Hillary Clinton Could Become Bigger Favorite Among OddsmakersFollowing what many are saying was a brilliant comeback for the former First Lady at Thursday night's Democratic US Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, oddsmakers are expected to make Hillary Clinton an even bigger favorite than her present 1/3 odds. Right now one would bet $3 to win $1 (plus receive the initial $3 bet back should she become the next US President). See Betting Odds Here
The pundits and her opponents have been playing up the argument that there are chinks in Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D. - NY) armor, alternately claiming she's slippery, she's playing the gender card and she's flip-flopping. Clinton forcefully addressed those issues Thursday night, and came away the clear winner of the debate, writes John Fout of TheStreet.com.
After appearing dazed and confused under an onslaught of attacks during the Democratic presidential debate on Oct. 30 in Philadelphia, the front-runner in the national polls was much sharper Thursday night in Las Vegas.
As one CNN guest analyst put it following the Debate: "Hillary Clinton swatted John Edwards like a fly".
But it was Junior Illinois Senator Barack Obama who has been making waves in recent weeks. Obama - listed with odds as short as 7/2 - stumbled when asked a question about granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
“I thought it was a good debate,” local Nevada resident Lynn Brosy told The Reno-Gazette Journal. She was hosting a party for a group of Bill Richardson supporters. “All the candidates had a chance to be part of the discussion, so I like that. I think they did less mudslinging.”
Clinton drew laughs from the crowd when she said she was wearing asbestos pants, and when she responded to a question about her “playing the gender card,” against criticism by saying, “They’re not attacking me because I’m a woman. They’re attacking me because I’m ahead.”
Joe Biden seemed to be forging an interesting alliance with Hillary Clinton during Thursday night's debate. He was one of the first to criticize Obama and Edwards for ganging up on the New York Senator and the two frequently referred to one another throughout the debate in a positive manner. At one point, Biden had to reiterate he "was not criticizing Mrs. Clinton" after a comment he made may have suggested otherwise.
Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post political blog, The Fix had this to offer about Biden:
"We can't help it, we like the guy. Biden is regularly the life of these debates -- launching self deprecating one-liners one minute and riffing on how he was introducing legislation before some of the candidates on the stage were even born the next. Biden is at his best when talking foreign policy and he got plenty of opportunities to do that last night. He spoke eloquently about the dangers posed by Iran and scored points on Pakistan by noting that he had spoken to both President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before President Bush had."
Biden seemed to perform much better than Edwards, who Cillizza considered a loser in the Thursday night Democratic Debate:
"For those pushing the idea that Clinton's decision to directly respond to Edwards was a sign that the race is now officially a three-way contest, we say hogwash. Clinton effectively shot Edwards down in their first exchange and when Edwards tried to again go at Clinton later in the debate he was all but booed down by the audience. Make no mistake: Edwards is an able debater who clearly knows what he believes and says it. But, for most of last night's debate it felt as though he were extraneous to the proceedings and when he did get his speaking time he seemed slightly too keyed up for the audience."
File Under: 2008 US Presidential Betting Odds
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
Originally published November 16, 2007 10:38 am ET
