From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

The Edwards campaign has put together a graphic - (Click for a larger .pdf version of the photo) highlighting the differences between Edwards and Clinton on the issues. And staying with that boxing analogy, the Edwards campaign writes, "Edwards proved again last night, beyond a doubt, that he is a true heavyweight when it comes to challenging the other candidates to tell the truth on the issues that matter most to the American people. The rest of the contenders? Well, let's just say that even the best hype machines can't disguise a real featherweight."

For its part, the Clinton campaign has put together a video it is very proud of -- a compilation from last night's debate of what they call "The Politics of Pile-On."

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
If Rodney Woodill hadn't received a call from his wife Tuesday night, asking him to come home because his two-week old baby was sick, Edwards might have never won the endorsement of New Hampshire Service Employees Association, part of the Service Employees International Union. 

Woodill, who represents 900 county and municipal employees within the state, was on his way to Concord, N.H., to participate in the second Executive Board Meeting within a week to choose a candidate for the state's union to endorse, but turned back home after his wife called. The board voted without him, split 8-8 between Obama and Edwards. Local 1984's president Gary Smith cast the tie-breaking vote, handing the endorsement of 10,000-member union to Edwards.
 
"If I had gone straight to the meeting, there wouldn't have been an endorsement for John Edwards last night," Woodill said in an interview today.
 
The tight vote was indicative of a union leadership that was split between the two candidates and a process fraught with internal politics reflective of a soap opera, as it was a sober consideration of which Democratic nominee would best reflect the union's interests. 
 
Just last week, on Monday, the state's political education committee made a 10-5 decision to recommend Edwards for the union's endorsement. However, Woodill points out that the decision to choose Edwards was partly based on a poll of only 24 union members across the state. The poli-ed committee also considered whether a candidate had spoken at the national convention, participated in SEIU's Walk a Day in My Shoes program, and if they had put forward a substantive proposal for universal health care.

All three candidates had lobbied intensively for the committee's vote, which included a phone call from former President Clinton to the members of the board right before they took a vote. The phone call from Clinton had followed a personal appearance by Obama, who had been filing for the presidency in New Hampshire that day, and a last-minute phone call from Edwards, who had also previously met with the board.
 
When the poli-education committee passed on their recommendation to Board of Directors the next evening, however, Obama had actually walked away with the nomination. The members of the board had voted 7-5 to endorse Obama, but through a quirk in the process, none of the board members present chose to make a formal motion to give the nomination to him.
 
Instead, they adjourned, though SEIU's president Gary Smith said he would call the Obama campaign to tell them they had won the endorsement last Tuesday night. But Obama was going to be out of luck.
 
When the board met again on Friday night, the chair of the executive board proposed holding another endorsement vote, which Woodrill attempted to override.  He says that holding another vote was in violation of one of the union's rules: "Roger's Rule 36," which says that all votes the board takes are binding.  
 
Instead, the assembled board members disregarded the earlier vote for Obama and went ahead with a motion to make a decision on who the union should endorse after they had taken a straw poll at the state convention in Nashua, N.H., over the weekend.
 
Ironically, at the convention, a majority of the members present chose not to endorse any candidate. Edwards won the straw poll 23-19 over Obama. However, 50 members voted not to endorse any candidate, either Republican or Democrat.
 
When the board met last night, Woodill's dissenting voice was not present, and Edwards squeaked to a victory.
 
Woodill says both he and the state and county employees that he represents have been angered by the process and are questioning why they should have to vote for a candidate that the union is endorsing when the process has been so convoluted.
 
Calling himself a union man through and through, Woodill says that the union at-large will "find itself eating crow," because the candidate they don't want, Hillary Clinton, will end up becoming the Democratic nominee.
 
While New Hampshire's SEA is known to be politically effective, who the state's union endorses, or chooses not to endorse, impacts whether other state SEIU chapters can send workers and resources into New Hampshire to campaign for rival candidates. Under current rules, only states that have also endorsed Edwards can now send volunteers and resources into New Hampshire.  
 
Edwards has received 12 SEIU endorsements after the international union under President Andy Stern decided not to endorse a candidate in the primaries.  Obama has received the endorsements of five state chapters. Clinton has yet to receive one.

From NBC's Andy Merten and Domenico Montanaro
Keeping with the boxing analogies surrounding last night's Democratic debate, AFSCME members presented Clinton with a pair of boxing gloves -- as well as their official endorsement -- today in Washington.

Later, asked by NBC News if she felt she was ganged up on in Philadelphia last night, she laughed and said, "Well, I got my boxing gloves. I'm ready; I'll go 10 rounds."

The Obama campaign called AFSCME's endorsement of Clinton "no surprise" because of Bill Clinton's relationship with AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, who endorsed Bill in 1992.

See Howard Fineman's piece on the Clinton connection from Oct. 23.

Here's the Obama campaign's statement: "We understand that Gerry McEntee and Bill Clinton have a long and close relationship so the push for a Clinton endorsement is no surprise. It is a bit surprising that the union probably most concerned with state and local election results would support the candidate with the likeliest least appeal in red states. When Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee, he will not only win the presidency but his appeal to Republicans and Independents will lift down ballot candidates all across the country," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.  "Illinois AFSCME endorsed Obama in his Senate primary in 2004 and in this campaign we are thrilled by the meaningful support we have from AFSCME members across the country. When he's in the White House, Obama will strongly advocate for the rights of AFSCME members and working men and women all over the country."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
McCain is up with a new 30-second TV ad in New Hampshire touting his record on stopping "wasteful spending" in Congress.

McCain is also trying in this ad to show "He's Baack" as he likes to say in New Hampshire. The ad flashes the faces of Clinton, Edwards, Giuliani and Romney when an announcer says, "All the candidates for president say they'll stop wasteful spending. One man has actually done it." This seems an attempt to wedge himself back in among the top tier.

Here's the full transcript for "Guts":
ANNCR: When special interests and bureaucrats conspired to spend 30 billion of your tax dollars on a defense contract boondoggle, everyone looked the other way. Everyone except one man. One man has the experience to know it was wrong and the courage to stop it. Corruption exposed. Billions saved. Wrongdoers jailed.

All the candidates for president say they'll stop wasteful spending.
One man has actually done it.

MCCAIN: I'll stop wasteful spending by Congress. Restore trust in government.
I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

From NBC/NJ's Erin McPike
Romney has been upping the ante recently against his top rivals on immigration policy this morning, outlining on Laura Ingraham's show his differences with Giuliani and Thompson on the issue.

After his recent focus on fiscal issues, having spent the majority of October touting his record on taxes and spending, Romney's recent criticisms of his rivals -- including Giuliani, Thompson, McCain and Huckabee -- have centered on their records on illegal immigration.

Speaking to Ingraham this morning, Romney reiterated his accusation that Giuliani turned the Big Apple into a "sanctuary city" while serving as mayor. He also was asked to draw out his distinctions with Thompson, who has been using much the same language about the issue on the trail recently.

Romney suggested that while it's "fine" that Thompson has adopted a similar position, he was wrong to misconstrue the former governor's stance. Romney explained that he never supported Bush's plan for comprehensive immigration reform, and he has made clear that the topic is a key area where he opposes the president. He was an aggressor in stating that he campaigned on securing the borders in his failed Senate run in 1994, but Thompson, who was elected that year, doesn't have a strong record on the issue. He directed Ingraham to his own record later as governor.

Romney has also gone on the offensive recently against both Huckabee and McCain over immigration. Asked last Thursday how he would work with an "out of touch" Democratic Congress in accomplishing what the public really wants, he pointed to the comprehensive immigration legislation that McCain championed and the public outcry that in effect helped defeat the bill as a way to show the senator was wrong on the matter.

On the stump in Iowa the next day, he inserted his own record as governor in opposing in-state tuition breaks to contrast with Huckabee's support for the same measure as governor of Arkansas, telling the audience that Huckabee was wrong, and that's a major difference between the two.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum and Elissa Davis
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- At the Families USA and Federation of American Hospitals Forum on Healthcare, McCain called for competition in the private sector to bring the cost of healthcare down. The Arizona Senator also said employers would still write off health insurance costs as a tax write-up and the same amount would be applied to the employees as a tax. However, individual employees would receive a $2,500 tax credit and families would receive a $5,000 tax credit.
 

The reason for this, McCain said, is akin to one of Ronald Reagan's statements, "Nobody ever washed a rental car." According to McCain, when people simply get health insurance from their employers for free, their sense of responsibility is low. With the tax credit system, McCain said people would view the credit as their own money and make more responsible choices in picking their own plans.  
 
According to McCain's economic advisor Dan Crippen, by having a tax credit and not tax exclusion, people in the lower tax brackets would benefit greatly. He said a low income tax bracket family would end up paying $1,500 in taxes and keep the remainder of the $5,000 tax credit. People in a middle income tax credit would have their taxes offset by this tax credit. However, he added that if an employee gets more than $15,000 dollars in health insurance from his or her employer and is in the top tax bracket, he or she might have to pay some additional taxes.
 
McCain urged people to take care of those who need help. "We are a Judeo-Christian valued nation that says we have to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves," McCain said.

Although he calls for competition in the regular health-care market, he is still a fan of Medicaid. "As much as free marketer as I am," he said, "I want to make sure we preserve that safety net. We owe that to our seniors."

McCain also talked about informing the "young people," about the lack of funds for Medicare and Social Security. But the Arizona Senator said he would not mandate Americans to purchase health-care insurance. (On the Democratic side, Biden said the same thing last week). Instead, he called for everyone to have access to affordable health care. "I'm not going to force Americans to do it," McCain said. "I don't think that is the role of government. If we bring down the costs, … I think more and more Americans will take advantage of it."
 
McCain said the majority of people without health care are not necessarily without the lack of funds. "The majority of Americans who have no health insurance today are healthy Americans who choose not to," he said.
 
McCain also took a swipe at Clinton's healthcare plan, calling it "a movement toward government-run."

"To say nothing's going to change because we're going to give you a series of choices but every American is going to have health insurance," McCain said. "I think that certainly there will be change."

From NBC/National Journal's Matthew E. Berger
BLAUVELT, N.Y. -- Giuliani said Clinton "did something extraordinary in American politics" by taking both sides of the issue of New York drivers licenses for illegal immigrants at Tuesday's debate.
 
"She did the worst attack on herself," he said outside a diner at a hastily called press conference. "She did the one thing in a debate you never want to do."
 

Giuliani also defended his own record after being criticized by Biden. Giuliani questioned who had written Biden's comments that Giuliani was not qualified to be president and that every sentence he utters has "a noun and a verb and 9/11."
 
"Did he read that?" Giuliani said when asked by a diner. "I think somebody wrote that for him. Remember Joe doesn't write his own material."
 
He went on to reiterate his qualification, including his executive experience.
 
"I think my qualifications speak for themselves," Giuliani said. "I'd like to know what city, what state, what government or what business any of those people ran. They haven't, and it isn't the time to get on the job training."
 
Giuliani said he was pleased with the amount of attention the Democratic candidates paid to him at the debate.
 
More Giuliani excerpts on last night: "They clearly are worried about running against me," he said. "And I got out of it without making a mistake." …

"The reality is I am running on my entire record. Joe doesn't have a record like that to run on. He's never run anything. Neither has Hillary, neither has Barack, neither has John Edwards." …
 
"I was very pleased with the position I had in the debate last night. I was mentioned more often in that debate than any of the Democrats. I actually am claiming victory in the Democratic debate. I was mentioned more often than the Democrats; they clearly are worried about running against me. They hardly mentioned any of the other Republicans; they mentioned me. And I got out of it without making a mistake. I didn't take two positions on something, and I didn't say I saw an unidentified flying object. I came out of it pretty good."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reports that the New Hampshire SEIU voted 9-8 to endorse Edwards over Obama, "meaning the vote was very contentious and there [are] many angry folks."

*** UPDATE *** From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
An Obama supporter and SEIU member, who learned of the Obama vote, claims Obama won a vote to endorse him on Oct 22. Board members claim that vote was not an endorsement vote and a later vote of the board of directors went to Edwards.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro<

BR>The memo wars go on. The Obama campaign is circulating the following memo, with the title "Turning the Page on Secrecy, Calculation, and Caution." It tags Clinton as a Washington insider who won't answer questions and adds another round to "the politics of hope" tug of war.

"On issues from Social Security to Iran to being open with the America people about her record, Senator Clinton offered more of the same Washington political calculation and evasion that won't bring the change America needs," the memo reads. "The 'politics of hope' doesn't mean hoping you don't have to answer tough questions."

Here's the full memo:

TO:      Interested Parties
FR:       The Obama Campaign
RE:      Turning the Page on Secrecy, Calculation, and Caution
DA:      Wednesday, October 31, 2007
 
At last night's debate, Barack Obama demonstrated the real choice in this race.  On issues from Social Security to Iran to being open with the America people about her record, Senator Clinton offered more of the same Washington political calculation and evasion that won't bring the change America needs. 
 
The "politics of hope" doesn't mean hoping you don't have to answer tough questions.
 
Her performance raised more questions than it answered:
 
· Twelve hours after the debate ended, the American people are still waiting for an answer on Senator Clinton's position on providing illegal immigrants with drivers licenses. She didn't answer the question in the debate and her campaign couldn't answer it afterwards. [http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/10/video_special_clintons_strateg.php]
 
· Clinton Demurred When Asked to Approve the Release of Her Records From the National Archives. When asked whether she would request that the National Archives allow the public to access emails, memorandum, and other communication between her and her husband before 2012, Clinton said, "Well, that's not my decision to make, and I don't believe that any president or first lady ever has.  But, certainly, we're moving as quickly as our circumstances and the processes of the National Archives permits." [Debate, 10/30/07]
 
· Clinton also claimed that all of the records from her health care task force had been released. However, according to Newsweek, "Some key papers from her health-care task force… remain locked away." [Newsweek, 10/29/07]
 
· Clinton Refused to Answer Questions About the Circumstances Under Which She Would Attack Iran, Despite Being Asked Repeatedly; Focused on Diplomacy.  When asked about her plan to deal with the threat posed by Iran, Clinton said, "I am not in favor of this rush for war, but I'm also not in favor of doing nothing...I prefer vigorous diplomacy." Williams then asked her under what circumstances she would consider an attack on Iran justified.  Clinton replied, "Well, first of all, we have to try diplomacy...I believe we should be engaged in diplomacy right now with the Iranians."  After Williams pointed out that she did not answer the question, Clinton said only, "I want to start diplomacy... [we need] a full court press on the diplomatic front." [Debate, 10/30/07] 
 
· Despite being repeatedly pressed by the moderators, Clinton never cleared up the discrepancy between her public refusal to discuss Social Security and her private discussion with Tod Bowman of Iowa. You can see Bowman's endorsement of Obama by clicking HERE
 
Senator Clinton has clearly decided based on political calculation that her campaign strategy is to tell the American people as little as possible, avoid the difficult issues, and try to blur as many differences as possible. After last night's debate, the choice is clear: Barack Obama is the kind of leader that will bring change we can believe in, stand up to the special interests, unite the country, and tell the American people not just what they want to hear, but what they need to know about the challenges we face. This is what the voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and the other early states are seeing every day. It is why Iowa is now a dead heat between Senators Obama and Clinton and why Obama is strengthening his position in New Hampshire.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
Less than 10 hours after last night's MSNBC debate, Clinton joined First Lady Laura Bush and other leaders to discuss bipartisan legislation to ensure the continuation of historic preservation.

As First Lady, Clinton served as the founding chair of Save America Treasures. When the administration changed, First Lady Laura Bush continued the program while also creating Preserve America. Now, both the House and the Senate are working to turn the executive orders into permanent legislation. Clinton said the effort "represents the very best Washington can achieve."

Sen. Pete Domenici was optimistic, saying the bill will go through congress "rather quickly" and challenged the House to a race. Rep. Turner agreed to the race and said if the Senate beat the House, "That would be historic."

Although Clinton made no mention of the debate, co-sponsor Domenici did discuss it. "I watched the debate last night, and I wasn't sure you were going to get here today," the New Mexico Senator said to Clinton, eliciting laughter from the audience. "Because it was all about you, and you were teriffic."

Clinton later responded to the quick turn around. "It may have been a little difficult for me to get here," she said, "but I wouldn't have missed it. I look forward to passing the legislation, getting it to the President's desk, and passing it into law."

From NBC's Libby Leist
Secretary Condoleezza Rice said goodbye to Karen Hughes this morning at the State Department, ending Hughes' two-and-a-half years in charge of America's public diplomacy. Hughes will officially be off the job in mid-December.

While Hughes' record as head of public diplomacy is very mixed -- her aides insist this decision is not about any disagreement with Rice or the White House -- rather Hughes wants to return to her husband and her family, who she has been regularly commuting to see in Texas. Rice and Hughes are very close, and Hughes still advises Bush, aides say.

Rice told the assembled State Department staff that Hughes carried out her public diplomacy work in "spectacular fashion." She listed her efforts toward Muslim outreach and other public diplomacy programs like a rapid response unit to counter negative stories about America and setting up regional media hubs around the world that deployed Foreign Service officers into local communities, as successes.

Hughes called Rice "a great friend" and "a great role model," and she said, "I feel that I've done what Secretary Rice and President Bush asked me to do by transforming public diplomacy and making it a national security priority central to everything we do in government."

Hughes has remained largely behind the scenes after her first high-profile inaugural trip to the Middle East in 2005, dubbed as a "listening tour." With 16 reporters in tow, Hughes was caught off guard at nearly every city stop. She was attacked about the Iraq war by Turkish women leaders; she caused controversy in Saudi Arabia by saying women should have the right to drive and "fully participate in society;" and she was shaky in press briefings about Middle East issues.

Since then Hughes has worked to institutionalize public diplomacy programs in the government, more so than serving as America's face to the Muslim world.

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Speaking at the Grocery Manufacturers Association meeting in Washington, the first president to do so since Eisenhower, President Bush joked about Cheney and Halloween.

The president told the audience that he spoke to the vice president today and "asked him what costume he was planning? He said, "I am already wearing it. He mumbled something about the dark side of the force."

Cheney used the Darth Vader line on himself in a speech on Oct. 21. at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Lansdowne, Va.

"In fact, most of you knew me long before anyone called me, Darth Vader," he said to laughter. "I've been asked if that nickname bothers me, and the answer is, no. After all, Darth Vader is one of the nicer things I've been called recently."

From NBC's Dave Forman
An AFSCME spokesperson told the NBC News Washington Desk that its board is meeting this morning in Washington, and it will hold a 1:30pm news conference at the Capital Hilton to announce its endorsement. The person receiving the endorsement will be there.

Could it be Clinton?

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
NBC News has learned former Gov. Ed Schafer of North Dakota will be the president's nominee for Secretary of Agriculture.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Julia Steers

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- In the first question of the night, with all eyes on him especially after his recent New York Times interview, Obama had the, well, audacity to compare himself to Philly's own Rocky Balboa. But then in Round 1, he didn't seem to throw a punch, giving us the impression that he didn't want to fight. We were wrong. Minutes later, Obama, Edwards, and even Dodd duked it out with the front-runner Clinton, producing the liveliest and most contentious Democratic debate so far of the cycle. How did Clinton hold up? She was strong early on, particularly over the issue that many thought would be THE issue last night -- Iran -- but she got weaker as the night went on. The exchange over driver's licenses for illegal immigrants allowed her opponents to drive home a narrative that has begun to develop for Clinton at these debates: that she never actually answers the tough questions. Indeed, after last night, you might find a media more consistently fact-checking her on some specifics, which in turn will lead to a chorus of challengers accusing her of not taking a stand. This will be a critical test for her, and perhaps her final hurdle before the Chattering Class truly scores this primary as a unanimous decision for the front-runner.

*** Hillary gets cut: To stick with the boxing analogy, Clinton was still standing after all the punches were thrown. But she got cut, and everyone watching saw it. As one strategist for a non-frontrunner told First Read last night, this debate could end -- at least for now -- the inevitability storyline the press has been writing, which the strategist believes has fueled her rise in the polls. The best news for Clinton: Due to the debate's late start, many might not have seen the driver's licenses exchange. So far, in fact, that exchange hasn't been replayed that much the day after. But look for that to change, thanks as much to Clinton's primary foes as well as the GOP candidates (minus McCain) who love an opportunity to talk about immigration.

*** Obama and Edwards: As we mentioned above, Obama didn't seem at all interested in mixing it up early on. But then when NBC's Tim Russert asked Clinton about why her First Lady papers in Little Rock aren't available to the public, Obama found his opening and delivered what might have been his best line of the debates. The sky-high expectations put Obama in a difficult situation heading into last night, but despite his slow start, he seemed to meet them (although some pundits today disagree). As for Edwards, he might have provided a more consistent contrast with Clinton than Obama did, which his campaign was gunning for. To our eyes, it was Edwards' best debate to date, making us remember why he was such a successful trial lawyer. If there was a downside to his performance, it might have been that he was too aggressive -- and therefore too negative for the Iowa nice crowd, something the Obama folks are pinning their caucus hopes on.

*** The rest: Once again, Biden had the one-liner of the night (re: Giuliani). If Biden wasn't known as a gaffe machine -- and if he had more money -- he'd be a bigger player in this race. Dodd had perhaps his best debate of the cycle. His back-and-forth with Clinton over the driver's licenses (who knew Dodd would break with Democratic orthodoxy on the issue?)

was probably one of his best moments to date. He also got to talk issues he's made key to his campaign, like global warming. That said, he still talks WAY too much about legislation he sponsored, rather than about solutions he's proposing. Richardson did well on a few questions, but it was interesting that Biden singled him out -- as his campaign has done in recent press releases -- which tells us someone is truly playing for that close 4th place in Iowa.

*** Close encounters with Dennis: Speaking of having better nights, how about 'ol Dennis Kucinich?  He did a great job answering the UFO question (in which he confirmed he spotted an unidentified flying object), and the guy is a machine when it comes to staying on message. The bad news for Dennis: The UFO question is turning into the punchline highlight of the night, which may, at least, up his Q rating and get him a booking on Art Bell's out of this world late-night radio show.

*** One final debate thought: Consider that Clinton's primary rivals were much tougher on her viability arguments than Giuliani's primary foes have been at their debates. Will that change?

*** Trick or treat: On this Halloween Day, the Edwards family goes door-to-door in New Hampshire -- not campaigning, but trick-or-treating. The buzz is that the Obama family, in Chicago, also will be trick-or treating. What will their costumes will be? (Obama said at last night's debate that he'd be wearing a Romney mask, with two sides to it.) The Dodd campaign, in a press release yesterday, issued suggestion: white hair, a Constitution, and "a passion for service."
 
*** On the trail: Elsewhere today, Edwards -- unmasked -- holds two town halls in New Hampshire; Giuliani also stumps in the Granite State; Huckabee is all over FOX, appearing on five shows, including O'Reilly and Hannity; McCain speaks at the Kaiser Family Foundation's health-care forum in DC, then raises money in Virginia and New York City; and Thompson fundraises in California.

Countdown to Election Day 2007: 6 days
Countdown to Iowa: 64 days
Countdown to New Hampshire: 69 days
Countdown to Michigan: 76 days
Countdown to SC GOP primary: 80 days
Countdown to Florida: 90 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 97 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 370 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 447 days

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Early and often, on Iraq, Iran and electability, Hillary Rodham Clinton was sharply criticized by her rivals during a Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night at Drexel University. This encounter was much the candidates' most contentious of the year, with the front-runner taking repeated verbal shots, particularly from Barack Obama and John Edwards." 

The AP puts it this way: "In the City of Brotherly Love, there wasn't much for a sister.  Hillary Rodham Clinton's rivals ganged up on her during a two-hour Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night, putting the front-runner on defense on issues ranging from Iraq and Iran to Social Security and whether she would be electable in the general election."

The New York Times adds that "for all the attention Mr. Obama drew to himself coming into the debate, he was frequently overshadowed by former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who - speaking more intensely - repeatedly challenged Mrs. Clinton's credentials and credibility, and frequently seemed to make the case against Mrs. Clinton that Mr. Obama had promised to make."

More: "Mrs. Clinton smiled far less frequently than she had in earlier debates, often looking grim as she turned her head from Mr. Edwards to her right to Mr. Obama on her left. 'I need to rebut that,' she said at one point. 'I don't know where to start.'" 
 
USA Today: "Clinton remained unrattled until the end, when she refused to be nailed down on whether she backs New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal to provide driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Gov. Bill Richardson, jumped to her defense, protesting 'this holier-than-thou attitude towards Sen. Clinton' as 'close to a personal attack.'"

The New York Daily News leads with Clinton's stance on the driver's license controversy. Clinton "got knocked off-balance trying to defend Gov. Spitzer's much-criticized plan on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants -- without actually endorsing it." The paper called it "the sharpest-edged debate of the primary campaign." More: "Pressed by moderator Tim Russert on whether she supported Spitzer's plan or not, Clinton got irritated -- and exasperated." 
 
The New York Post takes the same tack with the headline: "Hill trips over Spitz debate."

Here's the transcript.

If language tells the story of the debate, then it's clear the Clinton campaign doesn't believe it won, since it is only trying to spin that "she survived." You don't say that if you think you actually won. Meanwhile, the Edwards and Dodd camps seemed the most fired up post-debate while the Obama folks feel good (though not great, since they know they did meet their own overhyped early expectations).

The Des Moines Register's Yepsen scored the debate for Edwards. "Edwards came ready for the scrap and he helped his candidacy. His effort has sagged in recent polls and his tough, pointed challenges of Clinton will give his campaign a needed psychological boost at a crucial juncture. By contrast, Barack Obama seemed disjointed, unable to give good sound bites and so didn't help himself."

Early this morning, the Obama campaign issued an email -- and YouTube video -- to reporters with pollster Frank Luntz (R) proclaiming Obama as the winner of his focus group last night. Luntz later told First Read that "Obama's attacks are considered legitimate. Not Edwards. There is a huge difference in style. Huge. Hillary has disappointed. Her only really positive lines have been in attacking bush overtly. They did not like her illegal immigration answer." (One thing to keep in mind about focus groups, they don't like negative ads either, but that doesn't mean negative ads don't work so Edwards tougher stances may work, the question is will the attacks work for Edwards or for Obama?)

The Politico's Roger Simon says Clinton had a bad night. "… Clinton gave the worst performance of her entire campaign. It was not just that her answer about whether illegal immigrants should be issued drivers' licenses was at best incomprehensible and at worst misleading. It was that for two hours she dodged and weaved, parsed and stonewalled."

More: "And when it was over, both the Barack Obama and John Edwards campaigns signaled that in the weeks ahead they intend to hammer home a simple message: Hillary Clinton does not say what she means or mean what she says. And she gave them plenty of ammunition Tuesday night."

That said, The Los Angeles Times' lead seemed to score the debate for Clinton: "Trailing in national polls and with supporters growing restless, Barack Obama challenged Hillary Rodham Clinton's electability and candor in a spirited Tuesday night debate. But he failed to rattle the front-runner or do much, it seemed, to shake up the Democratic race."

Clinton received feint praise from sometimes-nemesis Maureen Dowd: "Few are concerned that Hillary is strong enough for the job. She is cold-eyed about wanting power and raising money and turning everything about her life into a commodity. Yet, the characteristics that are somewhat troubling are the same ones that convincingly show she will do what it takes to beat Obama and Rudy. She will not be soft or vulnerable. She will not melt in a crisis. And, unlike Obama, she doesn't need to talk herself into manning up. Obama whiffed in the debate last night when Brian Williams and Tim Russert teed up the first question for him to take on Hillary - something the debate dominatrix never would have done."

The Politico's Smith notes that Clinton "wears GOP hate as badge of honor."

Real Clear's Wilson: Edwards "stole much of the show."

The New York Post's Charles Hurt writes, "The heavyweight champion of the Democratic Party escaped lightly bruised but unbloodied in last night's debate in the City of Brotherly Love." He adds that Edwards made the "strongest case" against her but ultimately, "She tied herself up in knots - in a way her opponents couldn't - with her non-answer about whether she favors giving driver's license to illegal aliens."

Per NBC/National Journal's Aswini Anburajan, here's Obama strategist David Axelrod responding to questions that Obama was too soft: "Let me make something clear. He didn't come here to attack anybody. He came here to talk about leadership, for the future of leadership, for change is and what that would be. And, yes, there are contrasts to be drawn and he drew them. But, yes, I know it's the fascination of the news media to see a steel cage match. That was not his goal."

And he even acknowledged that Edwards had a good night, an opinion shared with many in the Chattering Class. "Well, I think people are going to have to make a decision on who represents, uh what the most authentic change. I think Senator Edwards did a good job tonight, but I think people ugh have to look at what is the history over a period of time. When Barack Obama talks about lobbyists he talks about it as someone who has passed  significant legislation. I'm not aware of what Senator Edwards did on this issue."

Clinton strategist Ann Lewis said, per NBC/NJ's Athena Jones: "I think anyone watching this debate would have seen six candidates spend a lot of their time attacking Hillary Clinton." More: "She, in turn, was using her time to talk about what she was for, to talk about her differences with George Bush, to talk about how we had to go in a different direction, so I think she was talking to people about what was on their minds. I would have to say as a matter of strategy when you have so many candidates out there swinging at her, some of whom had advertised for several days that they were really going to go after her. Well, they took their best hits and missed. Nobody connected."

Politico's Allen quotes a Clinton official: "The other campaigns came in needing to take us down - they failed."

Just asking: Does a campaign that believes it WON a debate spin this way?

Finally, keep this in mind as you see the press and opponents pounce on Clinton for her non-position on drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants. Obama gave a similar answer as Clinton.

Obama: "Well, I was confused on Senator Clinton's answer. I can't tell whether she was for it or against it, and I do think that is important. You know, one of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face." Pressed to answer whether he was for/against the Eliot Spitzer proposal: "I think that it is a -- the right idea. And I disagree with Chris, because there is a public safety concern. We can make sure that drivers who are illegal come out of the shadows, that they can be tracked, that they are properly trained, and that will make our roads safer. That doesn't negate the need for us to reform illegal immigration." So Obama pounced on Clinton, but gave a remarkably similar answer.

The Boston Globe's Scott Lehigh writes about the importance of New Hampshire in the GOP race: "From today's vantage point, you can divide the top four Republican contenders into two categories: Those who have to win New Hampshire and those who can survive without a victory here. Put Romney and McCain in the first group, Giuliani and Fred Thompson in the second." 
 

GIULIANI: Is he considering Huckabee for veep if he wins the nomination? "I don't know about running mates, but I sure like having him at the debates, because he makes me laugh. And he has got a nice approach to life. You know, he is a man that is -- he has got a happy approach and he has got an optimistic approach to life. And then I -- you know, I have great respect for him." 
 
On Mukasey, Giuliani reiterated, "No one, not a single person, can find a single reason why Michael Mukasey shouldn't be attorney general -- other than pure, blatant politics."

HUCKABEE: The candidate said he'd be "surprised and disappointed" if Sam Brownback endorsed Giuliani. "Huckabee said he would be surprised because on the issues Brownback was so 'adamant' about during his failed presidential run, namely abortion rights, Brownback and Giuliani are 'at opposite ends of the political spectrum.'"

"Huckabee also refused to say definitively that he would support whoever the eventually GOP nominee is, calling that a hypothetical question. He did say he would have trouble supporting the candidacy of Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) in the unlikely event the insurgent candidate won the nomination."

Meanwhile, Wayne Dumond came up again (expect it more often if Huckabee keeps climbing in the polls), and Huckabee tried to distance himself from the case. "Huckabee said he could not remember all the details of a meeting he had with parole board members during which the case of Wayne DuMond came up. But he asserted, 'I didn't try to, you know, push anybody's buttons on it.'"

MCCAIN: A flip-flopping McCain? So says the Washington Times. "Sen. John McCain has quietly been piling up flip-flops, including ditching his long-held support for the Law of the Sea convention and telling bloggers he now opposes the DREAM Act to legalize illegal alien students. The sea treaty has become the latest litmus test for the 2008 Republican presidential field, and after a decade-long record of public support for it, Mr. McCain has pivoted to bring himself in line with the rest of the candidates."

ROMNEY: The ARG poll out yesterday shows Romney ahead in New Hampshire over Giuliani and McCain, 30%-23%-17%. 
 
Romney, who is largely credited with turning around the Salt Lake City winter Olympics, said he would lobby for the Summer Olympics to go to Chicago in 2016 if he's elected.

CLINTON: Any doubt that the Democratic primary campaign is taking a toll on Clinton's free trade tendencies? She's apparently not decided yet on whether to vote for a free trade agreement with Peru. Obama is for the agreement; Edwards is against.

Clinton's big labor get? AFSCME just sent out a release saying that it will make a "major political announcement" in DC at 1:30 pm ET. Looks like Clinton will pick up the union's endorsement…

Clinton is up in a new New Hampshire poll over Obama and Edwards, 40%-22%-13%.

EDWARDS: The Raleigh News & Observer looks at the Edwards ground game and how he's having to rely more on volunteers than paid staffers.

And we're not talking college football…The Wall Street Journal has a great chart and story tracking presidential campaign spending. "In races past, candidates typically spent most heavily in the early going on the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, then had time to shift resources to larger, later states if the nomination hadn't been sewed up yet. This

campaign season is shaping up differently, especially for Republicans, where two major candidates -- Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson -- are spending their budgets most heavily on Florida. That state's Jan. 29 primary has made it for the first time a potential kingmaker along with Iowa and New Hampshire. Among Republicans, Mitt Romney is also a big spender in Florida.'

"For Democrats, the growing dominance of Hillary Rodham Clinton, challenged by a struggling but well-financed Barack Obama, has led unprecedented millions to be poured into Iowa -- twice as much as into New Hampshire. Iowa's Jan. 3 caucus has taken on greater importance for Democrats than four or eight years ago because it is the single best chance for Mr. Obama and John Edwards to stop Mrs. Clinton."

Just how serious is the condition of the Mukasey nomination? The Los Angeles Times notes, "Mukasey, adopting a middle ground on an issue that has become central to his nomination, said coercive interrogation methods, including a form of simulated drowning, were 'over the line' and  'repugnant.' But he declined to say whether he thought so-called water-boarding was a form of torture that would be illegal in all cases."

"His position, detailed in a letter late Tuesday to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where his nomination to succeed Alberto R. Gonzales has stalled, fell short of assurances sought by some leading Democrats and cast doubt over whether Mukasey would be confirmed."

The New York Times: "Mukasey noted that Congress has not explicitly banned waterboarding by the C.I.A., though it was outlawed for use by the military in the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005. That left room for interpretation as to whether waterboarding or any other technique is prohibited as 'cruel, inhuman or degrading' treatment, he wrote."

"'Legal questions must be answered based solely on the actual facts, circumstances and legal standards presented,' he wrote. In the absence of knowing exactly how specific classified interrogation techniques have been used, Mr. Mukasey continued, he did not want to offer legal opinions on 'hypotheticals.'" 

Bush reacted to the "social spending" in the recent Democratic appropriations bill, which h

From NBC's Chuck Todd
For those looking for a contentious debate, they got their wish. This was easily the fight of the year when it comes to the Democrats. Now, who will win the post-debate spin war?

The Clinton camp has an interesting challenge in the spin room tonight. Both the Edwards and Obama camps are convinced that Clinton was off her game tonight. Was she? Eye of the beholder on this; At times, she seemed on her game but she did "let 'em see her sweat" at other times. Obviously, Edwards and Obama have the same goal tonight, make it seem as if Clinton "lost" this debate. Well, it's not clear who won it if she somehow lost it. I'm not convinced anyone has won, but it does appear that both Obama and Edwards have accomplished what THEY wanted to do tonight and Clinton's camp probably is glad that neither Obama nor Edwards outshined the other. Her best asset right now is the fact this is still a 3-way race.  

As for the rest of the field, Biden, once again, had the one-liner of the night re: Giuliani. If Biden wasn't known as a gaffe machine, he'd be a bigger player in this race, I'm convinced of it. I know that sounds like a back-handed compliment but it's the burden of being Biden.

Dodd had, perhaps, his best debate of the cycle. The ending back-n-forth with Clinton on drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants was probably one of his best moments to date. He also got to talk issues he's made key to his campaign, like global warming. He still talks WAY too much about legislation he sponsored rather than talking about solutions he's proposing. The public has such a low approval rating for Congress than I'm guessing they tune out. Richardson did well on a few questions but it's interesting that Biden singled him out tonight which tells us someone is truly playing for that close4th place in Iowa.

Speaking of having better nights, how 'bout 'ol Dennis Kucinich.  He did a great job answering the UFO question and the guy is a machine when it comes to staying on message.

More in the morning and later tonight on cable.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
Total questions during the debate, including follow up questions:

Clinton - 21
Obama - 17
Edwards - 14
Dodd - 9
Kucinich - 8
Biden - 7
Richardson - 6

These
counts include three "down the line" questions that all of the candidates
answered and questions not directed at a that specific candidate but he
or she jumped in to respond as well.

From NBC/NJ's Erin McPike
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden responds on the debate, "If this debate was being judged on obviously scripted, weak one-liners that fizzled upon delivery, then Senator Obama had a great debate.

"Governor Romney misspoke when he mixed up the senator's name with a
similar sounding one.  We made that clear and we moved on."