Last night in Orangeburg, South Carolina, eight Democrats running for president - to varying degrees of plausibility - gathered for their first debate of the election campaign. We are still a very long way from the first primary votes next January, and most Americans are still paying scant attention to the early jostling for position.

Further subtracting from the significance of the event, no-one last night landed any killer blows, nor did anyone make the dreaded gaffe these debates sometime produce that can doom a campaign. So it would be absurdly premature to draw even the most tentative of lessons from this first debate.

Still, making absurdly premature judgments is what journalism is all about. So here, for what it is worth is a quick take on the candidates, the issues and the big moments from the first real verbal exchanges of the 2008 US presidential campaign.

The Frontrunner

Hilary Clinton, former First Lady and now New York senator, reminded everyone why she has long been the favourite to win the Democratic nomination. In a controlled, highly disciplined performance which emphasised her experience and knowledge of all the big issues, she looked presidential. She may have many flaws as a candidate but last night she did not put a foot wrong.

Mrs Clinton was at her most effective when trying to counter the impression that she, as a frail woman and a soft-hearted Democrat, cannot be trusted with the nation’s security. While left wing candidates around her railed against American military aggression, Mrs Clinton played Boudicca. When the candidates were asked what they would do if America were attacked by terrorists again, most of the candidates waffled with classic Democratic bromides about the need to ensure the emergency services have all the resources they need. But Mrs Clinton didn’t hesitate and seized her chance. She would “retaliate” against those responsible, she said bluntly, adding that they must be “destroyed”, though, perhaps wisely, she didn’t actually specify where she would target that retaliation.

The Pretender

It was probably the first opportunity millions of Americans will have had to see the extraordinary political phenomenon that is Senator Barack Obama in action. While he certainly did not flame out, he didn’t really set the place alight either.

Hesitant and slightly tongue-tied at first, he fumbled through his early answers and took too long to get to the point. More importantly, he didn’t really flesh out his long vaunted claim that he stands for a new kind of politics. On the issues – the Iraq war, terrorism, health care, he merely sounded like a rather less persuasive echo of Mrs Clinton.

The Spoiler

John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, and John Kerry’s running mate in the 2004 election, probably had the most disappointing night. Perhaps unsettled by an early question about his infamous $400 haircut recently, oddly he largely failed to get across his populist economic message. Nor was he convincing on foreign policy and Iraq; his supporters have long believed his decision two years ago to acknowledge that he made a mistake in voting to authorise the Iraq war would be a big advantage against Mrs Clinton, who refuses to do the same. But last night he struggled to make much headway as an anti-war candidate in a party that is now almost totally united against the Iraq war.

The Long Shots

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