Here is what folks are saying about Senator Obama's commanding performance at tonight's debate...
Time's Mark Halperin...
Mark Halperin’s grades:
Obama A-
Edwards: B+
Clinton: B
Richardson: B-
Halperin on Obama...
Calm, relaxed and comfortably swathed in the new mantle of frontrunner. Very well prepared both substantively and stylistically for what a determined Clinton brought his way, although he might have shown more graciousness when the likeability issue arose. Defended himself but didn’t get drawn into a colloquy that would take him off message. Overall, did not encounter too many mines throughout, and kept things sober and understated. Wise enough to parry the night’s final question, and rather than revisiting a past debate error, offered a concise version of his positive message.
The Atlantic's Mark Ambinder...
Iowa victor Obama had a target on his back, but he’s acquired a Kevlar vest as a frontrunner… he was unflappable.
MSNBC: Facebook: Obama most presidential...
Posted: Saturday, January 05, 2008 10:51 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Facebook poll post-debate, most presidential:
Obama 46%
Clinton 25%
Edwards 21%
Richardson 8%
Washington Post's Chris Cilizza...
Obama seemed to come into this debate determined to show that he is presidential and he did that nicely. He avoided engaging Clinton on a personal level and insisted that their policy disagreements were legitimate and fair game. That is the strategy of a confident candidate.
In general, I think Obama's the winner tonight...the debate can only be understood in the context of the moment. Right now, Obama's on fire. The first post-Iowa polls show him picking up a big post-caucus bump. He needed to come off well. Not make any mistakes. And not let Hillary open up any and strong line of attack against him. And I think he did each one of those things. Which means he gave some reassurance to those who might be hesitating to get on the bandwagon and didn't do or allow anything to happen which significantly change the trend of the moment, which is moving heavily in his favor.
The Atlantic's Matt Yglesias...
On his second go-round Barack Obama gets to drive home the point that the Iraq War is one of the major reasons that our policy in the Pakistan-Afghanistan area has gotten so screwed up. This is the kind of strategic-level argument that any Democrat is going to need to make against a Republican who can't be specifically tied to the details of Bush's inept Iraq policy.
American Prospect's Ezra Klein...
[Obama's] been dominant tonight. In body language, in tonality, in the way he's jumping in to crack jokes during other people's answers. He's acting as if the stage is his, and has been basically successful at making that the truth.
