Obama bombs like a rock, Hillary and Edwards take off solid

Wow, Barack Obama may have shot up to the celestial political heavens over the past year but he suire looked mediocre in the recent debate. Well, even if "Ba-rock Obomba" sank like a rock, he is a decent person. Maybe his contribution has been to help define the presidential debate. Of course, this won't end his presidential bid because the consultants sucking all the money out of him won't let him stop until every penny is spent.

And not surprisingly, Obama is going to continue to face serious questions about Tony Rezko, a Syrian-American businessman who has been charged with criminal misconduct and for whom the scandals don't seem to stop. The tragedy of Rezko is that he's a good person who allowed himself to be surrounded by swindlers and low-lifes in the Arab American community who used their selfish ties to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to put Rezko in a bad spot.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, however, really looked good. She was strong and she didn't shy away fromt he cheap shots that she "supported" the Iraq war in 2003. Who didn't support the Iraq war in 2003? Every American was misled by President George Bush and his criminal conspiracy called the Bush "Administration." So when Obama says he didn't support the war, he knows that's BS ... because had he been in the U.S. Senate, he would have voted for the war authorization, too, despite his silly claims otherwise. Well, Obama has only been in the senate two years and that, frankly, is not enoughf or anyone to assess his abilities. His stint in the Illinois Legislature was so unremarkable that you have to wonder if he is in fact not just all PR Spin and Consultant voodoo magic.

The other strong candidate was John Edwards, who also demonstrated a real understanding of the issues. Sure, you can do the Obama strategy to bash others for supporting the war, but that is the cheap-headline grabbing angle that is misleading. Instead, Edwards focused on the need to leave and the need to reject Bush's truly inexperienced, faulty leadership.

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