Democrats Debate for the AF of L / CIO

Last night, the Democratic presidential hopefuls got up in front of a crowd at Soldeir Field in Chicago to debate for folks in town for the AFL/CIO convetion.

While there's something to be said for generic/wide-appeal debates in front of a normal voting audience, I really like these ones they have in front of groups with a unified cause.

They allow some degree of depth into a particular issue, rather than trying to go a mile-wide and an inch-deep. Furthermore, they're great theater. It was a real trip to watch them all jockeying last night for the position of being the most labor-friendly candidate.

A few random things that caught my attention:

• Dennis Kucinich had a great line about how, when he was growing up in Cleveland, there was a myth that if you dug a hole deep enough in the ground, you'd end up in China. "We're there, folks," he said.


• Hillary Clinton danced hard (and unsuccessfully) away from the question of why Washington lobbyists ( who she defended at the YearlyKos convention debate, also in Chicago, over the weekend) made more than the union folks in the crowd.


• Bill Richardson is a talentless hack. I looked for the YouTube clip last night of Robert Redford as The Candidate, when he flips out and just keeps throwing out catch phrases as he wanders off in a demented rant. When pressed for details, this doofus reflexively starts piling on all the good things he'll do for any group. He'll pull out of Iraq immediately, he'll never pass a trade agreement that's not labor and environment-friendly, he'll cover everyone in America under a perfect healthcare plan...the list goes on. These are all laudable goals to aim for, but the way he just throws things out there makes one wonder what kinds of yokels really live in New Mexico (both to vote for him and run against him.)


• Joe Biden made a serious move for the VP slot / best second-tier candidate last night, taking aim at John Edwards. After Johnboy painted himself as a labor backer, rattling off the count of picket lines he's walked in, Biden stepped in to point out that this has only been over the last two years (when Edwards didn't have a real day job anymore) and that his 30-some years in the Senate, representing a non-labor state, no less, proves that he's the macho man in the room. I'm keeping an eye on this. I was impressed with his ballsiness.
• You have no soul if you didn't get misty-eyed when the retired LTV worker told his story.