There was some in the context of trade and the Iran nuclear deal, but yeah, not much. The moderators were clearly looking for wedge issues.
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Disagree. I think there’s a pretty good argument to be made that he had the best night on the stage. He’s likable. It’s a big factor not to be overlooked.
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Another big takeaway from tonight:
Holy crap, but Chris Matthews makes me just want to shoot someone in the face to shut him up.
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I can’t watch his show anymore. He never listens to his own guests and constantly interrupts them, even as they are trying to answer the question he asked.
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Yang or Booker?
Though there’s a chance that both of them (and us) can have this conversation in September, there’s a better chance that they’ll see what others have noticed.
I thought Yang was a lightweight after his initial introduction but I was impressed with his thinking on a lot of issues. Not sure about the free money but maybe he has a point.
Biden just didn’t seem to get the job done. Harris was off her game somewhat as well although she did OK. I was happy that Gov. Inslee really focused on climate change as it is, after all, the most important challenge we and the rest of humanity face. Booker and Castro held their own. Gabbard didn’t seem as crazy as I expected. On the whole, everyone did well except Joe. Biden got off to a very slooooow start. He was better at the end, but not a lot.
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Awesome line from Booker:
“You drinking the KoolAid & don’t know what flavor it is!”
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He’s just terrible. It’s like having your delusional grandfather rambling about how everything needs to go back to how it was in South Philly in the '50s.
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It will if 1) no CNN and 2) we finally cull the herd narrow the field of participants so we can focus on the frontrunners without pretending the also-rans are worth camera time.
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Are you saying it’s irresponsible to publish a “biggest takeaways from the debate” an hour before it’s done? (as they did last night, too?)
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Oh my god.
“Why would you want to bleach the White House?” -Chris Matthews.
JESUS TWEETY RETIRE ALREADY.
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I haven’t changed my mind. Dana Bash is a far better spokeswoman for the GOP than Ronna Romney McDaniel.
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Actually, the CNN mods were looking to stir up shit. There was no reason for them to focus on “X candidate said this about you. What do you say?” nonsense.
CNN - the Jerry Springer Show of political debates but with less integrity.
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Booker.
If MSNBC dumped Chuck Toad and Matthews, would anyone outside of their families care?
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Thoughts on the debate:
-Better Debate than the prior night. Key topics (like Mueller) discussed; other topics discussed more on Dem terms (immigration) than night 1; just a better group of candidates overall (except Tulsi). There was less Tapper annoyances and for that I thank everyone who dragged him on social media.
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Joe Biden - What to say about Joe? The best thing I can say for him is that he was a gamer out there. He was evasive when confronted with policies he advocated or key issues or statements and picked and chose his spots as to when to concede a mistake and when to dance. He still fumbles his words and thoughts, but he just gave more on the engagement front. He was likable in a goofy way and he didn’t shy from the give and take. He took a lot of heat and still remained active and that’s a good thing for him as a front runner. I think he passed the test and answered the questions that bugged people after debate #1. That said, I think he lost ground on the policy front: health care, immigration, criminal justice women’s rights that might make him more past his prime than anything to do with age issues. It’s not that I don’t think Joe’s answers were ok, it’s that I don’t think they’re in the mainstream of the party anymore. Like Castro indicated, he might not have learned the right lessons for the electorate we have today.
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Kamala Harris - Was treated like a front runner tonight, got some hits from Tulsi and Joe and shined. She handled her business. She dominated the 1st hour on health care. She set the marker for the party with her policy, defended it well and pushed back on others (like Joe) and also struck gold when she talked about decoupling private insurance from employers and improving private insurance. She’s the top dog on HC now, not Bernie (Mr. SP), not Biden (Mr, ACA) or Warren (I have a plan for everything except HC). I think her responses on impeachment/Mueller, Trump’s failed economy, climate change, equal pay, abortion rights were very solid and showed that she kept her eye on the ball in spite of the noise. I think most Democrats agree with where Harris is on the issues and think she’s a strong leader. That bodes well for her. As for the Tulsi attacks, Tulsi was trafficking in conspiracy theories pushed by bots, and she did well to stick to her record as AG and brush her aside. Staying on point, on message when attacked, even personally, is a sign of Presidential fitness and temperament.
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Cory Booker - Had a great night. His back and forth with Uncle Joe on criminal justice was quite entertaining. Biden made a mistake trying to critique his record (he’s only at 3%4% in the polls). But his answers on most every issue were pretty solid. What was different about this debate is that Booker showed a bit of political acumen, some street fighter spirit that had been missing from his kumbaya image. Pretty good night.
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Castro - Had a really good night. Nearly every answer was solid and I’m a bit biased because he repeated the arguments I’ve been making on this site and twitter for months as to why impeachment with acquittal in the Senate by #moscowmitch would be a good political result for the Dems.
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Inslee - Much better debate than night 1. Had he structured his campaign on these terms instead of as a single issue candidate he might’ve done better.
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Gillibrand - Had some good points on HC and bringing stuff back to Trump. Had a flat attack on Biden, but I think she added quality on all the key issues (immigration, health care etc.).
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Yang - Dude is good on messaging. Pretty smart. I didn’t mind him up there.
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DeBlasio - I thought he was pretty good in the first 15 minutes and then he fell apart and became an annoyance.
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Tulsi - The Putin project on the debate stage did what I thought she’d do: go after Harris. She didn’t get her on the HC section, but she delivered a targeted hit on Harris’ cj record. Then she got into her usual nutty self, losing her train of thought on the topic of Al-Qaeda and her nihilistic closing speech. I think the hit was too personalized and it allowed Harris to simply stick to her message, show that she makes executive decisions and move on.
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Bennet - I liked Bennet in debate 1. I don’t think he was very good in this one. He lost focus on health care and got hit for using GOP talking points. His position on impeachment was not good. Overall, not the performance I was expecting from him. I’ve thought of him as a thoughtful, keep it real guy, but he didn’t measure up.
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I would. I’d be cheering.
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I’ll take him over Chuck Todd any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
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So, now the Democratic party is going after Obama? What I heard is that open borders are good and we should not only stop deporting people altogether we should give them tax payer supported health care and a free education.
Democrats had 2 big advantages over Trump…immigration and health care and they seem bound and determined to blow it.
Believe it or not we can be humane people and still secure the border.
We can provide people with health care coverage without taking away their employer based insurance if that is what they choose…
If Trump wins, this will be why. And he sucks and he deserve to lose.
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They both, Matthews & Todd, are too in love with their own voices & opinions.
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