I'm certainly not judging by Tony night performances, in which there have been FAR worse than Idina. But when I saw Idina in Wicked about a month after the Tonys, I totally got why she won. Her voice was spot on, her acting was solid, and she blew the roof off the place in three huge belting numbers. Kristin was funny, but it was clear it was Idina's show and she nailed it.
Tonya Pinkins was arguably the best "actress" that season, but her voice was completely unreliable. She cracked the opening line of the show when I saw it, forcing her voice out as hard as she possibly could and it just went downhill from there. Great acting, but the performance was completely overshadowed by how often her voice cracked or completely gave out.
And as for Wilson's Angel in Rent, well, I've seen many an Angel and none played with as much affection or honesty as I'd seen in his performance. The first time I saw Rent, Wilson, Idina and Daphne were the standout performances, though there really wasn't a wink link in the entire original cast.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian