First one from this Dog…..
I do NOT believe that this was Warren’s finest hours….
She was finally getting grilled….
She IS good…
And fought back….
But there ARE questions she needs to address ….
REALITY dropped in on her last night….
Joe Biden really doesn’t shine in debates…
But this one I believe he was fine…Just fine for him…
He’s really just focused on going after Donald Trump who has made things personal for him…..
I get the impression that he REALLY does NOT want to attack Elizabeth Warren, who turned on him last night and had him laugh it off…(Others…Mindful of what happened when he was attacked shied away from going after him except for Sanders for a moment towards the end)
Remember?
Biden spent decades as an insider that had to , and will, work with those he might have to oppose on other things…
He is NOT a red meat guy….
If he gets the nomination and the job?
THAT is who progressive’s will have to deal with…
Bernie Sanders had a good debate because he showed that his heart attack won’t stop him from continuing his campaign …
While the others DID get their licks in this time?
They ARE the ‘others’….
Buttigieg and Klobuchar DID get good reviews….
But?
The choices coming down to the Biden or Warren, the two I think should be the Democratic ticket, in that order…
Here’s the reports from around the media….
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind.
Grade: A
This was the single best moment of Buttigieg’s campaign for president. He did well on guns, on impeachment, and particularly on Syria.
Buttigieg had been making the argument that he is the centrist where moderate Democrats can go if Biden fails. That came through Tuesday night.
In this debate, he added a new layer to his national brand: outsider. He kept referring to how he was from “the industrial Midwest” and how Washington had not solved the problems facing a wide swath of the United States.
Buttigieg won the debate.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Grade: B+
This was a great debate for Warren, the new frontrunner. Most of the other candidates on the stage tried to call her out, and engage her in a back-and-forth. She deftly handled just about all of them.
But not all her answers were great, and she was too clever by half trying to avoid answering how she would pay for Medicare for All.
Still, it was a big moment for Warren and her campaign.
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Grade: B+
Klobuchar had the second best performance of the evening. Her campaign is very close to the end, and she came out fighting.
She gave strong answers that highlighted why she is running and why she is unique — the voice of the practical person from, as she said, “flyover country.” And Klobuchar was able, from the very beginning, to get other candidates to engage with her. She had a good performance, she did exactly what she needed to do in the context of the campaign. Will it be good enough to get her into the next debate? Possibly.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont
Grade: B
Let’s get the health stuff out of the way: Two weeks after a heart attack, he looked and sounded like the same Bernie Sanders as before. Sanders didn’t do a lot to expand support, but in the context of the campaign, it was an important night. Over the course of a very intense three-hour debate, he did hold his own
He can score points at the next debate….
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was the big winner Tuesday night in Westerville, Ohio in the most crowded presidential debate ever held. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., also delivered strong performances.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and the other eight candidates on stage came out the losers in the three-hour Democratic presidential primary debate.
BIGGEST WINNER: Elizabeth Warren
Warren’s strong performance will likely solidify her frontrunner status ahead of Biden and Sanders. She emerged the clear winner of the night by showing she was sharp and prepared as she fended off attacks from candidates who were looking to cut into her polling lead.
Even during the heated exchanges over health care and a wealth tax, Warren was able to turn attacks leveled against her around, and still deliver the best answers of the evening.
Warren questioned why the other candidates “think it is more important to protect billionaires than to invest in Americans” when responding to an attack on her plan for a wealth tax.
And importantly, Warren remained the focal point of the debate, speaking for the most amount of time of all of the candidates….
Warren took fire from all sides
The strategists agreed on one thing: Senator Elizabeth Warren’s new front-runner status was clear, because she was everyone else’s biggest target. But they were divided on how well she handled the attacks.
“Warren took almost everyone’s best punch there & came away basically unscathed.” — Jesse Lehrich, former foreign policy spokesman for Hillary Clinton
“Heading into this debate as a frontrunner, she did not seem ready for the incoming.” — Mo Elleithee, executive director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service and former Democratic National Committee spokesman
“This is the @ewarren debate. You might be happy or sad about it, but she’s the one who is setting the tone and she’s the reference point for most of the other candidates. That happens to the frontrunner.” — Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics
Buttigieg stood out …
Several consultants said Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., had successfully set himself up as an alternative for moderate Democrats uneasy with former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. They particularly liked his responses on foreign policy, which he framed in terms of his own experience in the military.
“Very strong, passionate and compelling condemnation of @realDonaldTrump betrayal of Kurds from Northern Syria by @PeteButtigieg. Owning this discussion.” — David Axelrod, former chief strategist for Barack Obama
“I am impressed with Buttigieg on foreign policy. Like Biden, he really shines and opens up when he talks about FP.” — Jess Morales Rocketto, political director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
“This has been @PeteButtigieg’s best #DemDebate performance so far. While other candidates tried to out-left and anti-Trump each other, Mayor Pete came across as reasonable and rational.” — Frank Luntz, Republican consultant and pollster
… and so did Klobuchar
Senator Amy Klobuchar received similarly positive reviews, with strategists arguing that she and Mr. Buttigieg in the middle against Ms. Warren on the left was the biggest dynamic of the night.
“@amyklobuchar performance tonight will resonate with moderate Democrats who are tired of being told that they are sellouts if they don’t subscribe to most left views. It’s a theme that’s cut across all her answers tonight & why she is having a good night.” — Jennifer Palmieri, former spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
“With 11 other people on stage, you don’t get a lot of opportunities to make an impression. But she’s finding them, using each one to stand out and draw a contrast.” — Mo Elleithee
“Every time Amy Klobuchar speaks she says something sensible. Not sure that makes her electable, but it’s nice to hear.” — Joe Lockhart, former spokesman for President Bill Clinton…
Bernie Sanders: In his first debate after suffering a heart attack, he seemed more lively than he has been at any previous one. He was also witty, joking with Biden after Biden gestured at him while talking about Vladimir Putin. “Are you suggesting I’m Vladimir Putin?” Sanders asked before the two men embraced. At another point, Cory Booker noted that Sanders supports medical marijuana, and Sanders responded, “But I’m not on it tonight.” Sanders has been accused of sometimes being humorless and a little dry — even overly angry. He also has a perception issue because of his health problem. Fighting that off was the most important thing he could do Tuesday.
Amy Klobuchar: The Minnesota senator arguably made herself Warren’s chief foil in this debate, creating contrasts on taxes, Medicare-for-all and other issues. At one point, she rejected the charge that she was creating a Republican talking point by pressing Warren on whether her Medicare-for-all proposal would raise taxes on the middle class. “You are making Republican talking points right here in this room” by talking about getting rid of private insurance, Klobuchar charged. And she wasn’t wrong. All of this said, being the attacker in these debates hasn’t always meant much. See: Castro, Julián and Delaney, John. But Klobuchar needs to try something, especially since she’s fighting to make the fifth debate; we’ll see if voters are buying it. (One piece of advice, on behalf of all of Klobuchar’s fellow Minnesotans: The bad jokes need to stop.)…
I didn’t think Harris was very good. After a strong opening answer on impeachment, she was largely absent for most of the night and then, in the only moment that voters will probably remember, picked a very weird, low-stakes fight with Warren about whether Trump should be on Twitter.
Warren and Biden are tougher to evaluate. Warren took a lot of incoming fire, and other things being equal, it probably helps perceptions for voters at home when it looks like you’re the candidate that everyone else is worried about. And I think she mostly held her own and had some strong moments, but her worst moments were front-loaded in the first half of the debate, especially on health care, when voters were more tuned in. So I could see the debate either helping her a bit or hurting her a bit — not very helpful, I know, but I’m going to want to see the polls.
With Biden … I don’t know. I think it might have actually been his most effective debate from start to finish, but that’s a very low bar, to be honest. He’s clearly better when he’s not getting in these back-and-forth exchanges with the other candidates. I don’t think the small verbal miscues matter as much as Twitter pundits say they do. I think he was generally strong on the Syria/foreign policy stuff. I thought he was strong on Ukraine/impeachment but could have been better, given that he and his family are being disparaged in the scandal. I do wonder how his tone and demeanor in that last big exchange with Warren will play with voters at home. Overall, if you’re one of the 28 percent of voters or so who went into the debate with Biden as your first choice, I’m not sure there’s anything that’s going to change your opinion all that much, unless maybe you finally decided that Klobuchar or Buttigieg are your jam….
image…Politico