Barack Obama and John Edwards Tag-Team Hillary Clinton at New Hampshire Democratic Debate

The Democratic Debate today in New Hampshire was quite the sight. Barack Obama and John Edwards sat on one side of the table, seemingly tag-teaming in a sustained attack against Hillary Clinton.

Bill Richardson once commented that he had been at hostage negotiations that were more civil than the beginning of the debate.

Clinton Has a History of Change

Clinton was strong from the beginning in claiming that she was an agent of change. She claims that her opponents, Barack and Edwards, are all talk - while she has a long history of putting change into practice. At one point, she claimed 35 years of experience. At another point, she claimed she was change embodied.

Yet throughout the debate, Clinton appeared to be on the defensive. She is coming off a defeat in the Iowa Caucus, and the polls reported during the debate show her neck and neck with Barack Obama in New Hampshire. There is a very real possibility that she will lose again when New Hampshire voters go to the polls for their own primary.

Barack and Edwards Seated Together, Joint Victim of Clinton Attacks

One of the best images of the night was when Barack Obama and Edwards had both finished answering a question and Clinton responded. She requested a reality check, and went on to press her claim that she could offer more substantial change than either Barack or Edwards. The camera panned out, showing Edwards and Barack eagerly scribbling on their pads while Richardson sat in his seat without moving.

For most of the night, Richardson seemed inconsequential. He fielded a number of questions, re-iterating his own resume. He emphasized his experience negotiating with foreign nations and made some broad claims about how to help the foreign policy and energy policy of the country. He did raise one of the only references to education and No Child Left Behind. The other candidates seemed to ignore him, though, focusing their responses at each other.