Andrew Sullivan has a few clear thoughts on last night’s debate. He found Clark more credible than he thought he would. William Saletan at Slate calls Clark "slick," and he had better stop. Andrew Busch explains why it is premature to declare Clark the best hope for Democrats. Busch is absolutely right that the other candidates will not give him a free pass, and that his association (tool of?) with the Clinton’s may not work to his advantage in the end. Note that
Opinion Journal has published Clarke’s Arkansas Lincoln Day speech of 2001 in which he praises Bush and his cabinet, Reagan, et al. Worth a read.

I did not see all of the two hour long debate (how could one?) but I saw enough to see this: Clarke is slick (read opportunist), and is probably being taught to be even more slick by Clinton’s handlers. I think he had better keep the word "General" in front of his name; that will help him more than anything else he could do. Al Sharpton is the smartest and funniest of them all. He’s a delight to the ear. Howard Dean is really a very angry man, always. This guy is very unpleasant, and that will continue to be revealed as time passes. He reminds me of a dog growling at nothing. Dogs usually do that to make an impression and because they are afraid. Dean does it because it is his habit. I feel kind of sorry for Lieberman. I thought he did fine, but it doesn’t matter. Gephardt and the others are just tedious.