Tonight’s debate, the last one before voting starts, was honestly…… a pretty boring one. I’m not sure that any of the candidates really helped or hurt their stock significantly. If I had to pick a winner it would either Bernie or Biden because he didn’t face many attacks even though he was having one of his patented *struggle to form complete sentences* nights (which shows how low the bar is for Biden). Bernie faced the toughest questions and a lot of the attacks which made him seem like a frontruner and he was able to stand up pretty well which should also help him. Overall I think everything in the race will remain pretty consistent. It looks like a 4-way race in Iowa & New Hampshire and everyone else needs to try and build momentum. Here’s some thoughts I jotted down on each candidate at various points in the night:
- Bernie Sanders: Got the majority of attacks from other candidates/moderators. Got the first laugh of the debate with the Biden/North Korea joke. Was emphatic in denying he said a woman couldn’t win the Presidency. Should’ve went harder on Biden on electability (iraq, trade, social security, corruption). Did he lose any supporters? Probably Not Did he gain any supporters? Maybe
- Joe Biden: Somehow avoided any attacks. Benefits from Warren/Sanders scrap as he fades into the background. Though he didn’t face many attacks from his opponents he fought a hard battle with the daunting task of articulating a coherent thought in full sentence form. The bar for Biden might honestly be underground at this point because this was a good night for him. Did he lose any supporters? Maybe Did he gain any supporters? Maybe
- Elizabeth Warren: Gave her standards argument and sounded compelling doing it. Solid night for her but the whole thing with Bernie Sanders just wasn’t the best look. When everyone assumes it was someone in/related to your campaign who leaked this you, have to say what actually happened. (If you didn’t leak it say that) If he actually said it, there’s 2 options (he said “I don’t think a woman can win (sexist but seemingly out of character) or he made a point that sexism would hurt her campaign (more likely but also a point made by other candidates and in the media). So either say “He said it and he’s wrong and it was sexist or He made a point that I disagreed with because I yada, yada, yada, and I’m the best candidate to beat Trump. She didn’t have a bad night but didn’t excel. Weird she went after Bernie but won’t talk about Hunter Biden even though corruption is a central theme of her campaign. Did she lose any supporters? Probably not Did she gain any supporters? Maybe
- Amy Klobuchar: Gotta give Amy credit she’s consistent. She sticks to the 3 M’s, Mom Jokes, Moderation, Midwest. She passed on another chance to attack Pete’s record, Midwestern Nice won this round. She probably has the best record out of any candidate not in the top 3. The media is trying too hard to make her stick but I’ll take her over than Pete or Steyer any day. Did she lose any supporters? Probably Not Did she gain any supporters? Maybe
- Tom Steyer: Steyer always has a couple good ideas and I think I’m actually starting to like him as a person but he needs to end this vanity campaign. A complete non-starter for him & Bloomberg is if you actually cared so much, why not spend those hundreds of millions you’re spending on TV ads or billboards and spend them on actually helping people instead of trying to become President so you could maybe help them in the future. Did he lose any supporters? (Unclear if he has real, live supporters but) Probably not Did he gain any supporters? Maybe
- Pete Buttigieg: Easily the most hateable candidate in the race. There’s not an issue in the world that’s not personal to Pete. He didn’t have a bad night but never really stood out. Disappeared at times. Only idea I like from Pete is sunset provision on any vote to authorize military force. At the same time he sorta looks like the kinda guy who might get off everytime he ordered a drone strike. Did he lose any supporters? Maybe Did he gain any supporters? Probably not
There was only one loser from the night though, not surprisingly, CNN. The debate started with a decently substantive debate over foreign policy, trade, and healthcare. This highlighted the differences between the top 3 candidates but (like usual) the framing of the debate was way off. The debate around healthcare is always framed through cost. Never is it should healthcare be a right, why does America pay more than anyone for healthcare, why are drug prices so high, etc. CNN shows their bias with questions like “How do you make sure [Medicare-For-All] doesn’t bankrupt the country” instead of “How do we make sure people don’t go bankrupt due to healthcare costs” or “Is the healthcare system we have today morally bankrupt”. Every question seemed to have been taken directly from insurance agency propaganda. On Foreign policy the questions about Iraq were solid but it took Tom Steyer to bring up the report that leaders (under R & D admins) have consistently lied to the public about the war in Afghanistan. I would have also liked to see the moderators push back on Biden for Syria, Libya, & drone strikes during the Obama Administration since he used that to try and shield himself. I just don’t understand how every single debate is just right-wing questions. Of course the candidates should face questions framed that way but in a Democratic Primary, you would think there would be some questions framed from a left wing perspective. I also hate how every issue is framed “Candidate X, why is Candidate Y wrong” or “Candidate Y, Candidate X said this about you please respond”. Yes you need to hash out the differences between the candidates but instead of just orchestrating mini fights, why not bring some actual facts or studies in and actually push back on the candidates’ talking points. But CNN really showed their bias/incompetence with the Warren/Sanders scrap.
I’m surprised it took CNN more than a half hour to get to their favorite piece of gossip at the moment, whether a woman could win the Presidency. Even though its a textbook he-said she-said situation as they were the only 2 people in the room, CNN is treating the accusation Bernie said a woman couldn’t win as a fact. Now let me remind you that this is the same group of people who with Trump always say “yes experts or facts say (x) but Trump says (y)” and treat it likes its a real debate. So apparently, according to CNN, a pathological liar like Trump should get the benefit of the doubt but when Sanders denies an accusation, doesn’t matter, it is still a fact.
If you want a more in depth look at the current state of the race click Here. As always I’ll end this recap with a look at the tiers:
District of Clowns 