Kucinich/Gravel - The Dream Ticket

The careful, focus-tested nature of their answers suggests that Obama's and Clinton's primary strategies are to position themselves for the general election. The lack of sharp specifics, on health care for example, indicates each is hoping to inspire primary voters with a general message, saving policy details for the big show.

Overall, the debate demonstrated what a deep vein of talent we have on the Democratic side. Hillary and Barack were presidential in bearing and elocution. Edwards was less so. Dodd was knowledgeable and reassuring. Biden was more impressive than I expected him to be. Richardson was a seething, sweaty mess. Kucinich and Gravel, with the least at stake, were the most earnest of the group. You have to love Gravel. I think that whoever gets the nomination should hire him as his or her official campaign conscience. I would love to see this, excuse the term, gravelly old man standing on Hillary's shoulder smacking her on the side of the head every time she starts to triangulate.

Q: Senator Clinton, is there really a Global War on Terror?

Sen. Clinton: We must never forget the lesson of September the 11th, which is... (WHACK)... no, of course there isn't a War on Terror. How could there be war on a tactic? That's ridiculous.

That'd be sweet.

I thought Obama missed a great opportunity to redefine the nature of the Iraq debate. He received an e-mail question from a woman whose husband is in Iraq. She wanted to know when he would consider the mission there to be "accomplished." He thanked her husband for his service and then babbled unmemorably for the rest of his time. I would have loved to hear him say something like:

Ashleigh, the mission is accomplished. Your husband and his brothers- and sisters-in-arms won the war they were sent to fight. They invaded Iraq, defeated its military, and overthrew its government. America's war with Iraq is over. What we have now is an occupation of a nation that is engaged in a civil war. There is no way to win an occupation. There is nobody with whom to negotiate an end to hostilities. We cannot kill every single individual in Iraq who means us harm. We cannot wait them out. They live there. The only thing we can do is get out of the way and let the Iraqi people begin to pursue their own destiny.

Such a statement would have been the biggest news to emerge from the debate, and it would have redefined the entire public discussion over what to do about Iraq. The first Democrat to understand this will be the one to rocket ahead of the pack to win the nomination. He or she will also enter the general election with enough momentum to leave the stay-the-course Republican nominee in the dust.

What I take away from the debate is that we have an embarrassment of riches on our side. All we have to do is pick the best of several outstanding options. Bring 'em on.