Anyone who watched the Dems debate tonight will quickly understand why it is difficult becoming the president from Congress. Defending votes in the legislative branch is like grabbing and holding sand. You can make a hundred great votes but it is that one you regret that gets you. The sharp exchanges by Hillary and Barack were entertaining and I for one liked to see them. The depth of the dialogue is more detailed than you see in the Republican debates. The one issue where the Democrats are wrong is Iraq. They are not capable of altering their position with what is transpiring on the ground. Granted, Iraq is a difficult issue because George Bush has made it so. The course of the war has taken turns that are unpredictable because Iraq has proven inconsistent. Pulling troops out now would be folly. If the situation takes a turn toward chaos then it will be time to leave but it is time to make hay as the sun shines, as they say; and the Democratic candidates need to be pragmatic. Pragmatism is a liberal virtue and they should not shy away from that strength now. When they debated Iraq tonight their stances seemed dated.

Another aspect of the debate this evening was how much this election season is so much unlike the 2004 campaign. Most people coming into this election believed it would be Iraq that would frame the race. This campaign will be about the economy. As I write this we have seen foreign markets lose between 5% and 7% of their value in a single day of trading (a seven percent drop in our stock market would be about 900 points). When the markets open tomorrow there could be dramatic sell-offs. Most experts believe that we have been in recession since December. Whereas the 04 election was a referendum on Iraq this election will be about the economy and I don’t believe it is one the Republicans can win. If McCain captures the GOP nomination where will his acumen to resolve financial matters come from. In fact most Republicans want to keep the debate in the realm of national security. The Republicans on national security, like the Democrats on Iraq, haven’t moved with the times. So as the day progresses tomorrow and we watch as the stock market reacts, we will see if the candidates campaigns move with it or continue to talk as if the topics of yesterday are still the most important issues. Many have talked about change. Well, we will see if they are in fact “change” candidates.