Ebbie,

I watched the debates and thoughts pretty much all the candidates did quite well, but except for that very tough Fed Reserve question tossed to Sharpton, all of the questions were very easy and exactly what the candidates wanted to answer. Perhaps that's appropriate at this stage of the game, but I found it boring.

NONE of the candidates were polished enough yet to take on Bush, but that will happen. The nominee will be well groomed. I'm talking about body language and choices of words. What we are seeing now is closer to the truth of the person than we'll see in the election.

Lieberman did quite well because, with the exception of his stance on the war which he defined quite well, most of what came out of his mouth was the opposite of what his record shows.

Sharpton was clearly the most experienced debator and speaker on the stage. I like the man, too, he has vision and a clear sense of his own morality, and he can define it. I don't think I'd want him as a President, but he would make an exceptional addition to the Cabinet.

Dean did okay considering he was literally swaying from the drugs he was on to fight his cold. Good for him to mention it once to set his performance in context, but not to keep mentioning it to make it seem like an excuse.

Kerry just rode the tide and succeeded in not screwing up his current surprise frontrunner position.

Clark is very rough around the edges but he speaks well and you can understand his convictions. I thought he fumbled the question about Moore's use of the word "deserter" about Bush -- I'm glad he didn't deny it but sorry that he didn't and mention that the accusations are about going AWOL, not desertion, and make better use of the question to show the difference between one who commits to service and one who just wants to wear the uniform.

I was most pleasantly surprised by Edwards. He clearly showed exactly why southerners are suspicious of most Democratic candidates without resorting to the south-bashing us southerners are so sick of hearing. He also was willing to speak up about his concern about the superficial nature of the questions. I may have to pay more attention to him.

Kucinich, bless his heart, did a good job saying things I agree with but a bad job showing that he can make those goals a reality. And he looked bloody awful... was his appearance deliberately designed to make him look like an inept nerd? Very sad -- I think he did the worst of the lot.