The Democratic debate in Texas is in many ways Clinton's last stand against Obama's continuing momentum. The results were mixed. Factoring out an alleged low blow by Clinton early on when she accused Obama of xeroxing his speeches, most of the discourse was extremely cordial. The candidates stressed their similarities, dodged direct questions to point out their differences, and complimented each other regularly -- it was almost as if the two had struck a secret deal to be running mates no matter how it turned out. By the end however, Clinton came out the clear winner of the debate. She was more articulate throughout, came out ahead with her mandate for universal health coverage, and moved the audience to a standing ovation with an emotion evoking closing statement. In many ways she hit it out of the park, the question is will it be enough for her? Opinion polls were more mixed than this assessment -- with reactions split down the middle. Since it is unlikely either candidate will achieve the 2025 delegates needed to secure the nomination, the best result for Democratic voters would be if they did eventually agree to run together, and teamed up against McCain with a unified pair of candidates that the country is familiar with and excited about.
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