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  Of Hats and Cattle

  Posted Thursday, February 21, 2008 9:03 PM | By Christopher Beam

  John King: Are you saying your opponent is all hat and no cattle?

  Hillary goes for it! After a polite intro, she all but name drops Kirk Watson, who couldn’t name a single Obamaccomplishment. 

  Obama's response is one you couldn't have seen him giving 10 debates ago. He's come a long way. He starts by rattling off a list of things he has done: “The strongest ethics reform since Watergate,” health care, vets, criminal justice system. He continues: “Senator Clinton of late has said, 'Let’s get real.' The implication is that people involved in my campaign are somehow delusional.” Clinton is grinning so wide it looks painful.

  Then comes Obama’s money line, roughly paraphrased: “The reason this campaign has done so well is people understand it’s not just a matter of putting forward policy positions. If we can’t inspire the American people to get involved in their government, to go beyond racial, political, and regional divisions, we will continue to see gridlock in Washington.” Campbell Brown tries to interrupt the applause, fails, and tries again.

  When the moderator follows up with a question about lifting Deval Patrick’s lines, Obama dismisses the attack as “silly season in politics.”

  Hillary fires back: “It’s not change you can believe in. It’s change you can Xerox.”

About Christopher Beam

• Christopher Beam is a Slate political reporter.

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