5 Things We Learned From Kind-Of A Meh Debate

(Politico) DAVID SIDERS and CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO 07/31/2019 01:22 AM What a boring mess. If the lesson from the first round of presidential debates was that attacking pays off the participants in Tuesday nights debate with the possible exception of a no-name ex-congressman either couldnt execute or didnt even try. That might not have been so bad if CNN spent the two-plus hours of debate delving into policy in a substantive way. But it turns out 10 candidates discussing their differences on the nations complicated health care system in 30-second snippets isnt especially revealing. It certainly didnt make for riveting TV. Tuesday served as a lesson in stout defense. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren deflected lobs against them from the junior varsity squad. Because Warren had the more commanding performance it was likely her night. But her night in a debate that few people will probably remember a week from now. Together Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are pulling nearly one-third of the Democratic primary vote and the progressive-populist lane of the primary would become clearer if one of its two occupants would knock the other out. But Sanders and Warren werent sparring on Tuesday. If anything their performance suggested they might not for a while. Instead with their lower-profile more moderate opponents referring to them and their policies in tandem (I share their progressive values but Im a little more pragmatic" former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said) Sanders and Warren linked arms in defense of progressive policy priorities such as Medicare for All. I dont understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States to talk about what we really cant do and shouldnt fight for" Warren said in one of the most memorable lines of the night.