muslim?” Instead, Obama’s response is “But I have to say that Mr. King and individuals like him thrive on offensive or controversial statements as a way to get in the papers, so I don’t take it too seriously. I would hope Sen. McCain would want to distance himself from that kind of inflammatory and offensive remarks.”

Being called Muslim, apparently, is offensive and no one balks when a politician directly says that.

Here is the response from the Muslim community, according to The American Muslim Association:  “AAI is deeply troubled that Senator Obama’s name continues to raise suspicions about his religious affiliation and is especially concerned about how commonplace and acceptable it has become to defame and degrade Islam. Any notion that questions the fitness of any loyal American to elected office because of race or religion is unacceptable and must be addressed.”

Our intrepid web leader Charlie Ray has called in his reflections on tonight’s debate, noting the high energy of the crowd and the general goodwill toward the candidates.

This crowd clearly was united in its opposition to Bush. But the audience also revealed the split we’ve seen in local polls: Those who are convinced the problem with Washington DC is “business as usual” were on their feet for Barack Obama’s comments. And those who supported Hillary Rodham Clinton keyed off her health care plan and her outrage over the nation’s economy. (Who could miss that comment about the surplus left by her husband that Bush blew through while he was in office?) Policy issues and leadership style were her strength.

(You can see the same split in our forum comments on our main page story.)

The CNN commentators talked about this debate being the “same ole same ole” business that they had heard 19 times in the past. I don’t know about Charlie, but I was struck by how often the two candidates returned to the Valley: veterans; poverty; language; the fence. I don’t know if this is the Dems courting Hispanics. I think it was refreshing to see the candidates acknowledge a part of the state often ignored by the media.

As for the flotsam and jetsam of the event, Charlie says the better seats were reserved for the elected officials, with the best seats reserved by seniority. The venue was packed. The crowd was young. The spirits were high. The crowd didn’t hesitate to jump to its feet when it heard an answer that it liked, and they found plenty to cheer. (Once more, it was Anyone Other Than Bush.)

As Democratic strategist Kelly Fero said, the two candidates are well polished at this point in the campaign. As far as manner and style and presentation, the pundits agreed both Obama and Clinton carried themselves well, even presidential.

And Charlie reports it was a bit of a rock star concert atmosphere. It had that air of a “this is a historic” occasion. After the debate, the two candidates shook hands and signed autographs. Elected officials headed to the Spin Room immediately.

As an aside…The crowd was united in its support of Sen. Kirk Watson, a bit of vindication for our local Senator and “the moment of silence heard ‘round the world.” But Clinton’s cheap shot on Watson’s MSNBC debacle drew hisses… and was balanced by HRC’s final comment, in which she insisted she was honored to stand alongside Obama and that the nation was well served by either candidate that might claim the Democratic nomination.

Current Delegate Count?

Obama       1319

Clinton       1250

We’ll have updates from the scene.

Post-debate, I asked Democratic strategist Kelly Fero some questions…

Final analysis?

I think this debate has been a toss-up, with a slight lean toward HRC. Her close just now was emotional and may have won her some points. In general, she was more energetic and dynamic, while he was more low-key and quiet. It was close, just like their poll numbers in Texas.

What about that Xerox for change line HRC used?

It was too contrived, especially in the context of criticizing her opponent for lifting language from others.I’ve helped more candidate than I care to count prepare for debates, and there is always a desire for one-liners that can stop the opponent in his tracks, like Lloyd Bentsen’s “You’re not JFK” line against Dan Quayle 20 years ago.  These lines are rarely effective, and the one tonight seemed to bomb rather dramatically.  In fact, she delivered it without much conviction, almost as if she knew it wouldn’t be well-received.

Did we break any new ground here?

After 19 debates, they have their patter down. 

8:31-Obama tells John he’s wrong. He’s been transparent about all of his earmarks (speaking of ears, Obama…)

8:34-Clinton is listing off what she wants to spend money on… it’s long.

8:35-Jorge asks Clinton if she believes it would be a shame if superdelegates choose a candidate other than who the public chooses. She says it will figure itself out..

8:37-Obama says heck yeah! I’m winning the popular vote!

8:39-Obama’s most testing time, apparently, has been living his entire life.

8:40-Clinton gets the crowd going reminding us, on the down low of course, of Monica Lewinsky.

8:41-But, even that doesn’t compare to our crappy lives, she reminds us. Twice.

8:42-Uhm… Maybe Clinton is getting some speech training from Huckabee. Her faith is driving her to do this.

I’m Mike Huckabee! Remember me? I’m running for president.

8:43-It’s getting sentimental. They shook hands, looked in eachother’s eyes and express their honor to be with each other. Awwwwwwwww!

(Remember the earlier lovefests?)

It’s time to start getting the spin. Off to the spin room! I’ll see you on the tube at 10!