“That’s a clear swipe at you. It might have been less obvious if Wolf Blitzer had given Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton boxing gloves. A few times, Blitzer shamelessly tried to goad the two into turning the debate into an ugly, name-calling spectacle.”
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That’s a clear swipe at you.

It might have been less obvious if Wolf Blitzer had given Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton boxing gloves.

A few times, Blitzer shamelessly tried to goad the two into turning the debate into an ugly, name-calling spectacle. His unprofessional attempts, however, simply gave them opportunities to stand above the politics-as-usual mudslinging.

Blitzer made the swipe remark in the hopes of getting Clinton riled. It didn’t work. She laughed him off, saying that she and Obama were having fun.

Earlier, Blitzer pushed Obama to speak against Clinton. Obama called him on it.

All in all, Sunday night’s Democratic debate didn’t provide much in the way of anything new.

Both gave a shout-out to John Edwards, who bowed out last week. They spoke of his leadership and spoke fondly of him and his wife. No one knows yet where the Edwards voters are going to turn, it appears.

Clinton referred to the Republican candidates as more of the same, presumably meaning middle-aged white men. We are not more of the same, she said.

No kidding. That’s not necessarily going to work in their favor, sadly.

Unfortunately, Blitzer did not address Ann Coulter’s recent announcement that she would campaign for Clinton if John McCain won the Republican nomination. That would have been fun to discuss.

They engaged in a provocative discussion of illegal immigration. Both mentioned going after employers who exploit illegal immigrants.

Obama, though, thoughtfully and honestly commented that blaming illegal immigration for the minority unemployment rate – and the associated poverty woes – was nothing more than scapegoating.

The challenges facing minorities have been a reality long before illegal immigrants were available to take the blame, he said. This guy is good.

The audience was composed of a who’s who of Hollywood players. Pierce Brosnan, Steven Spielberg, Stevie Wonder and Alfre Woodard were just a few of the celebrities sprinkled through the seats of the Kodak Theatre.

The best quote of the night, went to Obama.

We need to be as careful getting out of this war as we were careless getting in.

He stressed that the mindset that got us into Iraq needs to be abandoned. You can’t argue with that.

Blitzer did, though, say one thing that made sense. He mentioned how a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket would be the dream ticket.

That may be the case, for a lot of Democrats.

Unfortunately, it might be the case for the Republican candidate as well. After all, let’s not discount the anti-Obama and anti-Clinton votes in November. Combined, they might pose a mighty threat to getting a Democrat back in the White House.

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