First of all Jim Webb,
whom I vigorously campaigned for in his successful run for the US Senate from
Virginia in 2006, came across as a bully with a chip on his shoulder that was
likely enhanced by the apparent board up his ass. He should have stayed in the
Senate.
Lincoln Chafee, whose
father John was a great Republican Senator from Rhode Island and who has a
National Wildlife Refuge named after him, blew it when asked about his vote on
an issue and he said "It was my first day in the Senate, my dad had just
died, and I didn't read the bill." Anderson Cooper countered saying
"you don't read legislation you vote on?" It was time to open the
door and show Lincoln the way back to the Ocean State.
Governor Martin O'Malley
made a breakthrough and finally had a stage where people could see him in
action and on his feet. He probably doesn't have a prayer in the long run but
he will bring much needed insight to issues from a different point of view. Is
he Presidential? Probably. Is he Vice-Presidential? Definitely
Hillary Clinton was, well,
Hillary. She seemed to deflect a lot of hand grenades tossed her way. She is a
very strong candidate and she has her stuff together. After more than 20 years
of dodging attacks debating among her own ilk was a piece of cake for her. Is
she Presidential? Definitely.
Bernie Sanders was
....Bernie. Even if you're a Republican or an Independent you have to admire
him for his passion. Not once did he waver from the message and he made his
point with reasoned responses. Is he Presidential? Definitely
The best part of the
debate was that everyone (even Jim Webb to an extent) respected each other.
People were complimented for their past work and nobody was chastised or
denigrated as, say, the blowhard from New York who wears a 'possum for his hair
piece would do.
Bernie Sanders had the
best quote of the night when he said (referring to Hillary Clinton) "Enough
with the damned emails. Let’s talk about issues."
Someone asked "who
won the debate" and as my friend R. Jayce Dickenson said so well
"America" won. We were able to see real adults discuss real issues
and while doing so suggest real solutions to the problems facing the nation.
How refreshing. #DemDebate
