Dispatch from South Carolina..., April 27, 2007

I wanted to share with you a special dispatch from South Carolina sent by EMILY's List president, Ellen R. Malcolm, who attended last night's Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina. With her view from the front row she gave me a little instant analysis ...

Ramona,

The debate just ended and the crowd is buzzing. We are so used to looking up at the stage in these debates and seeing a long line of dark-suited men. It was really exciting seeing a woman front and center — and the frontrunner, no less! Hillary stood out — and not just because she was the only one without a power tie. The buzz here is unanimous that Hillary was the winner.

I thought Hillary was fabulous. She was strong and funny and warm and demonstrated a depth of understanding on the issues. She was relaxed and totally in command, demonstrating that she's every inch the president we need to have leading our nation after the debacle of the Bush years.

I thought the most powerful moment came when Hillary was asked how she would deal with another attack on an American city. Without hesitation, she said she would retaliate, making it clear that this was a candidate ready to assume the role of commander in chief. She delivered a clear message to the country and the world: when Hillary Clinton is the president, don't mess with the United States.

Funniest moment of the debate: Joe Biden's charming brevity on his verbosity.

Oddest moment: John Edwards's freeze as he searched for a moral leader.

Most likely to be voted off the island: Say goodbye, Mike.

I hope Americans across the country got to see what I did tonight: a tough, strong, smart leader who is in command of the debate and radiates the presidential quality that places her firmly at the front of this field.

See you tomorrow!

Ellen

Don't just take Ellen's word for it ... Here's what others are saying about Sen. Clinton's strong showing in the first major debate.

WASHINGTON POST'S CHRIS CILLIZZA: HILLARY 'CRISP AND CONCISE,' 'HELPED HER CAUSE BY FLASHING HER EXPERIENCE AND THE BREADTH OF HER KNOWLEDGE': "[I]n Clinton's case, she may well have helped her cause by flashing her experience and the breadth of her knowledge on the issues ... Clinton was crisp and concise, rarely going over her allotted time and keeping to her message of experience and leadership." [Chris Cillizza, The Fix, 4/26/07]

TUCKER CARLSON: HILLARY 'RELATES TO THE CROWD,' SHOWED 'NOBODY IS BETTER IN THIS FORUM [AT THE AFTER PARTY] THAN SHE IS': "Clinton came out and immediately got specific and earthy ... There is a gospel band, voices of Christ up on the stage. She comes out and immediately says the music here is world-renowned, terrific, I love South Carolina, your ROTC program has boosted all these generals, details about the school itself, the crowd loved her ... Hillary Clinton always goes for the specifics, and always goes for the specifics that relate to the crowd that she is speaking to. Nobody is better in this forum than she is." [Tucker Carlson, MSNBC, 4/26/07]

MSNBC'S CHRIS MATTHEWS: HILLARY 'DID VERY WELL ... HER PRESENTATION WAS VERY SOLID ... VERY IMPRESSIVE': "I thought Hillary Clinton did really well tonight. As a frontrunner, I think she held her place. I think her voice, her manner, her presentation was very solid ... I thought she held herself as a frontrunner and kept her status ... I think that she kept her voice, and she was very controlled, and very professional and very impressive." [Chris Matthews, MSNBC, 4/26/07]

Have a great day!

Ramona