I will be calling into Blog Talk Radio Today this evening at 6:30PM Eastern so you can head me discuss the debate with Shaun Daily. I did want to toss up some thoughts about last nights debate ahead of time.

Incase you missed it, the debate was the first time Senator’s Clinton & Obama took the stage without anyone else in the spotlight. It was a significant moment for many reasons but most importantly because one of these two candidates will be the Democratic nominee. No offense to Richardson, Biden, Dodd, Kucinich, Gravel & Edwards but this is the two-person race everyone predicted a long while ago and we are finally witnessing it.

The tone of the debate was cordial. It lacked the giant fireworks of the previous few debates, the anger, the pointing of fingers, the bitterness. Before the debate no one knew who would show up, whether we would get the warriors or the peacemakers, both candidates have been complex and dynamic enough to be both. Last night we got the peacemakers. After weeks of watching the party sit on the verge of tearing itself apart, the two candidates walked in ready to keep it together. The house was divided and the electric energy from the audience which had its own share of celebrities in attendance, made me as an onlooker feel as though one of these two really could be president.

The mood of the debate, the audience, the night was a far cry from the Republican debate held the night before. The mood was uncomfortable, the candidates oozing bitterness, the tone of the campaign turning sour. McCain had started the night just before by receiving the Giuliani endorsement and mid-way through the debate talk flooded the Internet and then the post-debate wrap of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s impending nod.

McCain used the night to push attacks against Romney, bitter and arguably distorted attacks. He kept at it all night and Romney fought back. The moderators did everything they could to turn this into the Democrats equal, to exclude Huckabee and Paul from the conversation and frame it as a two-person race. It just did not seem to come together.

Juxtaposed with this scene were two Democratic candidates who did their fare share of attacking one another. They did it the right way though, pointing out their differences with one another and then tying it into the larger race by noting that there own differences paled in comparison to the ones they had with Republicans.

Both candidates were equal in this ability, both candidates were equal in sharing both praise and contention for one another. Both looked and sounded presidential, ready to fight, ready to win.

Going in I was particularly concerned for Obama. Without Edwards to launch the attacks which Obama would benefit from I wasn’t sure he would be able to make headway. He transcended that. So much of the divisiveness in these debates has been coyly caused by Edwards who, in my humble opinion, was masterful in launching attacks one moment and then turning himself into a peacemaker the next. Debates are not Obama’s arena, he isn’t as tested as the trial lawyer Edwards or the bare knuckles brawler Clinton but he has become more capable as time has moved on. With the focus on unity and not division in this debate, he excelled.

Clinton too held her ground. She was tuff but fair, funny but on point. These debates have opened up a side of the candidate that the public did not see in the 90’s and as much as I hate the formats, the questions, the framing from the media, I do think we have seen sides of these two candidates that we may not have been introduced to thus far.

There were many problems with the debate itself, as there always are. As someone who has watched them all, I have tired from the questions and the answers. I always have to remind myself that for millions of Americans each of the debates might be their first and so the minutia of the differences in Iraq positions or Health Care proposals has already been exhausted for me. For everything else though, this debate might matter because it could be the first time they’ve heard or seen the candidates speak to these positions.

In this, no new ground was gained. We’ve heard it all before, right down to the pre-scripted jokes that have been rehashed since summer 2007. The candidates extended the cordial nature, they would laugh at one another even though they’ve heard it before. Both did a wonderful job of letting the other have their moment and then rebounding by grabbing their own. With that said, I wish there was something new for me and the others who watch these things religiously. Ask about the space program, about Darfur, ask about building roads in Africa or how we create broadband that is equal to other parts of the world. I want to hear a great debate about the role of the federal government in our lives, imminent domain, national ID cards, spy cameras and NSA wiretapping, could we spend at least a couple minutes on privacy? How about going in-depth on “green” technology. Yes we know you support it, what is it, what could it be, should we do hydrogen or wind, will you make Al Gore your Energy Secretary or perhaps bring back Bill Richardson? Ask them republican questions that will be in a general election debate. Ask about gun control and where the idea went for example.

I know I am asking a lot but in two hours we could at least get a broader understanding of the depth in these candidates philosophy.

Finally Obama scored by making up for what many perceived as his “snub” at the State of the Union Address. He spoke well of their relationship at the top, he pulled out her chair at the end. It was what he needed to do and he did it well.