My thoughts on the debate;

Kucinich is not an idiot, but he is insane. Pulling out the charts again was a stupid thing however.

The United States should renounce any interest in privatization of the Iraq economy. And we should ask the U.N. to help construct a cause of governance in Iraq with a new constitution and elections.

That approach, plus to fund a U.N. peacekeeping mission; in addition to that, to provide repairs for what we destroyed in Iraq, plus reparations for the families of innocent civilian noncombatants -- all that constitutes a plan which would enable the United States to go to the U.N. and say, "Look, agree with this plan, send in U.N. peacekeepers," and 90 days later, we'll have our troops home.

I do stand here saying that I believe sincerely that we should bring in U.N. peacekeepers and bring our troops home. And I have the plan to do that.

Grade C+

Clark had the opportunity to distance himself from the Angry Left element and declined. He didn't answer the questions, but fell back on his stump speech. I think this is what killed McCain's campaign in '00. These two responses are telling of what Clark is about.

CLARK: I never used the word "guarantee." I never said that, John.

DISTASO: What did you say?

CLARK: What I said was that the president had been saying that the attack at 9/11 could not have been prevented, and that further attacks were inevitable.

I consider the statement that the attack at 9/11 could not have been prevented as an excuse to cover the fact that this administration didn't do everything they could have done.

CLARK: And I consider their statement that further attacks on the United States are inevitable as an excuse to cover for the fact that they are today not doing everything they could do to keep America safe. And that's wrong, that's why I'm running and that's what I'll fix.

You may not have said "guarantee" General, but you meant it. And this about Michael Moore:

CLARK: Well, I think Michael Moore has the right to say whatever he feels about this.

I don't know whether this is supported by the facts or not. I've never looked at it. I've seen this charge bandied about a lot.

But to me it wasn't material. This election is going to be about the future, Peter. And what we have to do is pull this country together. And I am delighted to have the support of a man like Michael Moore, of a great American leader like Senator George McGovern, and of people from Texas like Charlie Stenholm and former Secretary of the Navy John Dalton.

We've got support from across the breadth of the Democratic Party, because I believe this party is united in wanting to change the leadership in Washington. We're going to run an election campaign that's about the future. We're going to hold the president accountable for what he did in office and failed to do, and we're going to compare who's got the best vision for America.

JENNINGS: Let me ask you something you mentioned, then, because since this question and answer in which you and Mr. Moore was involved in, you've had a chance to look at the facts.

Do you still feel comfortable with the fact that someone should be standing up in your presence and calling the president of the United States a deserter?

CLARK: To be honest with you, I did not look at the facts, Peter. You know, that's Michael Moore's opinion. He's entitled to say that. I've seen -- he's not the only person who's said that. I've not followed up on those facts. And frankly, it's not relevant to me and why I'm in this campaign.

Grade F+

Dean was calm and collected, as he had to be. He showed a little self-deprecating humor and laughed easily, but what is up with that goofy smile the dude does? His stand that we must get permission from the UN is going to haunt him. I don't think he cleared it up with this statement.

I would not have used the word "permission," nor is that what I meant. You know, my words are not always precise, but my meaning is very, very clear.

Iraq was not an imminent threat to the United States. I disagreed with Senator Lieberman, Senator Edwards and Senator Kerry.

We had successfully contained Iraq for 12 years with no-fly zones. They had virtually no air force to speak of. It turned out they did not have the weapons of mass destruction that people thought they did, myself included. It turned out that much of what the president told us was not so.

I believe that Saddam Hussein's removal from power is good. But I also believe that the way to have done it was to do it through the United Nations, which is why I opposed the president's war in Iraq from the beginning.

Grade B

Sharpton has no chance but at least makes the debate watchable, his line about hootin' and hollerin' was a classic. But when you cut through the entertainment factor, the Rev. knows nothing about policy. Asked by Peter Jennings about the Fed, Al talked about the IMF and added numerous "uhs" and "ers". That may have been the best part of the debate, Al Sharpton damn near speechless.

Well, first of all, let me say this. I wanted to say to Governor Dean, don't be hard on yourself about hooting and hollering. If I had spent the money you did and got 18 percent, I'd still be in Iowa hooting and hollering.

And:

I think, first of all, we must have a person at the Monetary Fund that is concerned about growth of all, not setting standards that would, in my judgment, protect some and not elevate those that cannot, in my view, expand and come to the levels of development and the levels of where we need to be.

I think part of my problem with how we're operating at this point is that the IMF and the policies that are emanating there do not lead to the expansion that is necessary for our country and our global village to rise to levels that underdeveloped countries and those businesses in this country can have the development policies necessary.

Grade D

Kerry did a decent job, although he was never really challenged. He looked old though. I don't know if it was the lighting or something, he didn't look "presidential".

KERRY: I look forward to that fight, and I particularly want to have that debate with this president.

I am a veteran. I fought in a war. I've been a prosecutor. I've sent people to jail for the rest of their life. I have, as a lieutenant governor, helped to fight to create a national plan on acid rain to protect our rivers and lakes and streams for the future.

As a senator, I've stood up for years and fought for fairness. I've also voted for welfare reform. I am a gun owner and a hunter since I was a young man. I think that my education reform -- the other significant efforts to try to make the workplace fair in America are as vital to people in the South and the Southwest and the West and the Midwest of this country as anywhere else.

I look forward to standing up and holding George Bush accountable for pushing seniors off of Medicare into HMOs, for prohibiting Medicare from even negotiating a bulk purchase price, from turning an energy bill into a bonanza for his friends in the oil industry to the tune of $50 billion.

Grade B

Edwards is a good speaker but fumbled the Islam question tremendously. It's a loaded question that you just give a simple answer and be done with it.

I would never claim to be an expert on Islam. I am not. But I do believe that Islam, as in a lot of other faiths that we as a nation embrace and lift up, that I have shown respect for faiths that are different than mine my entire life. I think I do understand the tragedy of the day-to-day lives of people who live in Arab countries, who live lives of hopelessness and despair.

I think that contributes to the animosity that they feel toward the United States.

And part of our ongoing vision -- my ongoing vision for America includes getting at the root causes of that animosity toward the United States, which means being able to communicate, not just with the leadership, for example, in Saudi Arabia, but being able to communicate directly with the people...

Grade B-

Lieberman is, for all intents and purposes, a Republican. Joe is a good man, who is smart and rational, however, he doesn't invigorate people. I think Joe would be an excellent Sec State or some other type position. It's sad, but a black woman will be president before a Jewish man.

I will say for myself what I have said from the beginning: that for most Americans, including myself and I would guess all of us here on the stage, life is about trying to do the right thing. And often, for most Americans, our faith, our religions, the values that we get, the sense of right and wrong that we get from our faith are what helps us decide what to do in public life and in private life.

So long as Democrats are hesitant to talk the language of values and show respect for people of faith, we close ourselves off from a great majority of the American people.

Grade B+

None of the candidates electrifies the Dem party, although Dean could've if he took a more centrist path. We have alot of time left and many more debates in the future. Prediction at this point are ridiculous, but I don't believe that there's one standout. Kerry should win NH and Edwards should win S. Carolina. At this point we just have regional candidates. The public should start paying attention post Dean meltdown. This should be fun.