As yesterday night's Democratic debate loomed, I kept the television in our office tuned to MSNBC. And it didn't take long before I felt all but taken hostage by a series of talking points that reflected the conventional wisdom: Obama's campaign is on life support! Hillary looks inevitable! Can Obama land a glove on her? If he can't, is it all over? The tune got stuck in my head worse than that cursed Journey song in the wake of the Sopranos finale.
But as tempting as it was to simply give in to the sweet relief of Stockholm Syndrome, some dim part of my brain kept signaling: Watch for the storyline. After all, as stage managers of the evening's intra-party tilt, MSNBC had a certain degree of leverage to bring to bear on the post-debate conversation. And let's face it: the press has a far greater need for these debates than does the Republic, because they are essential set-pieces that help to keep the drama going. Matt Taibbi warned us: "Like Seinfeld, the presidential campaign is essentially a 'show about nothing,' a prolonged prime-time character-driven drama crafted around a series of fake conflicts that always get resolved by the end of the program, in this case November, 2008."
Obviously, to a large extent, it's up to Obama to make up the ground he's lost. That doesn't mean MSNBC cannot furiously try to help, though! Chris Matthews, just before the debate, was all a-flutter with suggestions, and was working up to the last minute to provide Obama with helpful talking points: "This election has to change America. If she doesn't want to change, she shouldn't get elected. That's what he should say."
MSNBC continued to manage the storyline as the debate began. From the outset, Tim Russert and Brian Williams afforded the field - most notably Edwards and Obama - the opportunity to open up fresh lines of attack. And from the beginning of the debate to its first break, the only candidate that Williams or Russert nagged at for clarification was Clinton. The second instance is the most instructive:
Clinton: I intend to do everything I can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
Russert: But you won't pledge?
Clinton: I am pledging I will do everything I can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
Russert: But, they may.
Clinton: Well, you know, Tim, you asked me if I would pledge, and I have pledged that I will do everything I can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
Russert: Senator Edwards?
Edwards: What I will do is take all the responsible steps that can be taken to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Obama: I think all of us are committed to Iran not having nuclear weapons, and so we could potentially short circuit this.
Clinton answers, gets challenged. Edwards gives more or less the same answer, and is not challenged. Obama shrewdly offers a magnanimous answer, and the matter is closed.
Obama, so assailed during the day's relentless pre-debate mutterings, had an easy time of it last night. The issue of Donnie McClurkin, the "ex-gay" gospel singer who participated in an Obama fundraiser in South Carolina - currently blowing up the blogosphere - never came up. Instead, Obama got served softballs on his Halloween costume, the state of commercial air travel, and the Apollo 11 astronauts' belief in "life beyond Earth." Yea, verily: as we've already noted, UFOs occupied a significant amount of attention last night. After all, every good plot deserves a subplot or two, in this case--"Dennis Kucinich is daffy!"
Did Obama deliver a knockout blow? By and large, no. But MSNBC managed to do their part to sustain the momentum of the unfolding drama for the sake of all tomorrow's ledes. The fruits of this effort can be seen in this morning's headlines: "In Debate, Table Turns For Clinton" (Washington Post), "Clinton Bombs Debate" (Politico), "Clinton Hears It From Her Rivals" (New York Times), and MSNBC's own "Clinton Takes Fire." Naturally, it's an insult to one's intelligence to suggest that the new post-debate consensus was entirely engineered, but the evidence suggests that MSNBC went to great lengths to make the outcome a fait accompli.