A Matter of Perception

I missed the debates last night, so I don't know what's going on. Did they have two different Democratic debates? They must have.

This is the debate according to the NY Times. In a story titled, "At Debate, Two Rivals Go After Defiant Clinton," with a picture showing Hillary off to the side by herself and the guys all huddled together, they opened with...

MANCHESTER, N.H. — It was as if they sensed vulnerability.

Senator Barack Obama and John Edwards went after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as never before in a televised debate here on Saturday night. With Mr. Obama hoping that a victory in New Hampshire, following his first-place finish in Iowa, would make him difficult to beat in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination — and with Mr. Edwards looking to defeat Mrs. Clinton in a second straight contest — they entered an alliance of convenience.

In an exchange that summed up the basic story line of the contest, they cast her as a candidate of the status quo who would fail to deliver the changes in government that many Democratic voters demand.

With the New Hampshire primary two days away, Mrs. Clinton found her courage, likability and judgment questioned. But she fought back as she did when she was first lady of Arkansas and of the United States — with defiance and flashes of anger, pursing her lips, stiffening her back and staring intently at her rivals.

When it became clear that Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards, sitting side by side across from her, were teaming up, Mrs. Clinton sat up and pulled her coat tight as if preparing for battle.

The Washington Post reported it differently. Their article is titled "Underdog Clinton Goes After Obama." Their lead sounds like a totally different debate...

MANCHESTER, N.H., Jan. 5 -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton tried repeatedly to knock Sen. Barack Obama off his footing during a high-stakes debate here on Saturday night -- criticizing his health-care proposal and questioning his ability to bring about change and actually serve as president.

"Words are not action," she said, seeking to draw a distinction between the inspirational rhetoric that catapulted Obama into victory in the Iowa caucuses and what she said was her own long record of being an effective agent of change.

The debate came three days before a pivotal primary here, one that will set the course for the rest of the Democratic nomination battle. Obama's victory in Iowa put Clinton on the defensive and rattled her advisers, who know that a second loss on Tuesday could cripple her campaign. A pair of new polls showed the two front-runners even in New Hampshire, and one of them indicated that women are no longer breaking in favor of Clinton but are now divided between her and Obama.

In comparison with some past debates, Saturday's session produced a role reversal, with Clinton playing the scrappy underdog.

Obama repeatedly fired back at the senator from New York and found an aggressive ally in former senator John Edwards (N.C.), who portrayed Clinton as the "status quo" and himself and Obama as the two candidates promoting real change agendas, albeit with very different styles.

I guess it's all a matter of perception. While both stories talk about the men clashing with the woman, the Times makes it sound a whole lot more conspiratorial.

Which debate did you see?

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