I haven’t watched all of the YouTube/CNN Democratic debate yet. Early reviews are good, and from what I’ve seen it was unusually substantive and spontaneous, but I agree with Josh Marshall that some of the cutesy videos tarnished the dignity of the proceedings a bit.

There were three questions on energy and environment.

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How can we reduce America’s energy consumption?

Gravel is loopy; Dodd is solid but kinda boring; Cooper indulges in a silly gotcha.

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How will we stop global warming? (A silly cartoon? Are you kidding me?)

Kucinich goes the hell off.

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Do you support nuclear power?

Edwards knocks this one out of the park. Obama and Clinton support nuclear power, but do so with carefully articulated stances that put it in context. Obama does a good populist riff; Clinton boosts efficiency and green jobs.

On the whole, these were all fantastic answers, excepting Gravel’s. This is a strong field.