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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Democratic debate

Democratic debate stories: 16 news summaries

ANALYSIS

...Takes On Cool, Lecturing Obama

Dem hopeful, a great orator, has struggled one-on-one

(Newser) - Barack Obama is famous for his soaring set-piece speeches, but his facility with oratory hasn't translated into success in debates, writes John M. Broder in the New York Times. At last month's Saddleback Church forum he sounded every bit the law professor, offering complex, humorless analysis to the sound bites... More »

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Obama Says No
to More Debates

Candidate also slams
old issue: 'If I lose,
it won't be because
of race'

(Newser) - Barack Obama today rejected the idea of additional debates against Hillary Clinton, the Chicago Tribune reports. “I’m not ducking. We’ve had 21” debates, the senator said, insisting he prefers face-to-face talks with the kind of blue-collar voters who helped clinch Clinton’s Pennsylvania win. More »

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Dems Complain About Rival's Complaining

Kvetching
candidates keep
pouring it on rival

(Newser) - The Democratic candidates are down to grousing about each other's griping, Reuters reports. Hillary Clinton said Barack Obama's complaint about tough questions in their recent debate showed he couldn't take the pressure. "I'm with Harry Truman on this—if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen,... More »

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Stephanopoulos Sticks Up
for Tone of ABC Debate

Focus on electability mirrored campaign trail chatter, pundit says

(Newser) - George Stephanopolous has drawn fire for posing too many "gotcha" questions at last night's Democratic presidential debate on ABC, but the pundit is sticking to his guns. Stephanopolous says he didn't focus on electability over policy issues by accident. "It's not only, who will be the best president,... More »

Dems Wrangle Over Health, Iraq

Clinton blasts Obama's anti-war stance; she gave 'in to Bush from day 1', he says

(Newser) - A week before the make-or-break primaries in Texas and Ohio, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama  sparred wearily, sometimes testily, in their 20th and perhaps last debate, on issues from health care to Iraq to who is more committed to Israel, MSNBC reports. Clinton blasted a recent Obama mailer that said... More »

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Pentagon, Army Captain Differ on Obama Tale

Army doubts, captain confirms weapons, troop shortages

(Newser) - Pentagon officials moved quickly yesterday to rebut Barack Obama's tale of an Army captain whose platoon, deployed in Afghanistan, was stripped of men and so lacking in equipment that they resorted to using captured Taliban weapons. "I find that account pretty hard to imagine," an Army spokesman said... More »

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Now Hillary's Accused of Plagiarizing Edwards

Obama camp claims Clinton lifted from Edwards

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton wisecracked last night that Barack Obama was promising "change you can Xerox"—prompting the Obama camp to suggest Clinton may have cribbed part of that speech from John Edwards, writes Isaac Chotiner in the New Republic. It was the latest battle in the heated war of... More »

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'Likable, Schmikable'... Right?

What are voters responding to in evaluating a candidate's likability?

(Newser) - “Likable, schmikable. Isn't the nation at war?” asks the Chicago Tribune's Julia Keller. Yet America's love for likable candidates (think George W. Bush) took center stage at a recent debate when Barack Obama defended Hillary Clinton's likability. Some candidates have won without it, but it gives voters "a... More »

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Obama Parries 2 Clintons
in Harsh, Personal Debate

Debate turns ugly as Barack decries tag-team

(Newser) - Last night's acrimonious Democratic presidential debate saw Barack Obama confront an increasingly aggressive Hillary Clinton, reports the Washington Post, but the Illinois senator was really countering two Clintons at once. Over the past two weeks Bill has led the charge against Obama's credibility and record, most notoriously with his "... More »

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Dems to Debate; No Kucinich

Nevada court backs NBC's decision
to exclude Kucinich

(Newser) - The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the Democratic debate can go on tonight without Dennis Kucinich, the New York Times reports. The debate will include only Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Kucinich sought either to be included in the debate or to force its cancellation. The debate starts... More »

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Clinton Aims for Obama
in Feisty NH Debate

Candidates look for an edge ahead
of Tuesday's primary

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton lit into Barack Obama during a sometimes testy Democratic debate in New Hampshire tonight, seeking to put a few chinks in his armor three days before the state's crucial primary. Clinton criticized Obama's health plan as inadequate and accused him of flip-flopping on key issues, including Iraqi war... More »

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Cordial Dems Focus on Economy

Debate reflects polling info that shows finance topping Iraq as top concern

(Newser) - The Democratic presidential hopefuls focused on the economy and the need for change today in the last of the Iowa debates, CNN reports. The debate remained relatively cordial, with the candidates agreeing on the need to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and big corporations. "We are not going... More »

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Dems Cancel
LA Debate
Over Strike

Party doesn't want
to get caught in middle of labor disputes

(Newser) - Wary of crossing picket lines, the Democratic National Committee today backed out of a presidential debate scheduled to air next month on CBS stations, citing the ongoing strike by TV and film scriptwriters. While talks to end that walkout continue, a potential strike by CBS news writers also complicated matters,... More »

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Dem Hopefuls Pile On Clinton

Edwards, Obama target front-runner in pitched confrontation

(Newser) - The knives were out for Hillary Clinton in the seventh and most confrontational of the Democratic presidential debates last night. John Edwards and Barack Obama led the attack on the frontrunner, criticizing her positions on Iran and illegal immigrants, and questioning her credibility and electability, the New York Times reports. More »

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Dems Stonewall on
Pullout Deadline

Obama, Edwards, Clinton won't guarantee withdrawal by 2013

(Newser) - None of the three leading Democratic White House contenders were willing last night to guarantee that they would get US troops out of Iraq by 2013. During a Democratic debate at Dartmouth College, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards—who all support a timetable for troop withdrawal—each declined... More »

Hillary & Barack 'Barely Speak'

Tensions tell on the campaign trail

(Newser) - White House hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are no longer on speaking terms after months of increasingly glacial rivalry on the campaign trail, the Times reports. With another half a year until the first primary, the public tension—the pair carefully avoid contact whenever possible—may bode ill for... More »

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16 Stories