The Great Debate

By Alanna Jones and Mike Jeffers

AUSTIN – As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prepared to do battle in their 19th campaign debate on the University of Texas campus on Feb. 21, two rival groups gathered in front of the Recreation Sports Center, chanting for their favorite candidate in what might have been mistaken for a football pep rally.

On the Obama side, a marching band riffled through its repertoire of fight songs while cheerleaders from Austin’s Reagan High School tried a dance routine to fire up the crowd. Clinton supporters added to the rowdy cacophony by waving banners and honking car horns.

The enthusiasm proved infectious. Even though the debate began on a cordial note with the candidates agreeing on most issues, it spiced up midway when the crowd booed Clinton for accusing Obama of plagiarism, referring to a speech he made that closely echoed one given by Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. The candidates also sparred a bit and distinguished themselves on major issues such as healthcare.

In the end, the Austin debate was the second-most watched debate of all time, according to CNN estimates, and the energy behind the event helped set the tone for the final days of a historic primary fight.

“It was not of any substantive importance but of terrific emotional importance,” said Paul Burka, an editor and political columnist for Texas Monthly, of the debate. “It energized [people] tremendously.”

Burka added that the debate was the first time Texas Democrats felt engaged and involved in the political process since Ann Richards left office. Two weeks after the debate, the excitement surrounding the election in this state is still palpable.

“I do think that many more watched the debate due to all the media hype and have taken a more active participation in it because it was in Austin,” said Reva Gartzke, an Austin-based precinct captain for the Obama campaign. “The early voting has exceeded expectations so Ipredict a huge democratic turnout on March 4,” she said.

Almost 700,000 voters have already cast ballots for the Democratic candidates in this year’s primary, already three times more than votes cast for both parties in the same period in 2004, according to the Texas secretary of state.

It’s still too close to predict who will become the Democratic presidential nominee, but most experts can agree that the numbers of votes cast for Clinton and Obama will be figures the state hasn’t seen in a long time. The debate may not have helped every voter decide which candidate to vote for, but at the very least it made voters that much more excited to know their votes will actually matter.