Update: John Amato of Crooks and Liars, Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo and Arianna Huffington are on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann. Amato was impartial, Marshall said he gave it slightly to Obama.

Arianna mentioned the two lines I thought stood out the most that I mentioned in the live thread -- Hillary saying it took a Clinton to get the first Bush out of the White House and it will take another Clinton to get the second Bush out -- and Obama saying, in conceding Hillary would be ready to lead on Day one , that it's just as important to be right on day one as ready on day one.

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Original Post

Wow. What a change from last month. They hugged, laughed and congratulated each other.

Both did a great job. I think it was Obama's best debate yet. Hillary did well and was really up on the issues. What did you think?

Great answer by Hillary about Mitt Romney saying neither she nor Obama had ever been a CEO.

Live Blog below the fold, online now.

I'll be starting about 7:45 pm ET. You can comment same as always in the comment section and live blog there yourselves and/or you can send me live messages through the software.

I'll put up some polls to see how you think they are doing.

I'm really curious to see how Hillary and Obama treat each other. Their position on issues is similar.

What do you expect to see tonight? Will sparks fly, will either distort the record of the other or will they keep it cordial?

Bumped. Jeralyn will be live blogging tonights's debate.

Update: (TL): I'm just getting online and in front of a tv for the first time all day. I'll be catching up and then starting a live blog. Hope you'll join me. I'll start thread one at about 7:45 ET.

By Big Tent Democrat

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will face off tonight in a CNN Debate to be telecast starting at 8 EST. This is the most highly anticipated debate and is likely to attract the largest viewership of any event in this campaign. Is it make or break for Clinton and Obama? Perhaps.

Obama has not been impressive in debates, but he has not yet had a one on one format. Perhaps he will shine tonight. Clinton has performed well in most debates.

My big question is how negative will the debate be. Do not get me wrong, I think the candidates SHOULD mix it up, to explain why they are the better choice than the opponent. That is what debates are about. I am not a big fan of speechifying debates. But it is clear that being too negative poses a risk, at least it does for Clinton. With the Obama Rules in place, it is not clear that Obama runs much risk in going negative.

More . . .

By Big Tent Democrat

That is the assertion of Harold Meyerson:

For 40 years now, since 1968, the Democrats have wandered in a political desert. From Nixon to Reagan to the current Bush, it's been a conservative era, and the genius of Bill Clinton, the most successful Democratic politician of that time, was primarily defensive -. . . The times themselves mandated incrementalism and triangulation, wars without movement fought behind battlements and moats, and no one learned the lessons of that era more brilliantly than Hillary Clinton. In a 51 to 49 nation, she is probably the best the Democrats have to offer.

I think it is interesting that Bill Clinton actually won his elections by 5 and 9 points and yet someone like Meyerson talks as if Clinton was a 51-49 President. I also think it is interesting that Meyerson does not for a moment consider the SIMILARITIES between the Obama campaign and the Clinton campaign of 1992 especially. There is a willful blindness to this from some circles. More . . .

By Big Tent Democrat

Josh Marshall writes:

One point that should not go unmentioned is that what former President Clinton is described as doing in that Times article is little different from what the first President Bush has done in his post-presidency. And his son is the president. So if it would be a problem with Bill, and I think it would be, it unquestionably is already a problem with the current president's dad. And no one has seemed to much bother about it.

Geez Josh. What could possibly explain that double standard?

By Big Tent Democrat

In the battle for gaining the support of John Edwards and his supporters, Hillary Clinton has one big advantage - the health care issue. A review of the respective plans demonstrates that Hillary Clinton is quite close to John Edwards while Barack Obama fundamentally differs on the issue of mandates. Last November, Ezra Klein wrote:

. . . The short version of the argument is that Obama's plan has no mandate at all, meaning it has no mechanism through which to achieve universal coverage, and Hillary Clinton's plan has an undefined mandate, meaning we don't know how it will achieve universal coverage. Clinton's position is better, but it's still a bit vague. Later today, John Edwards will announce the specifics of how his mandate works. . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) It is interesting how much of the wonkosphere has gone silent on this difference between Obama and Clinton. Take for instance, Ezra Klein's post mortem on Edwards:

Barack Obama spoke in Denver today. Here's what he said:

“It’s time for new leadership that understands that the way to win a debate with John McCain is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq; who agreed with him in voting to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; who agrees with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don’t like, and who actually differed with him by arguing for exceptions for torture before changing positions when the politics of the moment changed.”

Hillary's refutes him point by point on her website.

This is a dangerous road for Obama. Check out his past support for Rumsfeld and Bush, expressed during the confirmation process of John Ashcroft. He even calls Rumsfeld "not out of the mainstream." (video here)

"The proof in the pudding is looking at the treatment of the other Bush nominees," Obama said. "I mean for the most part, I for example do not agree with a missile defense system, but I dont think that soon-to-be-Secretary Rumsfeld is in any way out of the mainstream of American political life. And I would argue that the same would be true for the vast majority of the Bush nominees, and I give him credit for that."

I would say "pot meet kettle" except his statements about Hillary were not true. Hillary has been the most vocal critic of President Bush and his policies among all the Democratic candidates. From the early debates, while the others criticized her because they perceived her to be the frontrunner, she kept her eye on the real enemy: President Bush, his Administration and its failed and misguided policies.

By Big Tent Democrat

Here's an endorsement you won't see written about in the Left blogs. Rupert Murdoch's NYPost goes for Obama:

Democrats in 22 states across America go to the polls next Tuesday to pick between two presidential prospects: Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

We urge them to choose Obama . . .

Now I do not hold this against Obama. But I bet a lot of folks would have held it against Hillary if she got this endorsement.

By Big Tent Democrat

Ronald Reagan! Ronald Reagan!

The Republican Debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in Callfornia is being conducted by CNN.

Alas, I can not live blog it and J. is dealing with life stuff. So please fill us in with your thoughts.

Warning, no drinking games on how many times Ronald Reagan is mentioned.

By Big Tent Democrat

With John Edwards out, there is nothing holding back the tide now. The Left blogs will go all out for Obama and will go after Hillary hard.

With the exception of a few isolated pockets, the Big Blogs, the wonk blogs, Big Media blogs, all of them, are all pro-Obama now. A poor Clinton supporter will be hard pressed to find a port in this storm, or even a place where Hillary gets half of a fair shake.

But don't sweat it too much Hillary supporters, this too shall pass one way or another. Either Hillary takes control on 2/5 or Obama gets the leg up. And it is likely that the nomination will be decided next week.

Either way, the Left blogs will stop hating the Clintons again next week after the 2/5 primaries.

By Big Tent Democrat

John Edwards is dropping out at any moment and the cable networks will carry it. He is speaking from the 9th Ward in New Orleans.

The two remaining candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are rightly lauding the manner in which John Edwards focused on the key issues of poverty, health care and voicelessness of many Americans -- the two Americas theme.

Kudos to John Edwards for the issues he raised and the style of his campaign. He did good.

"It is time for me to step aside to allow us to make history. We will be strong, united and if we show a little backbone we Democrats will make history."