The first debate of Democratic Candidates for the 2008 Presidential election in South Carolina just finished. Overall, I have to admit this is the best line up of candidates for a primary that I can remember. The debate was too short to get to any level of depth considering that there were 8 candidates and I don't think anyone made a strong impression or had any major problems. The only winners were the lesser know candidates that gained some exposure and made a good showing. It seems Dennis Kucinich may have picked up a little ground by pushing his opposition to the war and he continues to be someone I would consider. Bill Richardson focused too much on the 2nd amendment to realistically get a Democratic nomination and he missed a great opportunity to mention his experience as secretary of Energy and his help in sending a big chunk of funding to South Carolina's nuclear facilities. I think Sen. Edwards made a mistake by taking too long to answer a direct question about his role model for moral values but he made several strong statements throughout the night. I'm not sure why he didn't have a prepared response for such an easy question. Clinton was the best at transitioning every question into her prepared stump speech. Obama was good but not exceptional considering he is the best speaker in the bunch.

My vote is not in the bag but here is what I'm thinking right now:

• Clinton is for sale and is too much of a typical politician
• Obama is holding back and I hope has more tricks in his bag
• Edwards is possibly the best candidate but this could be the first election where being a white male is a handicap
• I like Kucinich right now but he has too much ground to make up and unfortunately presidents are elected based on personal appearance and he doesn't have it (it is sad but true)
• The rest of the field is better than you would imagine but has a mountain to climb

I feel confident I could vote for any of the them over any republican although I think Clinton is my least favorite because of her inability to convey sincerity and my fear that she would just maintain the status quo in Washington.