Five candidates drop in on Mandell Watch Party
Nancy Lan, Caitlin Grey, Aditi Dubey
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: News
"This race should not be about … who has the biggest rock star status, although I'm working on that," Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., said with a laugh.
While Clinton was the focus of much of the debate, she was also the target of many candidates.
"Will she be the person who brings about the change in this country? You know, I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the tooth fairy. But I don't think that's going to happen. I really don't," former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said during the debate.
Despite the attacks on Clinton, Richardson took the opportunity to defend her. He said that the candidates' remarks were close to personal attacks, and that the Democrats need to save that type of ammunition for the Republicans.
However, Giordano said that Clinton was not the only candidate who avoided taking a definite stance on questions.
"Guys like Kucinich and Biden seemed like they had less to lose by speaking what they wanted to say," Giordano said. "I got like a feeling from the top three candidates that they were guarding their answers - Clinton, Obama and Edwards - and it seemed like it was prepared. They seemed to be avoiding the questions with the talk."
Personal attacks during the Democratic debate took away from the overall substance of the issues, according to Urian.
The students at the watch party frequently erupted into both applause and jeers at the candidates' responses. Education, student debt and health care were some issues that drew the most response from the audience.
"Essentially, one of these people is going to be running and they're all going to be working together. It's kind of a shame, especially how in the first 15 minutes Hillary was kind of assassinated just because of the questions that were being asked," he said.
Although students disagreed about the candidates' performances after the debate, many students were united during the issues that each candidate discussed. An issue many students wanted to hear about was education, which the candidates discussed in a quick-fire questioning round.
While Clinton was the focus of much of the debate, she was also the target of many candidates.
"Will she be the person who brings about the change in this country? You know, I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the tooth fairy. But I don't think that's going to happen. I really don't," former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said during the debate.
Despite the attacks on Clinton, Richardson took the opportunity to defend her. He said that the candidates' remarks were close to personal attacks, and that the Democrats need to save that type of ammunition for the Republicans.
However, Giordano said that Clinton was not the only candidate who avoided taking a definite stance on questions.
"Guys like Kucinich and Biden seemed like they had less to lose by speaking what they wanted to say," Giordano said. "I got like a feeling from the top three candidates that they were guarding their answers - Clinton, Obama and Edwards - and it seemed like it was prepared. They seemed to be avoiding the questions with the talk."
Personal attacks during the Democratic debate took away from the overall substance of the issues, according to Urian.
The students at the watch party frequently erupted into both applause and jeers at the candidates' responses. Education, student debt and health care were some issues that drew the most response from the audience.
"Essentially, one of these people is going to be running and they're all going to be working together. It's kind of a shame, especially how in the first 15 minutes Hillary was kind of assassinated just because of the questions that were being asked," he said.
Although students disagreed about the candidates' performances after the debate, many students were united during the issues that each candidate discussed. An issue many students wanted to hear about was education, which the candidates discussed in a quick-fire questioning round.
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