PBS Presidential Forum

Tonight I watched the All American Presidential Forum on PBS at the historically black Howard University in Washington D.C. It was hosted by Tavis Smiley, T.V. and radio host.

In attendance were, in order of their podium positioning, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Joe Biden, Gov. Bill Richardson, Fmr. Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Barack Obama, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Fmr. Sen. Mike Gravel and Sen. Christoper Dodd.

I would like to share my thoughts about each candidate in order of best to worst...in my opinion.

Gov. Bill Richardson
I think he was the best candidate on stage. He was calm, collective, and appeared to be speaking candidly, unlike the other candidates. The only problem I saw was that he liked to disregard the moderator when his time was up; but doesn't that show leadership???

Sen. Hillary Clinton
She was very impressive. Her knowledge is very broad for, well, a broad, pun intended. I would guess that comes from actually living with a president of the United States; as well as being a State Senator. I didn't hear anything earth shattering, but she spoke elequently, and appeared to be calm and composed. She acted, well, presidential.

Sen. Barack Obama
What can I say. He looked, acted and sounded exactly like we see him all the time. There's nothing wrong with that, other than at times he didn't appear to be relaxed and talking off the cuff as some of the other candidates did. He's very articulate, and sharp. I don't know what it is about him that I put him in 3rd place. I would be ok with him being president, but I'm not 100% comfortable with something about him. It might be his lack of experience, or maybe my lack of knowledge about his beliefs on issues. I still like Sen. Obama, and he did a great job tonight.

Fmr. Sen. John Edwards
John Edwards says the right things, but I'm not convinced he believes everything he is saying; though, I could be saying that for about any candidate. Like Obama, he looks pretty young to be the president of the United States. He does have a leg up, so to speak, with his "Breck Girl" hair style. Most presidents have had a decent head of hair! I think he would try very hard to be a great president, but I'm just not sure yet about his convictions. He too needs to get away from all those facts, figures and tag lines in order to get to the peoples level if he wants any chance of winning.

Sen. Joe Biden
What a likable man. I have always had a lot of respect for Sen. Biden. I see nothing wrong with him winning the Democratic nomination, other than I can't see him winning the nomination. He's too soft spoken to get the nod. He needs to be more vocal in order to show he's a take charge kind of guy. I did notice that he, unlike the other candidates, paid close attention to the questions, and answered the questions that were actually asked. Sometimes the candidates went around the questions, or answered a part of the question, but he made sure he answered the entire question as it was asked. I would like to see him do better.

Rep. Dennis Kicinich
Ok - I know. Why didn't I put him last, or next to last, you ask? I actually like this guy! He'll never be president, but if you actually listen to him, he has some very interesting suggestions and comments! For example, when the topic was about Sudan, he said something to the effect of "If Sudan had a large supply of oil we'd be in there already". Not only is his statement funny, it's true!!! He appeared a bit nervous, but very gutsy with his remarks. When talking about jobs being shipped over seas, he said he would cancel NAFTA and the WTO. Well? Is he nuts or actually pretty damn smart in a non-presidential looking body?

Sen. Christopher Dodd
Boring. I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to get interested in him. His statements were average, and his appearance fine, but nothing he said made me want to vote for him over the other candidates.

Fmr. Sen. Mike Gravel
Oh my god. Why in the world is this guy sharing the same stage as the others!!!??? I wish I had some quotes from him. His answers were off topic, didn't make any sense, and he appeared to be a bit senile. I don't know much about him, so if I am missing something, please tell me!! The audience was trying to hold back their snickers as he was speaking. To put him in 8th place, out of 8 candidates is just not fair. He should be in 1,000th place.

See full story at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/29/democrats.debate.ap/index.html