Did Kerry make the "southern sale" this evening?

[DancingBear]

I thought he was very average this evening - somewhat rambling and non-specific at times. I also noted he was not greeted with much applause, which lead me to think that his first date with the south did not go all that well.

Was anyone surprised that no one took the Medicare segment as an opening to fault him for his non-vote? Dean was the only one to go after him at all, for that matter.

[EllieDem]

1. Kerry did damn good

he is a shoo in IMHO

[SahaleArm]

3. Were we watching the same debate?

Kerry slipped back into pre-botox mode.

[Leilani]

2. Yes, He Was Average!

He didn't look like he should be the frontrunner to me.

He did ramble, did not seem as sharp as other times.

However, I don't think Edwards made a sale either.

Who knows what the voters will think?

I think Sharpton will get the vast majority of black votes; he's an excellent debater, doesn't play it safe, & addresses subjects others do not excel in.

[DancingBear]

19. Agreed

Not a strong effort from him this evening, either.

And enough with the mill worker thing... :)

[Toucano]

4. No sale!

For me. I don't know how influential his endorsements will be.

He'll do okay.

[arewethereyet]

5. he from Mass, he's in the south people were polite

thats about all you can expect

[Myra]

6. Obviously I can't be impartial. But I can't be impartial because he

has qualities and a record I reject.
He was flat as usual.
He didn't convince that he cares about being president of the
south, not just the Ivy League northeast.
He was defensive and uninspiring.

Did he speak to issues SCians care about?
Sharpton did. Edwards did.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. Yes

And he doesn't have to win big in SC, to win BIG, nationally.

Get the houselights up, I think it's all over folks.

[Carolina]

24. it's really

offensive, MR, when people tell us it's all over. Iowa and NH are not the nation. And recent history (Bush in 1988, Clinton in 1992, Bush in 2000) demonstrated that the NH winner garnered neither the nomination nor GE victory.

It ain't over!

[laruemtt]

8. i don't see it.

i thought he seemed wooden and out of place.

[poskonig]

9. No one stood out tonight.

I believe this helps Edwards by default.

[bigtree]

10. This was an Al Sharpton crowd

Lots to do there though. I thought John Edwards looked strong. He is in his element. Is this an overcalcuation? I do get the impression that SC will favor Sen. Edwards. He seems to have hardened his stance on the war. Am I wrong in this?

[KittyWampus]

11. Do Southerners Like Washinton Insiders Who Pontificate

and continously invoke the name of Clyburn.

Does SC have Diebold Machines?

[bigtree]

16. The question is will they like a Jim Clyburn

continously invoking the name of John Kerry.

[paulk]

29. are you insinuating that Kerry will steal the primary?

that's pretty low, don't you think?

[Leilani]

12. According to MSNBC Poll

Clark is #1, on who won the debate.

[windansea]

14. cooooooooooooooool....

:thumbsup:

[frustrated_lefty]

13. He did what he always does when he thinks he's in the lead.

He played it safe, waffled around and said nothing of substance, nothing that might rock the boat, nothing that might piss people off or (gasp!) inspire people.

He did make sure to smile, and display the botox treatment and $150 haircut. For some reason, that sort of thing just doesn't play well in the south. Guess it's good Kerry is writing off an entire segment of the country, it's not like the president is actually supposed to represent the people or anything stupid like that.

[TheDonkey]

15. Kerry did good, nothing overly special

Kerry got plenty of applause and laughs. But he was lacking on jokes, clear consise answers, friendlier words, and didn't talk about the issues important in the South.

Many of the canidates failed those things too.

Sharpton won, Kucinich shocked me with some strong answers.

[BootinUp]

17. No, but thats beside the point

THe rela question is anybody watching? Are voters going to make any effort to select the best candidate or just be sheep?

[Auntie Bush]

18. Yes, they are still asleep.

Maybe they will wake up when they get inside the voting booth like they did in NH...that is if they can get away from watching reality TV. Whatever!

[girl gone mad]

20. I think Kerry..

got booed. Not very good, if you ask me.

[TexasPatriot]

21. yeah... i agree

the pundits will talk about him doing well because he didnt get mauled by an opponent - but he certainly didnt push his campaign forward. All they could manage is that, i suppose, they think he's backing into victories on Feb 3. I dont know if that's the situation I'd want to be in - a lot of voters in those states watched that debate and those candidates for the first time tonight - and Kerry wasnt a lot better than average.

[Jerseycoa]

25. I didn't hear anyone boo

Really?

I think Kerry was not at his best and neither was Edwards and neither was Dean. Joe actually did well. Sharpton, Kucinich and Clark had it going.

[genius]

22. Kerry voted for the fillibuster. That's all that matters.

Only those who focus on non-issues could fault him.

[LostInTheMaise]

23. Nope. No amont of botox will sell him to southerners

He is a sure loss for the Democratic party in the South.

[kentuck]

26. He did OK... He looked presidential.

And he didn't make any boo-boos. He parried Dean's charges well enough. He was near the top.

[HuckleB]

27. You are far too kind. Clark blew him away.

Not that this was difficult in the case of Kerry, who looked and sounded just stunted, but...

Anyway, no, he didn't make any sale to anyone. He really looked like an also ran, not a front runner.

[John_H]

28. As a southernor for half my life, I didn't see it.