Today at 2 PM EST, I will be liveblogging the Democratic debate. It will be interesting to see if they put the Dems in that same tight format and have the same moderator that almost everyone seemed to hate.

2:00: Here we go. Same moderator.

2:01: No gravel. No Kucinich, by the way.

2:02: I note that she didn't tell them that they weren't talking about the war and immigration.

2:03: Ha! Obama's ratings basically went right off the charts and he really didn't say much of anything. Completely off the charts when he said end the war.

2:05: Richardson is actually giving real substance on the issue and his ratings are so-so.

2:06: Biden -- slash the military, raise taxes, surrender in Iraq and we can spend lots of money AND balance the budget. Does anyone believe this?

2:07: Dodd. We need to grow the economy. True, but...

2:08: Edwards -- we need to take on corporate power and greed! Edwards off the charts.

2:08: Hillary: When my husband was in, the budget was balanced. Flat line.

2:10: Great question that she won't get an answer to: what programs are you willing to tax more for?

2:11: John Edwards -- the rich and the corporations are screwing you! Off the charts (This is on Fox, by the way).

2:12: Hillary. Everyone is standing on a trap door that they might fall through! Because life is so horrible in America! Blah, blah, blah, what we did in the nineties -- Hillary is now essentially taking credit for her husband's entire presidency.

2:13: Joe Biden. Republicans have deliberately built up the deficit. We need to pay for it by slashing defense in a time of war.

2:14: Obama: Tax relief plans for people making less than $75,000 in the name of "fairness". Sounds good, but the reality is that percentage wise, people in the middle class are already not paying very much. How much more can you cut their taxes at this point?

2:15: Richardson, build the military.

2:16: I fell asleep while Dodd was talking because he was so boring. Not sure what he said.

2:18: Richardson. Ban chinese toys and contaminated food. Fix trades issues. They can't continue playing currency games. Can't disagree with his main points.

2:19: The Democrats and Republicans are coming together on China and trade issues.

2:20: Chris Dodd: Good answer on China?

2:21: The Glacier. We need more government in health care to save money! Since when has government intervention ever made anything cheaper?

2:21: Joe Biden: We've got to lift the cap on Social Security -- translation -- I want the biggest tax hike in history.

2:22: These guys really get fluffy when you talk about spending cuts. Prevention. Modernization. More efficiency.

2:22: Obama. People need to become less unhealthy and then our costs will go down.

2:23: Richardson -- health care is a right.

2:24: Barrack Obama statement: Emphasizing change -- stick it to the special interests (except our special interests)

2:25: Edwards: what makes America America is at risk. The corporations are sticking it to you. Good grief. Edwards. We have to leave America better than we left it. Heh.

2:26: Joe Biden: We shouldn't trade with people who don't great human rights and environmental concerns.

2:27: Bill Richardson. International core labor standards for trade. They must have collective bargaining and wages that are comparable. If they actually believed all this stuff, they would put an end to 75% of the trade we do in this country.

2:28: Chris Dodd: Human rights and security are the same interest. Really, no they're not.

2:29: John Edwards -- human rights should be central to our trade policy. Really? Really?

2:30: Hillary -- I want to change NAFTA, not end it. I want to review every trade agreement. I can't disagree with at least that part of it. We don't want to be the trade patsies of the world. I liked that line.

2:31: Obama: NAFTA needs to be amended. I will contact Mexico and make sure they have human rights. Gitmo makes trade harder. That's sort of kooky, but they seem to be eating that up.

2:32: Dodd -- I just passed a bill on Darfur!

2:33: Oh....Joe Biden mentioned his church and his ratings plunged. Liberals hate religion.

2:34: Richardson. We need to talk more about Iraq. It's hard, we need to quit. Do any of these guys ever -- ever talk about victory.

2:35: Moderator -- your energy plans cost a lot.

2:35: Joe Biden: we have to make this a moral crisis and people have to sacrifice, but it will essentially be painless.

2:36: Bill Richardson wants 50 MPG cars. Say bye bye to SUVs, Big trucks, Vans, etc if he ever got that through. I will ask the American people to sacrifice to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

2:37: Chris Dodd -- I want a corporate carbon tax so we can make carbon much more expensive. Higher energy prices -- that's a selling point.

2:38: Hillary -- cap and trade plan. Ugh.

2:39: The Democrats will tell you how lousy everything is and then they will then tell you we need massive new tax increases, enormous government plans, and deliberate increases in energy costs.

2:40: Obama -- wind turbines? Please. Also, we need to pay more for energy. All of these guys want to raise the costs people pay for energy. Funny line about the auto makers.

2:41: Edwards -- we need to ask Americans to be patriotic about moving the country off carbon based fuels. That's phony patriotism. Even Democrats don't believe that crap.

2:42: Hillary -- we want to raise our hands! That's kind of pathetic.

2:44: Agriculture subsidies question that none of these guys even bothered to vote for. A better question would be why didn't you vote.

2:44: Dodd blathered on.

2:44: Obama is scary because he says things that have almost no substance to them and his ratings go off the charts with Democrats.

2:45: Joe Biden -- how do we preserve family farmers -- ehr, we don't?

2:47: I am about to nod off listening to this farm bill crap. Sooooooooooo dull. Hillary is saying something inane about how much she loves farmers.

2:48: The Luntz thing is fun here because it lets you see that the Democratic voters don't really like Hillary that much. They obviously react much more strongly to Obama than Hillary.

2:49: This is a painful debate, by the way.

2:49: Dodd said something. I wasn't paying super close attention.

2:50: Edwards off the charts on get rid of No Child Left Behind, which Ted Kennedy helped write. It's funny, they got massive spending increases in return for testing basically. They have the spending and surprise, they don't want the testing anymore.

2:51: Bill Richardson -- $40,000 teachers minimum wage. Completely off charts. It's also a completely insane policy that would be extremely expensive.

2:53: These guys are all so scary because their answer to every problem is massive tax increase & massive new government programs.

2:54: Parents have to tell their kids to turn off the TV sets and video games. The Luntz polls say the voters are eating it up. Wow. He could read his grocery list up there and they'd love him.

2:55: Chris Dodd. I will talk about education every single day as President. Sure you would Chris.

2:55: Hillary mentioned Bill again and talked about how they were focused on education. Again, she is essentially taking credit for his time in office. Bizarre.

2:56: Edwards said something or another.

2:57: I love education so much I married a teacher. Biden -- we need to spend much more on education.

2:58: Obama, in my first year, I will tell the generals their mission is to win the war. I will reverse some of Bush's executive orers.

2:59: Biden -- I will end the war! We are abandoning dealing with imprisoned terrorists? Basically. Health care. Education.

3:00: Bill Richardson -- I will have all troops out within a year (the surge hasn't impacted their thinking in any way, shape, or form). I will follow constitution.

3:01: A moment of laughter as they note Joe went over the moderators time limits.

3:01: I have trouble paying attention to what Chris Dodd says for a whole minute at a time because he's so dull.

3:02: Edwards, laundry list of things he would do. We got to fight the most wealthy people, corporations running things and we have to take the country back.

3:03: Hillary on what she would do in her first year of President: probably the best answer she gave tonight.

3:04: Hillary -- can you insure that people that you would be open as President? I want an open and transparent government. Put it all on the net. I will give Congress anything they want when they ask for testimony! Does anybody believe this?

3:06: Joe Biden -- you sound like a racist. How do you respond. Wow. Hillary got a softball compared to that. Joe isn't doing much to help himself on this answer.

3:07: Obama -- he is not a racist. Ha! Ironic. Obama is getting more out of this answer than Biden. Obama came off well there.

3:08: Edwards got a really soft question. You've slammed special interests, so how will you work with them. Poor Biden gets the racism question and he gets this underhanded softball.

3:09: Chris Dodd -- Your father was a dirtbag. How much does that motivate you to do the right thing. Oh geeze. The 2nd tier guys are getting really unfair questions. Dodd did well with it.

3:10: Bill Richardson -- Your carelessness is responsible for Wen Ho Lee! Richardson says something funny there...sort of.

3:13: Wow, bizarre question -- and Barack says he looks forward to Hillary advising him as well. Funniest moment of the debate. Also again, it is amazing to watch the Luntz graph when Obama talks. He says nothing of signicance and his numbers go through the roof. Amazing.

3:15: Hillary, Bush is a jerk! High ratings.

3:16: Edwards. Bush is a jerk! George Bush is not king! These guys are like Pavlov's dogs. Attack Bush and they love it.

3:16: What is your New Year's Resolution. Hillary was really flat. Off script I guess.

3:17: Edwards -- Two Americas theme on the New Year's Resolution question. He came across as sincere there. Of course, he's not. But, you can see how he scammed so much money out of those companies in the court cases.

3:18: Dodd made a funny.

3:19: Bill humanizes himself, wants to lose weight.

3:20: Joe Biden -- Remember where you came from.

3:20: Obama reminds himself to make a real difference. Came across generally well.

3:21: Hillary -- I have eaten my way across the state. That was funny in a laughing at you, not a laughing with you sort of way.

3:22: John says the people want someone honest and sincere. Which, if you think about it, would rule Edwards out.

3:22: Dodd was flat, as per usual.

3:23: Bill Richardson -- you like underdogs. I love people from Iowa.

3:23: Joe Biden. I love people from Iowa, too!

3:23: Obama. I appreciate the core decency of the American people!

Summary: This was, as many Democratic debates tend to be, excruciatingly dull. If people hated the GOP debate yesterday, I would figure they'll hate this one, too. Plus, they really skipped a lot of the key issues.

How the candidates did from last to first,

Bottom

Chris Dodd: Incredibly dull.
Joe Biden: Didn't come off well tonight without a lot of foreign policy talk.

Middle

Bill Richardson: Probably didn't help himself much.
Hillary Clinton: Seemed a little flat.
John Edwards: Showed a little fire, hit the same primary themes he always does.

Winner

Barack Obama: He came across really well and had the best moment of the debate when he told Hillary that she could advise him. I thought he won by a lot.

Update: The best moment of the debate. Obama turns the tables on Hillary.