The Daily Background

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7:05 Blitzer: “This will be a debate in the traditional sense… The only rules tonight are these: there are no rules.” No time limits too. They’re sitting at a table next to each other and will be given 90 seconds for an open ended opening statement. So much for the no time limits rule. Audience applause will be allowed, potted plant jokes from Mike Gravel will not.

7:06 Obama’s opening statement acknowledges Edwards and his focus on poverty, also says that “one of us two will end up being the next president of America.” Says that he and Hill are friends and will remain friends, in obvious reference to that silly “snub” SOTU story.

7:08 Clinton agrees that one of the two of them will be president in roughly a year. Notes “a stack of problems” that they will inherit from Bush: Iraq, economy, healthcare, energy, etc. Repeats “day one” meme, then goes on to thank Edwardses. Says there isn’t anything America can’t do.

7:11 How many times will John Edwards’ name be mentioned tonight? Which candidate will drop his name more times?

7:14 Hillary has a great line on the GOP: “They are more of the same… you can tell just by looking at us, we are not more of the same, we will change our country!” [Applause]

7:16 The economy is dominating the debate tonight and we haven’t even had an economic question yet.

7:18 Nobody is probably happier that there aren’t time limits tonight than Barack Obama. He is a sucky shadow of his usual self when confined to 30 second blocks and this looser debate format benefits him tremendously. Especially on complicated issues like health care in which his stances are more nuanced than is easily explainable in 30 seconds.

7:23 This is the best debate so far. Period. Bar nun. They’re going further in depth tonight than they’ve ever done before in one of these things.

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