Clinton On the Ropes?

My take on the debate last night can be found here. A reader adds:

I'm an Obama supporter, too, but like you I worry that his dispassionate presentation, what you call "high-mindedness," will hurt his chances, because it makes it hard for voters to connect with him emotionally. But part of me is also extremely impressed by his cool-headedness. Isn't this exactly what we need to face complicated, dangerous times? Someone who does not get ruffled easily, who stays focused and calm, even with everyone inciting him from the sidelines to throw punches? I think we've forgotten what this kind of demeanor looks like, because we've been led for 8 years by an easily excitable and vain man, whom others have found easy to manipulate.

Obama is not Dukakis or Mondale. He has a good sense of humor and incredible grit, but he wears it lightly. And if he has a chip on his shoulder about anything, it doesn't show. Isn't that what we need, as a respite from Bush II's Oedipal dramas and petulance, and from Clinton's simmering frustration?

Edwards got in some good punches, and you could see a fine litigator in his combinations of attack and positive rhetoric. But I don't think his populist take on socioeconomic issues resonates with enough voters.

On the lighter side, poor Bill Richardson, crawling up under Clinton's skirts looking to be veep.