In Spite of Hillary Clinton’s Emotion, Obama Won the Feb. 21 Debate in Texas

February 22, 2008
Category: Analyses & Opinions

We can safely say that the Thursday, Feb. 21 debate was the first debate that Barack Obama decisively won. Heading into the debate, it was understood by most observers that Hillary Clinton had to come out swinging in order to attempt to reduce the momentum Barack Obama has enjoyed virtually unchallenged since Super Tuesday. She did not.

It was also understood that she had to try to shake and assault Barack Obama on a number of issue, in the hopes of pushing him to a mistake. She could not.

Instead, Barack Obama not only held his ground firmly, but also seemed, for the first time, to offer details of his plans that were meant to provide evidence that he was not just speaking in vague terms, he actually had a plan. He looked commanding and presidential.

For the first time also, Obama spoke with figures and statistics, and even showed tremendous breadth as he demonstrated, through a litany of accomplishments, how his actions had also spoken more than words after a number of important bills he had helped to push through, including one that improved the conditions and care for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

What did Obama need to do to win?

He simply had to avoid a mistake or a stumble. He did.

He also needed to show, in a clear and convincing manner, the contrasts between his vision for America and the vision of his opponent. He did so very masterfully.

In spite of Hillary Clinton’s emotional closing, which many pundits have seen as having won her the debate, there is no doubt Barack Obama gave his most commanding debate performance to date. At times, he even appeared to dominate his rival on the health care issue, an issue she has always controlled. Obama achieved this debate victory by clearly delineating their areas of difference and providing strong arguments over the health care mandate issue. He won all aspects of the debate and continued to inspire America with his vision of grandeur and a renewed sense of mission for America.

Hillary Clinton needs to offer much more than emotion to win this election. By the same token, she needs to move away from faked and staged ploys or she will never be able to win the hearts of the American people. She cannot keep bullying Americans into voting for her by continuing to create fabricated “moments” depending on the occasion as her only way of swaying voters. Her last-minute emotional plea in the last minute of the debate may have indeed moved many people, but after cold analysis, it appears, again, as a calculated way of hers meant to appeal to the female voters, in a way that is reminiscent of her “New Hampshire Cry.”

Whether this will help her this time around is still unsure. However, no matter what happens on March 4 in Ohio and Texas, two states in which she had commanding leads in the polls until those leads started to narrow recently, the real question now has to do with whether the Texas and Ohio voters will see through the fakeness of her emotions and vote for the genuineness of Barack Obama.

I think they will.

Dr. Daniel Mengara
The author is an Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Montclair State University (New Jersey). He is also the leader of Bongo Doit Partir (Bongo Must Go), a movement of expatriated Gabonese citizens opposed and seeking an end to the 40-year-old dictatorial regime of Omar Bongo in Gabon.

Comments

One Response to “In Spite of Hillary Clinton’s Emotion, Obama Won the Feb. 21 Debate in Texas”

Jodie L. White on March 5th, 2008 3:40 pm

Barack Obama’s words of wisdom and his continuity of message totally diffused and too, made quite apparent Hillary Clinton’s obviously uncontrollable, emotional, self consuming, wild-eyed, and what appeared to be crazed anger at the very beginning of the debate.

He absolutely soothed the savage beast within her very soul!

I know that he can & will do this with the leaders of the U.S.A. and the World!

The hope and prayers of the good people of the USA and the world are with Barack!

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