I watched the debate last night, and actually made it through the whole thing (as opposed to 30 minutes of the GOP debate). One thing I really liked about this one was that they actually made the candidates answer the questions if they attempted to evade them, and would try to get them to take a clear stance on issues. I don't remember seeing much of that in the GOP debate. I would have loved to watch them squirm when they tried to dodge uncomfortable issues.
Another nice thing was there was very little attacking going on during the debate. A few people called others out, but it was nothing particularly vicious, and no one called anyone a liar. There was also a fair amount of agreement between them.
My take-home from each of the five candidates, in seating order:
* Aside from questions that were directed at one candidate, people were given equal time to answer each question. The caveat was that if person X was brought up by one candidate, they would be given a chance to respond after the fact. Webb and Chafee were not often called out by any of the other candidates, so they often found themselves sitting there, quiet, while the three on the center stage went back and forth. Chafee took this rather quietly, and Webb did not. He went over his allotted time twice, wasting time complaining about it. Cooper pointed out the second time that he'd have more time to talk if he stopped taking time to complain about it.
** Clinton would not take a stance on recreational marijuana use. A year ago, she said she wanted to see how things went in Washington and Colorado. She was asked if her stance changed after a year. She still wants to "learn more", but she supports the use of medical marijuana. People are already making jokes that she won't take a stance yet because it's not politically expedient.
Another nice thing was there was very little attacking going on during the debate. A few people called others out, but it was nothing particularly vicious, and no one called anyone a liar. There was also a fair amount of agreement between them.
My take-home from each of the five candidates, in seating order:
- Webb - More conservative than the others, for the most part. The single, most resounding thing from him in the debate was he's super mad he didn't get to talk as much as everyone else*. Now, this is somewhat of a fair criticism, but that's pretty much all I'm going to remember about him. I also couldn't tell if his answer to the last question (who is your biggest enemy you've made) was serious or not. It was certainly dumb. I don't expect his candidacy to last much longer.
- Sanders - Definitely more anti-establishment than any other candidate up there. Wants to take on big interests/big money in ways other candidates won't. Looks to other countries for how we could be like them. He did a fairly good job at handling the various "tough" questions Anderson Cooper threw at him without looking like he was dodging or being intentionally vague. Of note: I think he was the only candidate to come out and solidly say he supports legalizing recreational marijuana use**.
- Clinton - She got the most time to talk*, and spent a lot of time answering questions about flip-flopping for political expediency, the email server issue, and her labeling herself as a progressive or a moderate depending on who she talks to. Anyone's opinions of her answers is largely going to be based on what they already thought of her. She handled them as well as she could; it's a matter of if people already trust her. She was the most vocal against Republicans, which makes sense. She's attacked the most by them, right now. Sanders and O'Malley both did a good job of being the first to raise various issues, with Clinton having to clarify that she also supports X, which made her look a bit reactionary. She wasn't the only one doing that, but I did get this "hey, I'm a progressive, too!" vibe from her.
- O'Malley - Of the three smaller candidates, he did a lot better, but he also got a bit more speaking time than the other two*. In all honesty, his name was the only one of those three candidates I recognized up until three days ago. He did a fairly good job answering the "tough" questions, and he has some decent Charisma, but he didn't seem to stand out the way Clinton and Sanders do. That may be my own bias or it might be part of why he's polling as low as he is. He is super big into a green energy grid by 2050. Even to the point of bringing it up, off topic.
- Chafee - Interesting in that he originally was elected to one office as a Republican, a second office as an independent, and to his current office as a Democrat. Of course, he was accused of flip-flopping. His stance is that the GOP moved further right away form him (likely true), but it means that his claims of consistency means he's a moderate and not a liberal. Some may like that and some won't. He has a creepy smile that I found distracting. He got the least time to talk of everyone*, but he didn't bitch incessantly about it. It was notable that the only time I remember the audience laughing at someone was when he admitted to voting on an issue he didn't understand when he was new in congress because "he'd just gotten there". It was painful to watch. Like Webb, I don't expect to see much more of him before he drops out.
* Aside from questions that were directed at one candidate, people were given equal time to answer each question. The caveat was that if person X was brought up by one candidate, they would be given a chance to respond after the fact. Webb and Chafee were not often called out by any of the other candidates, so they often found themselves sitting there, quiet, while the three on the center stage went back and forth. Chafee took this rather quietly, and Webb did not. He went over his allotted time twice, wasting time complaining about it. Cooper pointed out the second time that he'd have more time to talk if he stopped taking time to complain about it.
** Clinton would not take a stance on recreational marijuana use. A year ago, she said she wanted to see how things went in Washington and Colorado. She was asked if her stance changed after a year. She still wants to "learn more", but she supports the use of medical marijuana. People are already making jokes that she won't take a stance yet because it's not politically expedient.
