WASHINGTON - The 20th debate of the Democratic presidential campaign had an air of finality to it - with a bit of "Final Jeopardy" thrown in by the game-show questioning of co-moderator Tim Russert - as both candidates seemed determined to showcase their core strengths: In Hillary Clinton, a deep command of the issues; in Barack Obama, a sensitive and inclusive style of leadership.
Clinton, who is trailing in delegates, used her strength as a weapon, returning to the specifics of her healthcare plan as if determined to expose the superficiality of Obama's. He used his own strength as a means of defense, repeatedly answering her challenges with high-road appeals to find common ground.
At times - such as when she pushed him to denounce Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in stronger terms - she seemed to go too far, but as the candidate who is trailing, she needed to take some risks and shake things up. In the end, she may have chafed some viewers but succeeded in taking the fight to Obama. Nonetheless, he seemed to emerge unscathed after skating through some verbal thin ice of his own.
"I'm not interested in talk. I'm not interested in speeches," he declared, emphasizing his desire to be the advocate for the forgotten middle class. And far more than most politicians, he seemed determined, above all, to maintain his unruffled air of inclusiveness.
Thus, his most important moment of the debate came when Russert asked him to reject the support of Farrakhan, whose anti-Semitism once soured the rainbow-aura of the presidential campaign of his onetime friend, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Obama quickly condemned the anti-Semitism and made clear that Farrakhan's endorsement was unsolicited, but he then suggested it wasn't his place to tell someone not to support him. Explaining that Farrakhan was expressing pride in a black candidate, he seemed - for a second - to be ducking the question.
Clinton inadvertently came to his rescue by stressing how she had firmly rejected the support of a political party in New York that had a record of anti-Semitism, claiming there was a difference between merely denouncing someone and rejecting their support. Obama skillfully defused the issue by amending his answer to reject Farrakhan's support.
Clinton was more effective when she stuck to the facts - her command of which is the best advertisement for her campaign. Even in recent weeks, as Obama's message of change, as well as his personal charisma, have come to dominate the race, Clinton's easy familiarity with policy matters has given credibility to her claim of readiness for the presidency.
Last night, she demonstrated her skills in explaining how her "green technologies" initiative can reliably create jobs that won't be sent overseas, why her decision to require people to buy health insurance helps make it less expensive for others, and how she plans to utilize NAFTA "opt out" rules to force Canada and Mexico to agree to changes in the North American trade deal.
When Russert tried to trip her up by inquiring whether she knew the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor, she even mumbled a passable pronunciation of "Medvedev."
Obama may have had a pronunciation issue of his own. He was so determined to pronounce "Pakistan" correctly that he seemed to glory in repeating Pah-ki-stahn, as if he were a scholar addressing the Council on Foreign Relations. To some viewers, he probably seemed erudite; to others, he may have been trying a little too hard.
The point of all of Obama's quiet exertions was clear: He wanted to do nothing to change the momentum of the race, which has been favoring him in a new series of polls in the presumed Clinton strongholds of Texas and Ohio, which vote Tuesday along with Rhode Island and Vermont.
He may have accidentally betrayed his optimism in declaring that there were four races coming up and "maybe more after that" - the "maybe" a hint that it could be all over for Clinton on Tuesday.
Unlike in last week's Texas debate, when she offered a wistful closing, Clinton showed no signs of giving up the fight. But Obama may be right.
Maybe.
