Make HuffPost Your HomePage
Get Email Alerts
Live Updates From The Democratic Univision Debate In Miami
The Huffington Post is live on the ground at the site of tonight's Univision debate in Miami, Fl. We'll be providing updates throughout the night:
-- 8:33 pm: Hilary has the best closing statement, more feeling and warmth and the most applause. And she got the last word!
-- 8:30 pm: Kucinich is the first one to bring in "Si se puede!!" Obama mentioned Luis Gutierrez again, the Latino congressman who's endorsed him.
-- 8:20 pm: The few seconds it takes for the candidates to listen to the translation is actually a great feature. It makes it appear as if they're are actually thinking about their answers!
-- 8:15 pm: Great Dodd line on Family Medical Leave Act. "It took me seven years, three presidents and vetoes to get it passed and we did it with the help of Donna Shalala." Big smile from Shalala, who as president of the University of Miami is sitting in the front row next to Haim Saban, the chairman of Univision.
-- 8:14 pm: During the second break, everyone stayed on stage and came forward to chat with members of the audience.
-- 8:05 pm: Kucinich just received the biggest applause of the night by calling for free college education! At the University of Miami filled with college kids, how could this fail?
-- 7:47 pm: Hosts Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas have a lot of authority and Jorge especially is doing a great job keeping on time. "Gracias, senor," he says. "Gracias senor." Hilary just took a good hit at the anti-Hispanic sentiments in the broadcast world -- but she did not name names!
-- 7:43 pm: Obama looks down at his notes a lot when others are speaking. Hillary is always looking very attentively, hands crossed in front of her body, turned toward whoever is speaking, whether it's Obama who's on the right or Gravel on the left.
-- 7:40 pm: Interesting break!! Hillary and Edwards left the stage during the 2 minute break to be powdered beyond prying eyes. Obviously being powdered on TV is the last thing Edwards needs. Obama and the rest were proudly re-powdered in front of all of us! Elizabeth Edwards, who's been exchanging looks and hand signals with her husband, used the 2 minutes to walk around and shake hands.
-- 7:07 pm: Obama missed the excitement in the room. He launched right to the details of his community organizing. Hillary missed it too. This audience is psyched, there's a sense of history in the room, and their first responses fell very flat.
-- 7:04 pm: No clear crowd favorite tonight. When the candidates are introduced, some applaud for the, some don't, and when they do it's beyond half-hearted!
-- 6:58 pm: "Miami, we have a problem," said Jorge Ramos. The candidates at first did not get the translation in their ears. Dodd immediately showed off his Spanish.
-- 6:55 pm: Henry Cisneros calls tonight "historic." "While it may be the first, it sets the expectation for the future," he tells Huffington Post. "Candidates from now on will have to speak to the Hispanic community in their language, even though the language will be translated. " He also said that Richardson and Dodd have been asked not to speak in Spanish. "But I predict," he said, "that at some point they will break the rule."
Loading comments…
The Huffington Post | September 9, 2007 06:57 PM