The Great Media Pile-On

"But this is a multi-candidate race. Where Obama was unfocused and ineffectual, John Edwards landed plenty of blows."

But how did the ganging up look to the television audience? Not great, as American Prospect's Garance Franke-Ruta sees it:

"It makes her look brave for just standing there, this small determined woman being attacked by three men on either side of her, two male moderators, and the entire male Republican field. Each of the critics on his own would be more effective, but taken as whole, the optics of this are uncomfortable."

Shades of Rick Lazio.

Some conservatives are savoring the moment. Captain Ed:

"The result left her looking shifty, pandering, and unsure of herself. It also brought out her public personality problems -- showing her to be cranky and rather unlikable when on stage. Worse yet, it made her look indecisive, a quality no voter wants in a President, and the same quality that made Kerry such a lousy candidate . . .

"The immigration answer will serve as the centerpiece for the Republican campaign against Hillary, assuming she wins the nomination. It will get as much play as the $87 billion mistake Kerry made, and not just for the flip-flop record Hillary set. Spitzer has over two-thirds of New York angry over the drivers-license policy. How does Hillary think that will play throughout the rest of the nation?"

Michelle Malkin: "Ooh boy, I bet she was cursing Spitzer to high heaven. If not for that dunder-headed, back-firing New York state pander to the open-borders lobby, she would not likely have been pressed on this issue. She would have never stumbled. The cool-as-a-cucumber mask would have never slipped off. Watch it. It's gold.

"Gotta give kudos to Tim Russert (and Brian Williams, for that matter). They made this debate worthwhile (and that includes the UFO question)."

To Dick Polman, the senator remains largely unscathed:

"For two hours she stood there with a semi-civil smile nailed to her face, her shoulders squared, her head held high, swiveling left and right to look her accusers in the eye - taking it like a man, as it were - and listening to critiques of her character that essentially boiled down to this: Hillary Clinton is dishonest, reckless, polarizing, integrity-challenged, and unelectable . . .

"Will all this intramural Hillary-bashing slow her march in the end? Edwards has been hammering Hillary in this manner for many months, yet the strategy hasn't moved the needle on his candidacy. If anything, her lead in the Democratic polls has widened. She remains highly popular with the Democratic base, and it's quite likely that the base will not warm to any rivals who critique her character in ways that might benefit the message-crafters on the Republican side. Loyalty to Hillary may be her strongest trump card, even though she persists in giving evasive or multiple answers on a range of topics (for instance, on how she'd save Social Security), while stonewalling on others (would she favor opening up her First Lady papers to public scrutiny? 'That's not my decision to make,' she replied)."