Tension is escalating between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. On Tuesday a last debate was held in Ohio before the four states vote next week : Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Remember that a week ago, the debate in Austin had been seen as mild and rather concensual, although the candidates had clearly tried to draw sharp contrasts between their policies and their readiness to lead : "ready to be President from day 1" has been Clinton's mantra for some time. However the debate had ended on a cordial note. Some commentators even started wondering if she was preparing a concession speech and getting ready to drop out of the race and reunite the party behind one candidate.
But Saturday, Hillary Clinton really went after her opponent by using agressive rhetoric to criticize attacks that the Obama campaing had launched against her healthcare plan : watch the video on youtube where she says "Shame on you Barack Obama" and then challenges him to come in Ohio and debate her ( she accuses him of trying to avoid debates where she usually makes a more favourable impression than he does thanks to her precise grasp on policy issues). Pay attention to the way she places her candidacy in the shadow of a long string of Democratic presidents.
Clinton also demonstrated her imitation skills :
Her combative mood persisted Tuesday and was actually highlighted by the debate moderator in Cleveland, Ohio.
She attacked his policy plans as inefficient, exposing his healthcare as sub-universal, his rhetoric as inflated and shallow,and his general lack of experience, which has always been her selling point. The main themes of the debate were :
- the economy and NAFTA : particularly of interest to the voters of the industrial state of Ohio, which has suffered severely from the economic recession and from the increased competition and subsequent job losses partly (?) due to the trade agreements with Canada and Mexico signed during Bill Clinton's presidency.
- healthcare
- the war in Irak
- foreign policy (Kosovo, Russia and Putin's successor)
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