After reconsidering his first impression following a storm of disagreement from his readers, John Cassidy at The New Yorker still thinks Hillary Clinton won the Democratic debate. Clinton had the most to lose going into the debate, because her numbers were down due to the persistent media focus on the private email server "scandal". Her performance in the debate was stellar, and she came across as much more likable than in previous media appearances.
Bernie Sanders was Bernie Sanders, the same person we know (and love?) from his frequent speeches and media appearances, and few, if any of us, expected him to be other than the man we already know. He was himself, and he performed excellently in the debate.
My less than expert opinion is that neither of the two principal candidates won or lost, and both did very well. Sanders gave Clinton an enormous boost when he said:
The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!Martin O'Malley had several good moments in the debate, and his final statement was superb. In a few words, he summed up the difference between the candidates in the GOP and the Democratic candidates. I like having him on the stage as a foil for both Sanders and Clinton.
I'm not sure why Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee were on the stage, but neither gained from their inclusion in the debate.
Thanks for putting up O'Malley's speech. If he had been planted there to drive home the difference between the parties as we've been seeing them, he couldn't have done better.
ReplyDeleteYour title is very good. It suggests the part you politely left out: Who Cares? That was on my mind as I started reading: the concerns about who won seem to be the property of the horse-race announcers in the media, not so much the people who will be making the decision on who gets nominated.
Sanders, however, gets the Paradox Award for giving the one real demonstration of Civility (the stuff the media like to demand, though it would be death to them if it prevailed) with a remark that used an actual Swear Word!
Cue the chorus of sisters, cousins, and aunts chanting "He said Damme. He said Damme!" while one of the cousins declaims
Did you hear him? Did you hear him?
Oh, the monster overbearing.
Don't go near him. Don't go near him!
He is swearing. He is swearing!"
Porlock, thanks. There were several splendid moments during the debate by one or the other of the Democratic candidates that made me proud. With regard to the GOP debates, the media joked about the division between the adults' table and the children's table, but, in fact, there was no adult table.
DeleteThanks, June. I had read the O'Malley closing and even posted the video, but this was the first time I'd watched it. His words moved me greatly in both forms, written and oral. The commenter above makes excellent points which supplement your own. Who won? We did. This was something to be proud of, that these people represent us. Thank you for your excellent analysis.
ReplyDeleteSusan, by taking the low road to bash others, including some of the truly powerless people in the country, in the attempt to boost their own popularity, the candidates in the GOP showed their true colors. It baffles me why anyone would want them in positions of leadership.
Delete