Clinton Might Have the Edge in Tonight’s Super-Important Debate

Obama defers to the orb of energy on his right.Photo Illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Getty Images
• Rich Lowry asserts that Obama is fearmongering on NAFTA, telling people what they want to hear. [National Review]
• Christopher Beam proposes a truce on NAFTA, since both Obama and Clinton are actually ambivalent on the issue. [Trailhead/Slate]
• Jonathan Martin finds it curious that Obama failed to mention Clinton when discussing NAFTA in a speech yesterday in Ohio. [Politico]
• Andrew Leonard concludes that Obama’s anti-NAFTA rhetoric shows him transitioning into politics as usual. [Salon]
• Aswini Anburajan and company report an ironic twist in the NAFTA tit for tat, as Ohio union representatives claim Clinton’s NAFTA mailer on Obama is dishonest. [First Read/MSNBC]
• Jonathan Cohn publishes a letter, signed by health-care experts, blasting Obama’s characterization of Clinton’s plan, and agrees that Obama’s critiques aren’t very accurate. [Plank/New Republic]
• Ezra Klein thinks Obama needs to “cut it out with these damn mailers,” which he calls reprehensible and misleading. [American Prospect]
• John Dickerson, in a piece on the tendency of politicians to take excessive umbrage this campaign season, said Clinton came off as a little too outraged over Obama’s mailers, though she may have had a legitimate gripe. [Slate]
• Jacob Hacker believes Clinton and Obama are fighting over technical differences on health care, but also finds Obama’s attacks disappointing. [LAT] —Dan Amira
For a complete guide to presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain — from First Love to Most Embarrassing Gaffe — read the 2008 Electopedia.

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