Commentators gives some points to the president, some to his GOP opponents, but the real issue isn't who won--it's that the discussion was happening at all, televised and more or less unstaged. Contrasted against the ritualistic State of the Union and a bitterly partisan few months, the debate was impressively open, sincere, and civil.
Both the president and his Republican opponents deserve recognition for their candid airing of opinions and for the best political television we've seen in months. It's refreshing to see politicians cutting pundits out of the loop and doing their own debating, however imperfectly. Extra points for transfixing the blogosphere. Below, some of National Review writer Daniel Foster's favorite moments:
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments
or send an email to the author at
hhorn at theatlantic dot com.
You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Heather Horn
User Comments
Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register