PHILADELPHIA -- I've been to more debates than I can count fingers on one hand. I am not complaining (especially since this filing room is filled with people who've spent more time than me on the Trail). In fact, an anonymous member of Hillary's Press Corps, who has been to more than 30 debates, said the only difference "is that we are watching a black man and a white woman on the TV screen." That may be, and yet redundancy on the airwaves is running a muck.
Each debate has its own special flavor. From a behind-the-scenes perspective, ABC News runs the tightest ship. The atmosphere is different, too. At one end of the spectrum, the CNN-LA Times-Politico Debate at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood seemed like an award show. At the other, the Iowa Public Television Debate in Des Moines was intimate and no frills. Given Philadelphia's history, though -- we're across the street from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell -- the feeling here is... more full of import, like something has changed.
How so? Senator Obama's "bitter" comments and Senator Clinton's desperation are in the air, hovering, like spring, but not as nice. Inside it was business as usual. So I hit the streets outside the National Constitutional Center to find out what people were thinking.
The Clinton Campaign had an overwhelming influence along Arch Street. Hillary's staffers were all over, and there was a concerted effort by her campaign to ask volunteers from Texas to support her in Philly. Carlos, a college-aged volunteer from San Antonio and candidate for district delegate said, "[the rallying] is beautiful, and words can't describe it." Rosemary Parra, also from San Antonio, agreed. "This is a dream come true." Three Obama supporters (and by the way, all three are college students in Pennsylvania who donate to Obama's campaign) discussed their campaign's lack of presence. With a calm, confident smile Jorge Perdomo said, "most of the organizers are out knocking on doors and at the phone banks. Making a lot of noise outside this debate is a poor use of money."
Fair enough, but Lisa Yourman from Northern New Jersey representing the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease held a different opinion; "The [feeling in the] air is that we need something new, and [we need] to shift the focus away from the world to our own backyards." Health care and the mortgage crisis are real issues for Lisa. Her 18-year-old daughter suffers serious health problems.
On the street outside the National Constitution Center, the heightened energy was inline with the 80 percent of Americans who feel the country is on the wrong track and less to do with the squabbling within the Democratic Party showcased inside on stage.