Hillary did not do well. Early on, she was outmaneuvered by John Edwards and Barack Obama on the war. Edwards succeeded in portraying himself as the most over-the-top in the anti-war caucus. Obama's put-down of Edwards' Johnny-come-lately approach to the issue won him the exchange. He seemed stronger than Hillary than, but unlike Edwards, genuine (having opposed the war from his lofty perch in the Illinois Senate four years ago). Hillary crying uncle, pleading that this is Bush's war and wondering "Why can't we all just get along?" was not strong.

I thought Joe Biden was going to pop a vein at several points throughout the debate. Likewise, good to see him back in old form.

I have a growing sense that John Edwards is their weakest general election candidate, despite what the polls say. His inconsistencies are easily defined, nay, laughed at, starting with the $400 haircuts and ending with the 28,000 square foot mansion. As he races to be the most left-wing candidate, I keep wondering: where was he in 2004? It's not like it wasn't politically advantageous to show a little leg against the war in the '04 primaries. His run for VP was thoroughly lackluster. He got slapped around the stage by Dick Cheney in the debate.. And even John Kerry, not exactly known for his political judgment, almost didn't pick him. Somehow, he just can't convert that golden boy image into teflon in the same way Bill Clinton could.

The key moment in the debate came when Dennis Kucinich said he would take no action if there was actionable intelligence about Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. It was meaningful not for what happened, but for what didn't happen. None of the candidates used this to tee up their Commander-in-Chief credentials in the same way that Ron Paul was drop-kicked in the GOP debate. When asked, Obama gave the right answer, but without passion. Inexplicably, Hillary went off on a vague non-sequitur about these being complicated situations and reminding us of her husband's failure to get bin Laden with cruise missiles. That's the moment where she lost the debate. If there was a question where even Democrats could show some bite and passion on national security, you'd think it's Afghanistan and the fight against al-Qaeda. Save for Joe Biden, I saw none of that this entire debate. Instead, what we got was milquetoast and lots of happy talk about diplomacy.

The weirdest moment: A five minute discussion of stopping the genocide in Darfur by boycotting the Beijing Olympics? Huh? And Chris Dodd called that going "too far." This is not exactly a strong and decisive bunch.

UPDATE: Here's the early exchange on the war funding vote. Edwards attacks Obama and Clinton. Obama owns Edwards. Hillary demurs.