I think all the pundits have missed the boat on this one. I saw Hillary as being strong while under attack AND managed to dodge the questions she didn't want to answer. It looked like they were ganging up on her no doubt about it. She stood her ground and guess what? Professional women who aren't big fans of Hillary are going to appreciate how she stood her ground, something that they have to deal with every day. The ironic thing about Hillary and the seven dwarfs is that Obama, Edwards, and Richardson OWE the Clinton's for them even being where they are today. At least Richardson has the class to respect her enough not to pile on. As a man with lots of professional female friends, I think that debate was won by Hillary and showed the men to be desperate. And when she debates Rudy, he will be sweating and slobbering and calling her names and she will stand their looking PRESIDENTIAL

"Clinton replied that Spitzer is "trying to fill the vacuum left by the failure this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform."

The problem is that Senator Clinton's idea of "comprehensive immigration reform" is pretty much the same as the President's: no matter how lamely disguised--more amnesties. From past comments, this obviously is also Russert's view, and it would be very surprising if were not Edward's. But more and more voters are getting wise to this perpetual immigration con-game played by both parties, now making such people as Clinton, McCain, Spitzer, and their ilk, so deservedly squirm.

Hillary Clinton's answer was very clear to me. I totally agree with the analysis by "Howlless" above.."she doesn't support Spitzer's Legislation, but she sympathizes with what he was going to do".

Williams and most especially, Russert were out to get Clinton last night. Almost all of their questions began with, "Senator Clinton". I wonder what Russert would ever do if his staff didn't prepare everything for him in advance or if he dropped the paper he was reading from? I also wonder what his personal problem is with Senator Clinton. He gets so riled up every time he asks her something that he actually breaks into a sweat and his face becomes beet red....always looking for that "gotcha'" question.

When Rudy defends his order (as NYC Mayor) to the NYC Police force not to arrest undocumented immigrants who reported being the victims of crime, he used the same logic that Hillary did when she explained Governor Spitzer's reasoning for issuing driver's licenses. Rudy said that if an undocumented immigrant does not report a crime, the criminal will not be caught and will commit crimes against citizens. It is therefore better to allow the undocumented immigrant to come out of the shadows.

In the case of the driver's license, the choice is not whether the undocumented immigrants will or will not drive, it is a choice of will they be identifiable after a accident or not. Many people, including citizens drive cars without a license and many without insurance. It is better when people have insurance and a license, not just for the driver, but for the society.

Why the other candidates and the debate's questioners could not understand that Hillary could be able to understand the Governor's reasoning, yet not agree that it was the best policy, seems to me like an inability to see the many facets of a complex issue on their part.

Obama summed up my thoughts when he said that we have been governed by fear for the past six years and Americans will not be governed by fear under his leadership.

Most of our new laws, new policies, new spending has been driven by fear of another terrorist attack. Dick Cheney an the neo-cons have convinced people that Iran will bomb the US with nuclear weapons.

This is absurd! Pakistan has had nuclear bombs for years and that Islamic country has not used the bomb against Israel or any Western nation. Turkey is an Islamic nation that has no desire to attack the US. The current march to attack Islamic extremists is driven by delusional fears of another 9/11 attack by Osama Bin Laden.

If we fear Osama Bin Laden we need to find him and eliminate him, pure and simple. We need to acknowledge that the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and Eygpt--not Iraq, Iran or Palestine.

The real fear that the neo-cons are pushing is the fear that we will not have enough oil.

A solid energy policy, not paid for by the major oil companies, will eliminate the underlying fear that drives foreign policy in the Middle East.

American are waking up to a scary economy as homes on our block go into foreclosure. Investors are scared of a market crash. Parents are scared that their children will get sick and that medical bills will drive them to the poor house. Seniors are afraid that they will out-live thir savings.

The domestic fears are not crippling because there are common sense solutions to these problems. We just need the political will to change game playing in Washington and give the government back to honest, ordinary people.

Having watched Hillary for sometime, this is the first time, this women has faced tough questions from the moderators. Hillary usually gets soft balls tossed at her from the likes of Larry King and Oprah. She looked a little shocked by her opponents attacks.

Please help me, because apparently I'm not as bright as the Washington press corps or Sen. Edwards. What exactly is the contradiction in what Sen. Clinton said last night?

It was very clear what she was saying: she doesn't support Spitzer's legislation, but she sympathizes with what he was trying to do. That's a perfectly rational position. A fifth-grader can understand it. Why can't Tim Russert?

This was not Hillary's finest moment, though her point was that the Spitzer approach is not perfect, and not ideal in her mind, but it made sense given the failure of Congress to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Hillary's inartful answer was her first, and in the scheme of things, minor error in the race for the White House.

The mainstream media loves a fight, and Tim Russert and Brian Williams entering the debate fray against Hillary was a way of trying to give the Obama and Edwards campaign more legs. Look for more mainstream media piling on!

As an objective matter, Edwards won the debate. He is clearly the most articulate, fast on his feet candidate. Joe Biden is a close second. However, Edwards may in the long run prove to be a divisive presence, and his roughing up of Hillary may hurt him in the long run.

Obama was the loser in last night's debate. Clearly not ready to be President.

Hillary Clinton has no idea the harm she is causing America with her pro-illegal alien stance.

Granting drivers licenses to illegal aliens is weakening our election mechanisms!

States that have granted drivers licenses to illegal aliens have opened up a huge can of worms with regards our ability to certify that ONLY CITIZENS vote in our elections.

We will need to have some form of identification that uniquely and securely identifies us as CITIZENS!

Illegal aliens have already demonstrated that they are will to make false statements and offer false documents to obtain employment and access to entitlement programs.

Contact your local board of elections. Ask them how they will detect voter fraud due to illegal aliens attempting to vote.

The following states grant drivers licenses to ILLEGAL ALIENS. These licenses can be used as ID to vote!

(1) New Mexico
(2) Maine
(3) Hawaii
(4) Michigan
(5) Oregon
(6) Utah
(7) Washington
(8) Maryland
(9) North Carolina stopped in Aug/2006
(10) Tennessee stopped in May/2007

ILLEGAL ALIENS could be voting in ALL STATES since states honor and exchange drivers licenses without citizenship checks!

Until the press and opposing candidates quit with the flip-flop meme and allow candidates' positions to have nuance and to change as situations and information change, expect more of this kind of answer. I don't fault Clinton for not committing to support Spitzer. How can you? If she says "yes, I support it," and then talks about border security and enforcement later in the campaign, OMG!!!!1!!!1 FLIPFLOP!!!1!! If she says "bad idea," it ends up making New York's roads safer, then she says "OK, looks like that worked," OMG!!!1!!1! FLIPFLOP!!1!1!!!!1!

It is "gotcha" politics at its worst. Poor Mitt Romney is getting the worst of it now, but the rest of the candidates won't be far behind. Pundits need to begin calling out the flip-flop flap for the worthless garbage it is and respect candidates for having nuanced, evolving positions on the issues. Otherwise, expect - and venerate - more dodges like this.

Why will Senator Clinton or any other Senator in either party have a hard time winning the national election? She summed it up in her answer "We have failed, George Bush has failed." The only "We" I would imagine she is talking about is the U.S. Congress. Democrats need to face up, Americans don't like electing Senators or Congressmen to the White House. The last time it happened was in 1960. Americans like outsiders - thats why Senator Clinton's husband won in 1992 - he was a governor. Four out of the last Five Presidents were Governors. If thats not bad enough, on the Democratic side - the Northeastern Senators Clinton and Dodd don't stand a chance of winning a Southern or Western State. The election won't be won by the number of votes, remember for President a candidate must win states which in turn gives the candidate electoral votes. I'm not so sure Edwards would even play well in the South as he has made poverty his theme which sounds much more like a Northerner talking. If things continue as they are in in the Democratic party I predict another four years of Republicans in the White House.