Nevada Debate Round-Up

I live-blogged it here. Kevin Drum:

The policy distinctions between the candidates, which were pretty small to begin with, are shrinking even more. They really hardly disagree on anything.

Ambers:

Both Clinton and Obama needed the racial paroxysm to end; both were eloquent and seemed genuinely interested in calming their supporters down. Fortunately for Obama, his conciliatory manner reflected his campaign message very nicely.

Crowley:

I saw a modest win for Hillary tonight ... That said, her potshots make me wonder if she's sweating the polls more than she's letting on.

I think Clinton won the debate, and at this point in time, is winning the battle of nerves. Obama is still human. He looks deflated, as he must be, after New Hampshire. And whatever else you say, you have to admire Clinton's sheer stamina. I don't think she's more experienced in any relevant way; I do think she is more emotionally and psychologically tested for the presidency. She and her husband are not, it seems to me, always the better politician in the race. But they have the most staying power, a preternatural ability to absorb blows and keep going. Like some sort of new political zombie, they just keep coming at you. I'd almost forgotten their shameless resilience.

The one sliver of optimism I can find in a Clinton presidency is that the enemies of the United States might one day feel a little bit of what Clintons' domestic enemies do. Maybe they can bore and grind al Qaeda into submission.