Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Debate for the 19th Time in Austin, Texas

True to my usual practice of listening for either applause or boos, during Thursday night's Democratic debate on CNN televised from Austin, Texas, from on campus at the University of Texas, the only "boo-ing" was directed Hillary Clinton's way, as she took after Barack Obama for (purportedly) plagiarizing a speech by Deval Patrick, the National Co-Chairman of his campaign (and Governor of Massachusetts). Hillary's sharp retort that using Patrick's words is "Not change we can believe in; change we can Xerox" did not go over well with the crowd. This was the only instance of "boo-ing" in the extremely civilized 19th debate the two leading candidates have had.

First, from a woman's perspective, what was up with Hillary's outfit? The neckline of the black outfit reminded me of a costume from an old Star Trek set. It had a high collar that was edged in gold, which then looked as though it connected physically to her gold omega chain. It was not an unattractive look; it just looked like an early sketch of something Michael Jackson would design, with epaulets still to be attached. To be fair, it was fairly slimming and fetching from the waist up--- until Hillary stood up. The hemline of the jacket then ballooned unfetchingly, making her look larger through the hips than she actually is (surely not the desired effect?).

Fashion aside, here were some of the "zingers" heard during the largely friendly debate, listed in chronological order:

Obama: "What's lacking now are not good ideas. Washington is a place where ideas go to die."

Obama: "What the American people want is an America as good as its promise."

Obama: (on talking to Cuba's new leadership): "I do think it's important (for a nation) not just to talk to its friends, but also to talk to its enemies." (The gizmo people liked this one.)