The happiness gap: During debates, my dominant emotions are negative

This is going to hurt to say, but.... I think I actually *agree* with Chris Matthews.

In tonight's democratic debate on MSNBC, Hillary Clinton's attempts to avoid making any statements that could offend potentially any part of the democratic party-- and what's more, statements that could offend anyone of any party-- only reinforced what I consider to be some of the strongest criticisms against her.

Clinton held a commanding presence on the stage, but her evasiveness made her seem insincere and too similar to republicans.

With regard the latter issue, John Edwards skillfully insinuated that with Clinton as the democratic nominee, there would be little difference in next year's presidential election between what either party had to offer in terms of policy on Iraq. I am not sure yet how I feel about Clinton's strategy for the Iraq war, but Edwards' point at least seemed worth noting.

As for her insincerity, I was miffed that would not even give an opinion as to whether the Clinton Foundation's donors should be made public. She appeared to be incapable of answering any question without consulting her pollsters and strategists, even questions that could be called tangentially significant at best.

More seriously, she was obstinately silent on the topic of social security and on Tim Russert's very viable hypothetical involving Israel and Iran.

Clinton's refusal to answer questions bothered me for this reason: at such a critical juncture in the country's history, the last thing we need is a president who is willing to keep the American people in the dark for political gain.

More than ever, I am simply looking for a candidate at this point that I believe I can trust. I have never been one to put more stock in "character" than in a candidate's stance on the issues, but the Bush administration has certainly shown the devastation that can come out of dishonesty. I am not calling Clinton dishonest-- yet; I simply wish she were more forthcoming with her opinions.

When Clinton introduced her health care plan last week, I was impressed. It appears to be a well-crafted, viable plan, and its unveiling raised my hopes that Clinton could accomplish great things as president. As she resorted to calculated, vague statements tonight, however, my cynicism was roused.

All that said, I have not made up my mind about Clinton, or any of the candidates, really. There's plenty of time before the primaries for Hillary to 'fess up as to how she'd actually run the country. And while she might offend some people with her answers, she could very well win me over.