Duty called this weekend and again on Tuesday night as I was part of a team that brought online Republican and Democrat debate coverage to the masses. So, I watched both debates closely.

Full disclosure: I am a Democrat, but a moderate one. I'd call myself a classic liberal; however, not the type that the talk show pundits rail against. Perhaps I am more libertarian, although I am pro-life.

I'm a Southern Democrat, but more like Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson and less like Al Gore or John Edwards. I like thinkers. I like progressives. I like candidates who aren't afraid to blur party lines on principle. I strongly prefer candidates steeped in legitimate faith instead of some for-show nonsense.

I don't like bureaucrats. I don't like pseudo-intellectuals. I don't like bullies, but I am even less fond of wimps.

I am more apt to vote Democrat than Republican, but there are Republican candidates I like. Even conservative candidates.

Personally, come Nov. 2008, I think I'm the type of voter the nominees will be courting. The swing voter. Of course, this presumes I live in another state considering it's a certainty the Republican nominee will win short of it being former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Romney is a Mormon, which to me means the man has zero shot to win the presidency. None. He won't even sniff the nomination no matter how infatuated Republicans might be with him right now. Second, he is a Yank, a Massachusetts Yank.

Candidates must win the South, and Romney has no shot. I'm really not sure why he's wasting his pennies and seconds.

Sure, there are other candidates who have no shot. Most of them don't, but starting with the Democratic debate, I'll offer my thoughts on each candidate's performance. I'll offer my thoughts on the Republican debate tomorrow, but I'm getting tired, so I'll split this up.

Democratic Debate

1. Hillary Clinton - Unusally polished Sunday night, as if she had a lesson from Bill. Pretty assuredly, she had done a little Botox before the session; she looked excellent. If she can inject some spirit-of-the-Bill into her candidacy, she is a lock to win the nomination and probably will be our next president. Seriously. There's a lack of competition happening right now that makes me think Hillary is the frontrunner for the whole shootin-match.

2. Barack Obama - Strong job Sunday night. Better than other recent appearances, in fact. However, he sounded less like a politician and more like an orator. Turning himself into Jesse Jackson or even Martin Luther King Jr. though is not a good thing long-term. All these candidates should invoke Bill when possible and if possible.

3. John Edwards - Took some steps back Sunday night. Sounds like a bureaucrat. Sounds like the ineffectual, pseudo-intellectual candidate who got his rump handed to him by Dick Cheney in the vice-presidential debates four years ago.

Those are the three frontrunners for sure among the Dems. Were there any surprises?

I thought former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel would mix it up more. He was less like Howard Dean and more like Admiral Stockdale. It was a disappointment.

If Dennis Kucinich weren't so squirrely looking, he might be a guy I could get behind. He has the populist attitude that really drew me to Ralph Nader eight years ago. However, he doesn't have the intellect or the strength to do much for anybody in this race. He's not even a viable Jerry Brown type of candidate.

Nothing stood out to me about Biden, Dodd or Richardson, and unfortunately, I really like Bill Richardson. Having a guy with a Clinton background, like he has, with his Hispanic descent, which I think is important right now, and his gubernatorial experience -- one would think -- should make him a solid darkhorse.

Not the case. He just has zero charisma. He reminds me of Michael Dukakis if the former Democratic candidate were to go on an eating binge.

Bottom line: This is so Hillary's nomination to lose unless Al Gore gets in the race. Then, it gets good fast.

So, are any of these turkeys a possible VP candidate for Hillary?

Personally, I think she has to keep it in the South given that she is technically coming from the North. Richardson is solid for the reasons I mentioned, and he sure wouldn't overshadow Hillary.

However, if you want to get people excited, how about Elizabeth Dole? Throw her out there as a possible bi-partisan veep choice? Clinton-Dole would be one powerful, politically femiperfect ticket.

I'm rambling. There will be many more debates, but for this first one, there were no surprises. Obama gained the most ground, but Hillary strengthened her position. The candidate who I thought lost the most was John Edwards, while the guy who could have disrupted the festivities most, Mike Gravel, came off as threatening as the "Year 2000 problem."

Tomorrow ... Republicans

And, if you watched the debate, please chime in below.