Well, that was abysmal.

You need a microscope to measure the policy differences with this crowd, so it may turn out that the most important measuring sticks are presence, charisma and personality.

Obama remains likeable (not quite as good as his usual speech-mode). I’d crown him the winner, or at least the one who I think the Democrats watching liked the most.

I thought it was a not-that-great performance by Hillary tonight. She sounded like a whiner complaining about the hypothetical questions. She certainly seemed on top of the issues, and interestingly, she was left on the sidelines when Edwards and Obama went at it on Iraq early on. She seemed eager to turn the guns on Republicans, and while the audience seemed okay with it, it seems a bit early. She’s acting like she’s closed the deal, and while she’s the frontrunner, I’m not sure if she’s not moving a little early on Republican-bashing…

Edwards seemed a little more pugnacious, but I don’t know if it was enough to move the numbers. He went after Obama on the appropriations vote, and paid for it when Obama hit him on voting for the war. A perfectly okay performance by his standards, but I’m not sure he did what he needed to do, which is persuade a majority of Democrats that he’s a better choice than Hillary.

I like Biden. I realize this dooms him. Passionate, demonstrating at least some thought, a bit impatient with the looney-tunes sideshow candidates. Great to watch, but I don’t think Democratic primary voters like it.

Richardson continues to be the Ryan Leaf of this election. Meandering answers, can’t seem to focus, has yet to look comfortable. It’s kind of hard to believe he has the resume he does with the public speaking skills he’s shown.

Chris Dodd? You’re taking up space.

Kucinich may have struck a new low when he told the wife of an Army soldier in Iraq about how he would form the Department of Peace, and then cut the defense budget 25 percent. I’m sure she found that reassuring.

It seems someone checked Mike Gravel’s medication for violent reactions, and he seemed a bit calmer tonight. He’s still the odd guy who tells you to get off his lawn with a shotgun, who writes letters to the editor twice a day, and the grumpy old man whose yard is considered “off-limits” when you hit your ball over his fence.