| Final Democratic Debate  [+ favourites]
As we reach the near end of the democratic primary Barack and Clinton engaged in a televised ABC debate in Pennsylvania, the next state to have their primary.
Hillary's position was somewhat predictable - she needed to hit some major points but doesn't have much room to navigate. This is because she has been criticsed for not only being dishonest, but damaging the Democratic party as a whole by attacking her opponent so much that it may hurt his chances in the general election if he were to win the nomination. As a result, she attacked Obama on a few key points: His "bitter Americans" comments (the current debacle) and his association to men who are less than savoury. All in all her attacks did not have the intended effect however she did succeed in promoting herself and seemed to change her tone half way through as it seemed Obama was off his mark.
That isn't to say Obama lost the debate, but overall Clinton did seem to have more vigor and confidence. What seemed to ail Obama was perhaps fatigue or some other affliction that didn't seem to stem from the election itself: He is the front runner with more delegates than Clinton, more states than Clinton, and a remarkable lead at acquiring superdelegates than Clinton. Yet, he didn't seem to boast confidence even though he voiced it on numerous occasions.
The debate was, in of itself, Clinton trying her best to score some points, and Obama trying his hardest not to say the wrong thing. It seems the recent amplification of his "bitter" comments have thrown him temporarily off his mark and he's less open and wordy about the answers he provides.
And if this were the first debate they were having, it may pose a problem. But this isn't the first debate. It's most likely the last. These contestants are not appealing to voters - they are appealing to superdelegates through voters. Winning pennsylvania is integral in order to give Clinton the chance that superdelegates will begin flocking to her. However, to achieve this she will not only have to win, but really badly beat Obama.
And with a negligible 4-5 point lead there, which has dwindled down from double digits in the last few months, it doesn't look too promising.
All in all, the debate was quite boring and Obama didn't use opportunities to hurt Clinton as much as he could have. He did defend himself adequately well, and it remains to be seen if Clinton really caused any slowdon in his gain on her. Overall, it doesn't look good for Clinton.
"Hating everyone protects me from elitism."
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