The one thing that is becoming apparent from these Presidential debates is that the candidates have no choice but to speak in sound bites. As I watched the Democratic debate last night, I really felt bad for the folks on that stage. They had their answers cut short not so much by Tim Russert, but more so because they didn’t have enough time for all of the candidates to give answers of substance.

That being said, I was impressed by guys like Bill Richardson. Governor Richardson was able to cut through the time constraints and just hammer home some basic points. I saw great similarities between Governor Richardson and Senator McCain’s performance a few weeks ago. Straight, no bullshit answers to questions, answering with direct “yes” and “no” statements followed up by a discussion of his record on the issues. Smart campaigning when you’ve got 30 seconds to answer!

I was a little bland on Senator Obama. For some reason he came off as boring and not the hope that he’s been touted. This is almost certainly a result of the structure of the debate and the time constraints put on each candidate. Senator Obama is at his best when he’s in a crowd of people speaking in terms of theoretical concepts and the concept of hope for the future. That’s all great stuff. But when you get down to campaigning in the Media Age and the era of 30 second attention spans, you need to be a little bit more lively when you’re on one of these debates.

Senator Clinton, on the other hand, had a good night I thought. Her sparring with Tim Russert should galvanize her base, but it should also push her further from the independents who are unsure if they’ll vote Democratic this time around.

That brings me to Tim Russert. I thought Mr. Russert did a fine job at not letting the candidates get away with answers that are simply political speak. As I talk to more people about the coming election and politics in general, this is the biggest recurring problem that comes up. How do you get around the political jargon that is ubiquitous in contemporary political culture? Seems simple - sit the people down in front of Tim Russert or Brit Hume and those guys won’t allow any of that stuff to fly!

All in all an interesting debate where I think Governor Richardson may gain a few points in the polls; which isn’t enough to beat Hillary, but enough to be in the people’s minds.