What did everyone think of the first night of the second round of debates in Detroit last night? Given what happened in that round, what are your hopes for the second night tonite?
That really was the best landed note of the night. She really made the case for all centrists and bland middle of the road candidates to get off the stage. Running for President requires being bold and taking on big challenges, not playing it safe.
CNN's horrible format, providing so little time for candidates to reply, creates unnecessary tension and artificial drama. Is this CNN's intent? There is so much at stake, and the days of "I alone can fix it" sound-bites are OVER.
Yes - my fiancée partway through commented partway through on how clipped things were. She said that candidates like Beto were hit the hardest because their style always made it feel like they’d only given part of what they meant to say. My thought is that I missed the non-CT moderators from the MSNBC debate, especially Maddow, because I found the information so much easier to absorb.
The format was terrible. At the opening I kept thinking Carrie Underwood was going to come out and belt some new Tuesday Night Football song.
It is nearly impossible to have a substantive, cogent debate with only 1 minute responses, and moderators starting to cut you of 5-8 seconds before time is up.
Until some drop out there are just too many candidates and not enough time. The bottom 10 in the next poll need to drop out and focus their energy on flipping Congress.
It lagged at times, and I pondered comparing it to a jar of may on the counter. Klobuchar made the case for her to be kept in, through the next culling (or reaping if you like literary references). She won't win, but she is a good debater, and has good points. Warren was definitely the best candidate on that stage and she cemented her place at the top of the field.
I'm looking forward to tonight, more than last night, because I love Kamala Harris and hope to see her shine some more. I also hope she can continue to deflate some of the air in Biden's tires. He's old school, and we need to make sure Dem voters see that we can continue old thinking, or we can be bold and work on new progressive plans that will actually change the status quo.
I also am confident that Castro will again show that he should be considered a heavy weight. He's a real contender, and the only reason we don't see it, is the press is ignoring him. He's not flashy, but he's incredibly intelligent, and I hope it makes it to Super Tuesday, as he will raise the level of the debate. He should end up in a cabinet position, if he doesn't transition to running for a House or Senate seat.
Remind be to let you in on my theory about how brilliant people are often poor spellers sometime...well, actually that's it. Brilliant people, who are often creative with very quick minds are often poor spellers and tripping over themselves to get all the words out.
What did you think? I can’t watch these events. The facilitators make no attempt at getting to the fundamental core of each candidate. It would take too much time since there are just too many candidates.
What happened to HRC and the rest of the world/nation was full on theft! I respectfully disagree, and some of us, me esp, feel DJT stole that election. I hope in my lifetime, he will be annulled as a president.
It would IMO be a mistake to nominate someone merely because they have the best chance at winning Texas. That might be true for Beto. Perhaps Julián Castro, but if you pick a TX candidate and lose anyway, and also lose in the midwest, you might lose the election.
Might be safer to win back the former blue wall, and add FL.
It was a weird screaming festival. Williamson is dangerous because she thinks depressed people shouldn't take anti -depressants, fat people need more prayers and she is anti-vaccinations. We already know Bernie is a bad man. Nobody really broke through although I though Warren was solid on her policies and didn't flip-flop by the minute.
I completely agree that Williamson’s anti-scientific bias and lack of government experience makes her a dangerous choice for POTUS and she shybe disqualified. But after looking through a lot of her book excerpts online last night (and as a So Cal native on anti-depressants that hears people speak in new age or self-help terms regularly) I think people are misrepresenting her position on some of these issues. Around here a lot of the things she says are used as supplemental therapeutic approaches, not in place of western medicine. I have friends going through chemo using similar coping framings or visualizations (not from Williamson) and it helped them feel more relaxed or in control as they went through the necessary treatment. Williamson’s main danger is if people use her techniques to replace treatment, not alongside it, but in the excerpts I saw she didn’t do that (unlike my Christian Scientist or Jehova’s Witness friends who are adamant about avoiding certain treatment).
I thought Elizabeth Warren rocked. Bernie looked much better than last time. Pete was on point, but didn't get many opportunities to join in. Delaney got too much attention. The opening introductions were lame and canned. The format sucked. I hope they get to the issues quicker tonite and quit baiting the candidates. The whole thing seemed designed to make the Dems look bad and scare the wits out of Republican voters.
Warren should rock .. she’s being ‘spotlighted’ by CNN. What am I saying? She’s being spotlighted by MSM .. which should raise some red flags and Mayor Pete is an MSM star.
I mean no disrespect, but I am saying what I believe.
Warren and Mayor Pete CANNOT beat Donald Trump.
2020 is our last chance to save this nation. Use your 2020 vote wisely. Texas is a battleground state and without Texas, Trump will NOT win.
If the primary winner is the wrong person .. Texas will not flip.
I liked that they seemed more united in the goal of beating Trump instead of trashing the Democratic Party (Bernie!). The morning after Trump won I was hoping Warren would run to beat him and I’m still team Warren.
5 people should not have been on that stage. Moderators are taking the heat for the poor choice of Tom Perez to allow so many candidates. Tom Perez must go.
I thought CNN handled the debate pretty poorly. They let some candidates (e.g. Pete) speak past their allotments regularly and their questions were written in a way to spur fighting. The intro was... special. Elizabeth Warren absolutely killed it and surprisingly so did Marianne Williamson? We won't talk about the "dark psychic forces" though. I hope that tonight will spend more time diving into the issues instead of trying to force candidates to fight with each other to increase viewers.
As I said on Twitter, CNN should never be allowed to host a debate ever again. That was a totally ineffective format and they seemed intent upon stirring up tension and causing arguments rather than asking candidates to explain their position. I still can't believe Jake Tapper asked Amy Klobuchar "which of these people on the stage are just trying to score political points" or something like that.. I lost all respect for him. And Elizabeth Warren IS very presidential!
Delaney, Williamson, and Ryan said some smart things, but they are not contenders. I would like to hear longer answers from those at the top. I think Buttigieg is the smartest person on the stage. The format was truly terrible-how can CNN be so bad at this? Looking forward to Harris tonight!
It would be great to see a debate from an organization with different incentives, like The League of Women Voters, again. Last night it took maybe 25 minutes before we got a real question, just to fit in a hype video, entrances, color guard and anthem - all of which could have been done before the 5PM start time - and the openings. I liked MSNBC format better, except Chuck Todd.
I enjoyed the ability of Warren to fight for Progressive principles even if all of them are not popular for the general. Tonight’s debate will be a slap Joe around the stage cage match for Kamala, Cory, and the rest. I think the way the optics of these debates as bickering over dense policy instead of taking more policy shots at Trump to show who can actually take him on in the general is weakening the appearance of democrats overall.
The format is preposterous. Get the leading 5 or 6 on one stage. Having said that, Warren did great, Bernie can't stop inviting kids over and then yelling at them to get off his lawn, Pete continues to impress for secretary of state, and Delaney has crazy mass shooter eyes.
McCaskill continues to push the middle ground theory that got her defeated, and Chris Matthews is still an overbearing douche.
I think 1 or 2 debates with a larger field has some advantages (hearing Ryan’s thoughts on sustainable and renewable farming for carbon capture, for instance) but there were definitely 5 people on there I hope are gone by the third debate.
I find it interesting how CNN put Cory, Joe and Kamala together tonight! All for the ratings. If they go after Joe again it will show they are tearing down the party! Kamala can’t stay with the same answer for more than a day and I am tired of Cory and my hope is Joe gets it together because he is our only hope. The rest are too far left to beat Trump
The pairings were by random draw and I'm sure CNN would have wished that they didn't have a night with no minorities on stage. This makes me think the random draw concept may not be a good idea, either.
I am a 64 year old retired woman. I believe we need younger, fresher faces, with young new ideas. Bold ideas. I believe it is past time for a woman. My money is on Kamala.
Luck of the draw. It would have been nicer had it been more racially balanced, but here on a week where race is the top topic, two African-Americans, 1 Latino and 1 Asian-American are all in the same debate, against Biden.
Anyway, regardless of how it shook up, Biden is going to be the target whoever he faces. I also don't think Joe is the only one who can win, and that thinking isn't IMO good.
If I were writing Joe’s opening statement I would say, “I’m not here to tear anybody down or criticize the past, present, or the future. I’m here to talk about the Democratic vision and my role in helping our party and our people restore faith in our country and make the world safe for democracy.”
Make them look small for attacking each other. We can’t eat our own.
Agree with you Mary. Booker also has past ties with accepting PAC money from Big Pharma. Once a candidate has done that .. they have no redemption with me.
Any candidate who EVER accepts Big Pharma money, is a murderer by proxy.
Impossible to get actual details on policies under this format. I'd like to support M4A, but it took Obama & Pelosi EIGHTEEN mos. of hearings, town halls, etc. just to pass the ACA. It's just unreasonable to expect people who now take Healthcare as part of their compensation package to buy in to M4A as a seemless replacement without knowing how it would affect their family's bottom-line, even if Warren insists it will be an improvement.
Failure to discuss the Mueller report and Women's issues ("Right to Choose"?) seemed a major omission, to say the least.
Marshall McLuhan famously said "the medium is the message." Allowing major cable news media to moderate these debates and choose the questions in effect makes them the arbiters of what gets discussed and shapers of our political discourse. There are simply too many candidates for meaningful discussion and each is engaged in a kind of arms race of one-upmanship to garner attention and stand out in the crowd. In short, this is a terrible format for political debate, reducing critical issues to canned soundbites and slogans. This is a terrible way to vet and choose a candidate. It's a format that played to the strengths of a showman and opportunist like Trump in the Republican presidential debates of 2016, and I fear it will have the same effect in these debates.
I can't imagine anyone's preference of candidate changing from last night's performances. I thought Warren & Sanders lead the pack with the Mayor a close third. O'Rourke performed better than I've seen him in a debate setting where's he's never excelled. I'm hopeful to see some clear leaders come out of tonight's pack. I am concerned about the monies flowing to 20 prospects and the reserves it will take to battle post primary. Cheering on Harris tonight.
Warren won the night. Bernie did well too, but not as well. Williamson looked more like a candidate, but I still don't take her that seriously.
Bullock, Delaney and Ryan I guess did OK with their respective bases, despite Delaney clearly having his ass served to him by Warren. I think he's afraid he'll have that 2% taken away by Warren.
Beto and Klobuchar didn't seem to do what they had to be considered viable.
Elizabeth Warren was masterful in fending off her moderate opponents and making the case for real structural change in Washington. Aim high and you're more likely to accomplish something in Washington. She is an extraordinary asset to our country and we should take advantage of her briliance.
I hope as a Country we can get past believing Biden is the "great white hope". I don't want to make anyone mad but believe so far he is getting name by on name recognition not policies. Still early I am hopeful!
I think everyone but Bernie, Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete need to drop out for patriotic reasons. At this point the rest from last night are just working on their book deals. I love Amy Klobuchar, but her comment about: little kids woke up to hear the President of the United States say their city of Baltimore was overrun by rats and I can tell you as President of the United States that will stop -- Great, thank you, please no president of anything ever say that again.
I think O’Rourke can stay in a little longer. It might help his senate race im a worst case scenario. Ryan should stay in to keep making his case for VP. Drop the other 5 (Hickenlooper, Delaney, Klobuchar, Bullock and William) ASAP please.
I tried to watch it. I wanted to hear what they each had to say. But the moderating was so bad that I could not bear it. Clearly CNN was out to bait the candidates. I am not interested in blood bait scum being thrown out of the boat. This may be shark week, but that was not supposed to be Shark Tank. I turned it off and opened by new book. At least it is intended to be entertaining.
That is another point, there are to many candidates. That are wasting a bunch of money by small donors who won't be able to support the final candidate for the real job, it's a shame they are to fit the candidates for the next 16 to twenty years in one race.
I hope they just stop in fighting and realize we need to beat the GOP for senate seats or the WH won't matter... no addresses the 16 or 17 programs already in the Federal budget, if their "Medicare for all" becomes the the law of the land. I.e. FEHB, VA, DOD/TRICARE, CONGRESSION HEALTH CARE, etc.
It felt like most of the infighting was either exacerbated or provoked by the moderators, though. Kudos to Sanders and Warren for not taking shots at each other.
I was pleased with the candidates on the stage. I believe they tried hard to stick to the merits of their arguments. CNN was crap; from the WWF opening to the attempts to create drama. It was telling when the one moderator said we aren't going to ask any 'raise your hand' type questions and but had just asked Mayor Pete why he raised his hand at the previous debate, WTF!
I found it quite uninspiring myself. Too many people in the debate and not enough time to answer questions and then respond. Really...15 seconds is hardly enough time to get out one or two sentences let alone respond to another candidate’s answer. Warren, Buttigieg, and Sanders clearly had better performances than the others, though Beto was OK. Klobucher seemed really nervous at first, but seemed to recover about 1/3 of the way through and also did OK. Also Williamson is the Sarah Palin of the Democratic Party.
As usual, Warren was impressive. Loved how the others prefaced responses saying, "I agree with Sen. Warren." If nothing else, tonight's debate will be diverse. It was a very white stage last night!
I'm only 1/2 way through it, but it highlighted the people that believe there is a different way to do things, and the rest that want to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.
I thought that sometimes you need to realize who we're fighting for and who we need to defeat. Candidates arguing isn't really getting us to the right goal and may be hurting us in the end. I just want to hear what they'll do for the country and to bring America back to glory!
I couldn’t watch last night. I started to, but had to walk away for many of the same reasons as others mentioned earlier in your comments. I caught some snippets so I have a sense how things went but I am embarrassed to watch the circus. They would do better to play a version of Cards Against Humanity where instead of random topics/statements, the cards would hold the top issues going into the 2020 election. Might be just as effective as the current debate format but probably more fun to watch. Thank you for the updates.
Delaney proved he's not ready for President. Williamson had some good points but it's just not enough. Sanders, I think it was you that described him now as the drunk Uncle. Yes. And I don't like drunks.
Warren nailed it. She has solid responses with clear how-to ideas.
I think this is where DEMs need to strategize about being a united front against all that trump stands for but show their subtle differences. They can’t show any cracks in the United message of them vs. evil.
I thought the format was annoying but the moderators relentlessly kept things going and the conversation had some substance for once, more than just grandstanding and campaign slogans. I wish there had been more discussion about foreign affairs. Individually, I thought Warren and Buttegeig were the most interesting but Marianne also had her moment. I was impressed by her big picture about the underlying stress of the country in dealing with the forces of darkness. She won't win and may not even be around in September but I could see last night how she got on the stage. Most Democrats are worried and scared and see the President as an evil force and she speaks to that underlying anxiety about the country. As for the others, the ones who need to go right away are Delaney, Hickenlooper and Ryan.
I agree with what some of the MSNBC pundits were saying after the debate. They were all talking details they, as president, will have no control over. Legislation originates in congress and whatever the makeup of those bodies will decide what gets done. These candidates must be aspirational, show leadership and have a vision. Williamson did this somewhat but then again that’s what she does but that’s all she has going for her. Buttigieg had his moments too. Ryan and Bullock need to be listened to. All this “free stuff” being thrown out there will not sell in areas of the country we need to win to get rid of trump. Some candidates are just writing the scripts for attack ads for the GOP.
Agree. Everyone thinks they will be president and run the show, which is something we criticize Trump for. They are debating policy details that Congress will labor over for months or years. Taxing the wealthy to give out free stuff sounds bad and won’t fly. It also won’t happen so why tell voters it will?
I liked that the candidates are talking about how “we” beat Trump. They may disagree on some policies but they are at least united in the goal of ousting Trump and seem to agree that any plan anyone on that stage has is better than what Republicans are offering. The morning after Trump won, I was hoping Warren would run in 2020. I’m still team Warren.
In 1972, I spent several Saturdays making phone calls for the George McGovern campaign. McGovern's vision for America was grounded in the principles that to this day I believe in. What my youthful, idealistic self didn't realize in 1972 was American voters were not going to vote for a candidate who proposes the massive, abrupt change McGovern did. Even though history now shows that Senator McGovern was on the right side of almost every issue, his campaign and defeat was a huge setback for liberals. I say all of this because I see Democrats making the same mistakes in 2020. Far worse than Nixon, Trump is a cancer that continues to grow and spread to the core of the fabric of America. In a real sense, America is a cancer patient and the cancer needs to be eradicated before healing and restoration can occur. I'm 100% for universal healthcare, immigration reform, and fairness in the tax system. But to me, everyone of those issues needs to be secondary to defeating Donald Trump. It is a sad statement but, regardless of where they stand on the issues, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth are both unelectable. If either of them are the nominee, it will be a repeat of 1972.
Well, the day after the debate, we now know that Delaney owns over $3.5 million stock in all kinds of Healthcare Industry garbage. I really am miffed that CNN wasted our time allowing him to pull off such a stunt. He was not even polling 1% yet they gave him question after question to try to make a case against Medicare for All. This was just another example of Corporate-owned media masquerading as "liberal" setting the stage to move Democrats to the Right. Delaney was just the "Right-Wing-Lefty" to do it. "Presidential Candidate Who Attacked Medicare for All is Invested in Health Care Companies,Former Rep. John Delaney assailed Medicare for All and asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to debate him. Turns out he has a financial stake in the for-profit health care industry. https://readsludge.com/2019/06/04/presidential-candidate-who-attacked-medicare-for-all-is-invested-in-health-care-companies/
Thank you for posting this. It is infuriating to read this. Absolutely the problem we have in America. So many men , making promises they never keep, and profitting all the whilst stealing from you. I do not like Trump (it was so hard to type without curse words). But he is right, the media is a joke , he's just an expert player, so far.
These are great comments, you guys-keep em coming, I'm loving reading them all! Also, how great was THIS MOMENT??? https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1156377516472438787
That moment took the night. Bernie’s grumpy old man shtick is grating.
He was visibly uncomfortable.
That really was the best landed note of the night. She really made the case for all centrists and bland middle of the road candidates to get off the stage. Running for President requires being bold and taking on big challenges, not playing it safe.
CNN's horrible format, providing so little time for candidates to reply, creates unnecessary tension and artificial drama. Is this CNN's intent? There is so much at stake, and the days of "I alone can fix it" sound-bites are OVER.
I agree with you COMPLETELY.
Yes - my fiancée partway through commented partway through on how clipped things were. She said that candidates like Beto were hit the hardest because their style always made it feel like they’d only given part of what they meant to say. My thought is that I missed the non-CT moderators from the MSNBC debate, especially Maddow, because I found the information so much easier to absorb.
The format was terrible. At the opening I kept thinking Carrie Underwood was going to come out and belt some new Tuesday Night Football song.
It is nearly impossible to have a substantive, cogent debate with only 1 minute responses, and moderators starting to cut you of 5-8 seconds before time is up.
These two gifs sum up my thoughts:
https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1156386855778213889?s=09
https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1156380761123164162?s=09
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL is all that kept going through my head.
Someone likened it to speed dating. Yup. Poor format.
Tom Perez, the DNC Chair did, when he was on stage before the event.
Until some drop out there are just too many candidates and not enough time. The bottom 10 in the next poll need to drop out and focus their energy on flipping Congress.
It lagged at times, and I pondered comparing it to a jar of may on the counter. Klobuchar made the case for her to be kept in, through the next culling (or reaping if you like literary references). She won't win, but she is a good debater, and has good points. Warren was definitely the best candidate on that stage and she cemented her place at the top of the field.
I'm looking forward to tonight, more than last night, because I love Kamala Harris and hope to see her shine some more. I also hope she can continue to deflate some of the air in Biden's tires. He's old school, and we need to make sure Dem voters see that we can continue old thinking, or we can be bold and work on new progressive plans that will actually change the status quo.
I also am confident that Castro will again show that he should be considered a heavy weight. He's a real contender, and the only reason we don't see it, is the press is ignoring him. He's not flashy, but he's incredibly intelligent, and I hope it makes it to Super Tuesday, as he will raise the level of the debate. He should end up in a cabinet position, if he doesn't transition to running for a House or Senate seat.
Sorry for all the typos.
Remind be to let you in on my theory about how brilliant people are often poor spellers sometime...well, actually that's it. Brilliant people, who are often creative with very quick minds are often poor spellers and tripping over themselves to get all the words out.
I definitely think faster than I type, which often leads to me tripping over my words.
Pleeeease Don't make excuses for #Dolt45 !!!
The premise was "brilliant people."
My mistake (I don't type quickly enough to make spelling errors; mine are typos) !!
From the 1st debate, Castro was my 2nd choice for Warren's VP
What did you think? I can’t watch these events. The facilitators make no attempt at getting to the fundamental core of each candidate. It would take too much time since there are just too many candidates.
I think Elizabeth Warren is very presidential.
Hillary Clinton was presidential and look at what happened to her. Warren can’t hold a candle to Clinton and Warren cannot win in Texas.
I don't think being presidential is what made HRC lose, though. I think it was something else she and Warren have in common.
What happened to HRC and the rest of the world/nation was full on theft! I respectfully disagree, and some of us, me esp, feel DJT stole that election. I hope in my lifetime, he will be annulled as a president.
It would IMO be a mistake to nominate someone merely because they have the best chance at winning Texas. That might be true for Beto. Perhaps Julián Castro, but if you pick a TX candidate and lose anyway, and also lose in the midwest, you might lose the election.
Might be safer to win back the former blue wall, and add FL.
It’s all about CNN’s ratings and earnings.😏
It was a weird screaming festival. Williamson is dangerous because she thinks depressed people shouldn't take anti -depressants, fat people need more prayers and she is anti-vaccinations. We already know Bernie is a bad man. Nobody really broke through although I though Warren was solid on her policies and didn't flip-flop by the minute.
I completely agree that Williamson’s anti-scientific bias and lack of government experience makes her a dangerous choice for POTUS and she shybe disqualified. But after looking through a lot of her book excerpts online last night (and as a So Cal native on anti-depressants that hears people speak in new age or self-help terms regularly) I think people are misrepresenting her position on some of these issues. Around here a lot of the things she says are used as supplemental therapeutic approaches, not in place of western medicine. I have friends going through chemo using similar coping framings or visualizations (not from Williamson) and it helped them feel more relaxed or in control as they went through the necessary treatment. Williamson’s main danger is if people use her techniques to replace treatment, not alongside it, but in the excerpts I saw she didn’t do that (unlike my Christian Scientist or Jehova’s Witness friends who are adamant about avoiding certain treatment).
Good morning, Amy. I am really hoping Kamala breaks out tonight.🌷
I am rooting for her too. :)
I thought Elizabeth Warren rocked. Bernie looked much better than last time. Pete was on point, but didn't get many opportunities to join in. Delaney got too much attention. The opening introductions were lame and canned. The format sucked. I hope they get to the issues quicker tonite and quit baiting the candidates. The whole thing seemed designed to make the Dems look bad and scare the wits out of Republican voters.
Lindley1 min
Warren should rock .. she’s being ‘spotlighted’ by CNN. What am I saying? She’s being spotlighted by MSM .. which should raise some red flags and Mayor Pete is an MSM star.
I mean no disrespect, but I am saying what I believe.
Warren and Mayor Pete CANNOT beat Donald Trump.
2020 is our last chance to save this nation. Use your 2020 vote wisely. Texas is a battleground state and without Texas, Trump will NOT win.
If the primary winner is the wrong person .. Texas will not flip.
I’m with you on this.
I liked that they seemed more united in the goal of beating Trump instead of trashing the Democratic Party (Bernie!). The morning after Trump won I was hoping Warren would run to beat him and I’m still team Warren.
5 people should not have been on that stage. Moderators are taking the heat for the poor choice of Tom Perez to allow so many candidates. Tom Perez must go.
I'm not a fan of Tom Perez, either. I don't find his style motivating and I wish he would be more decisive in a lot of ways.
Agree
I thought CNN handled the debate pretty poorly. They let some candidates (e.g. Pete) speak past their allotments regularly and their questions were written in a way to spur fighting. The intro was... special. Elizabeth Warren absolutely killed it and surprisingly so did Marianne Williamson? We won't talk about the "dark psychic forces" though. I hope that tonight will spend more time diving into the issues instead of trying to force candidates to fight with each other to increase viewers.
As I heard mentioned elsewhere, that's kind of the point of a debate. That certainly helped raise Warren (and last month Kamala's) stature.
As I said on Twitter, CNN should never be allowed to host a debate ever again. That was a totally ineffective format and they seemed intent upon stirring up tension and causing arguments rather than asking candidates to explain their position. I still can't believe Jake Tapper asked Amy Klobuchar "which of these people on the stage are just trying to score political points" or something like that.. I lost all respect for him. And Elizabeth Warren IS very presidential!
Absolutely agree, Cathy. They didn’t help Hillary any, while she was being sabotaged in 2016. Owned and operated by the elite .. CNN is FOR Trump.
We don’t have the integrity in MSM that my grandparents and parents had.
Delaney, Williamson, and Ryan said some smart things, but they are not contenders. I would like to hear longer answers from those at the top. I think Buttigieg is the smartest person on the stage. The format was truly terrible-how can CNN be so bad at this? Looking forward to Harris tonight!
too much like a crappy reality tv show. return to the old ways - League of Womens' Voters did a much better job (...long ago and far away ...)
but I would love to have each of them publicly declare who is their "second choice" if they can't run
It would be great to see a debate from an organization with different incentives, like The League of Women Voters, again. Last night it took maybe 25 minutes before we got a real question, just to fit in a hype video, entrances, color guard and anthem - all of which could have been done before the 5PM start time - and the openings. I liked MSNBC format better, except Chuck Todd.
AGREED!
I enjoyed the ability of Warren to fight for Progressive principles even if all of them are not popular for the general. Tonight’s debate will be a slap Joe around the stage cage match for Kamala, Cory, and the rest. I think the way the optics of these debates as bickering over dense policy instead of taking more policy shots at Trump to show who can actually take him on in the general is weakening the appearance of democrats overall.
Here’s hoping the September debate feels a little different.
Or that an asteroid hits and we won’t have to watch it.
The format is preposterous. Get the leading 5 or 6 on one stage. Having said that, Warren did great, Bernie can't stop inviting kids over and then yelling at them to get off his lawn, Pete continues to impress for secretary of state, and Delaney has crazy mass shooter eyes.
McCaskill continues to push the middle ground theory that got her defeated, and Chris Matthews is still an overbearing douche.
I think 1 or 2 debates with a larger field has some advantages (hearing Ryan’s thoughts on sustainable and renewable farming for carbon capture, for instance) but there were definitely 5 people on there I hope are gone by the third debate.
I find it interesting how CNN put Cory, Joe and Kamala together tonight! All for the ratings. If they go after Joe again it will show they are tearing down the party! Kamala can’t stay with the same answer for more than a day and I am tired of Cory and my hope is Joe gets it together because he is our only hope. The rest are too far left to beat Trump
The pairings were by random draw and I'm sure CNN would have wished that they didn't have a night with no minorities on stage. This makes me think the random draw concept may not be a good idea, either.
Joe is far from our only hope. We have had enough of old, white men. Enough!
Ageism is as ugly and prejudiced as all of the other prejudices in our society.
I don’t vote based on age, gender, race or sexual preference.
Joe Biden would make a great president and his age and gender hasn’t a damn thing to do with it.
I am a 64 year old retired woman. I believe we need younger, fresher faces, with young new ideas. Bold ideas. I believe it is past time for a woman. My money is on Kamala.
No ageism from me. Just my preference.
Luck of the draw. It would have been nicer had it been more racially balanced, but here on a week where race is the top topic, two African-Americans, 1 Latino and 1 Asian-American are all in the same debate, against Biden.
Anyway, regardless of how it shook up, Biden is going to be the target whoever he faces. I also don't think Joe is the only one who can win, and that thinking isn't IMO good.
It’s not random. It’s rigged.
If I were writing Joe’s opening statement I would say, “I’m not here to tear anybody down or criticize the past, present, or the future. I’m here to talk about the Democratic vision and my role in helping our party and our people restore faith in our country and make the world safe for democracy.”
Make them look small for attacking each other. We can’t eat our own.
Agree with you Mary. Booker also has past ties with accepting PAC money from Big Pharma. Once a candidate has done that .. they have no redemption with me.
Any candidate who EVER accepts Big Pharma money, is a murderer by proxy.
Impossible to get actual details on policies under this format. I'd like to support M4A, but it took Obama & Pelosi EIGHTEEN mos. of hearings, town halls, etc. just to pass the ACA. It's just unreasonable to expect people who now take Healthcare as part of their compensation package to buy in to M4A as a seemless replacement without knowing how it would affect their family's bottom-line, even if Warren insists it will be an improvement.
Failure to discuss the Mueller report and Women's issues ("Right to Choose"?) seemed a major omission, to say the least.
It was horrible .....
I couldn't even watch it
1 minute??? Really bad form @CNN
Marshall McLuhan famously said "the medium is the message." Allowing major cable news media to moderate these debates and choose the questions in effect makes them the arbiters of what gets discussed and shapers of our political discourse. There are simply too many candidates for meaningful discussion and each is engaged in a kind of arms race of one-upmanship to garner attention and stand out in the crowd. In short, this is a terrible format for political debate, reducing critical issues to canned soundbites and slogans. This is a terrible way to vet and choose a candidate. It's a format that played to the strengths of a showman and opportunist like Trump in the Republican presidential debates of 2016, and I fear it will have the same effect in these debates.
I can't imagine anyone's preference of candidate changing from last night's performances. I thought Warren & Sanders lead the pack with the Mayor a close third. O'Rourke performed better than I've seen him in a debate setting where's he's never excelled. I'm hopeful to see some clear leaders come out of tonight's pack. I am concerned about the monies flowing to 20 prospects and the reserves it will take to battle post primary. Cheering on Harris tonight.
Warren did very well during and after the debate although I'm not feeling this Medicare for all.
Must be rich
Warren won the night. Bernie did well too, but not as well. Williamson looked more like a candidate, but I still don't take her that seriously.
Bullock, Delaney and Ryan I guess did OK with their respective bases, despite Delaney clearly having his ass served to him by Warren. I think he's afraid he'll have that 2% taken away by Warren.
Beto and Klobuchar didn't seem to do what they had to be considered viable.
Elizabeth Warren was masterful in fending off her moderate opponents and making the case for real structural change in Washington. Aim high and you're more likely to accomplish something in Washington. She is an extraordinary asset to our country and we should take advantage of her briliance.
I hope as a Country we can get past believing Biden is the "great white hope". I don't want to make anyone mad but believe so far he is getting name by on name recognition not policies. Still early I am hopeful!
I think everyone but Bernie, Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete need to drop out for patriotic reasons. At this point the rest from last night are just working on their book deals. I love Amy Klobuchar, but her comment about: little kids woke up to hear the President of the United States say their city of Baltimore was overrun by rats and I can tell you as President of the United States that will stop -- Great, thank you, please no president of anything ever say that again.
I think O’Rourke can stay in a little longer. It might help his senate race im a worst case scenario. Ryan should stay in to keep making his case for VP. Drop the other 5 (Hickenlooper, Delaney, Klobuchar, Bullock and William) ASAP please.
Warren sounds like the best person for America
CNN is all about CNN. Warren was solid. I really think the next round, after the culling, will be better. At least I hope it will.
I tried to watch it. I wanted to hear what they each had to say. But the moderating was so bad that I could not bear it. Clearly CNN was out to bait the candidates. I am not interested in blood bait scum being thrown out of the boat. This may be shark week, but that was not supposed to be Shark Tank. I turned it off and opened by new book. At least it is intended to be entertaining.
That is another point, there are to many candidates. That are wasting a bunch of money by small donors who won't be able to support the final candidate for the real job, it's a shame they are to fit the candidates for the next 16 to twenty years in one race.
I hope they just stop in fighting and realize we need to beat the GOP for senate seats or the WH won't matter... no addresses the 16 or 17 programs already in the Federal budget, if their "Medicare for all" becomes the the law of the land. I.e. FEHB, VA, DOD/TRICARE, CONGRESSION HEALTH CARE, etc.
It felt like most of the infighting was either exacerbated or provoked by the moderators, though. Kudos to Sanders and Warren for not taking shots at each other.
I was pleased with the candidates on the stage. I believe they tried hard to stick to the merits of their arguments. CNN was crap; from the WWF opening to the attempts to create drama. It was telling when the one moderator said we aren't going to ask any 'raise your hand' type questions and but had just asked Mayor Pete why he raised his hand at the previous debate, WTF!
I found it quite uninspiring myself. Too many people in the debate and not enough time to answer questions and then respond. Really...15 seconds is hardly enough time to get out one or two sentences let alone respond to another candidate’s answer. Warren, Buttigieg, and Sanders clearly had better performances than the others, though Beto was OK. Klobucher seemed really nervous at first, but seemed to recover about 1/3 of the way through and also did OK. Also Williamson is the Sarah Palin of the Democratic Party.
A lot of candidates, but that isn’t a horrible thing-yet. Warren mentioning ALS! Thank you.
As usual, Warren was impressive. Loved how the others prefaced responses saying, "I agree with Sen. Warren." If nothing else, tonight's debate will be diverse. It was a very white stage last night!
More impressed with Pete B than I expected to be. It was Warren's night. Like Tapper alot but hope he adjusts the format some.
I'm only 1/2 way through it, but it highlighted the people that believe there is a different way to do things, and the rest that want to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.
I can just SEE Marianne Williamson smoking pot behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Can’t you?
I’m not against marijuana legalization. But I definitely don’t want that ethos in the most powerful position in the world.
I thought that sometimes you need to realize who we're fighting for and who we need to defeat. Candidates arguing isn't really getting us to the right goal and may be hurting us in the end. I just want to hear what they'll do for the country and to bring America back to glory!
I liked Beth O'Rourke's full throated flea to be chosen as someone's running mate after the primary. I hated the format though.
I couldn’t watch last night. I started to, but had to walk away for many of the same reasons as others mentioned earlier in your comments. I caught some snippets so I have a sense how things went but I am embarrassed to watch the circus. They would do better to play a version of Cards Against Humanity where instead of random topics/statements, the cards would hold the top issues going into the 2020 election. Might be just as effective as the current debate format but probably more fun to watch. Thank you for the updates.
It was lukewarm same old thing no one took serious issue with trump Racism and Lying
Delaney proved he's not ready for President. Williamson had some good points but it's just not enough. Sanders, I think it was you that described him now as the drunk Uncle. Yes. And I don't like drunks.
Warren nailed it. She has solid responses with clear how-to ideas.
I think this is where DEMs need to strategize about being a united front against all that trump stands for but show their subtle differences. They can’t show any cracks in the United message of them vs. evil.
I thought the format was annoying but the moderators relentlessly kept things going and the conversation had some substance for once, more than just grandstanding and campaign slogans. I wish there had been more discussion about foreign affairs. Individually, I thought Warren and Buttegeig were the most interesting but Marianne also had her moment. I was impressed by her big picture about the underlying stress of the country in dealing with the forces of darkness. She won't win and may not even be around in September but I could see last night how she got on the stage. Most Democrats are worried and scared and see the President as an evil force and she speaks to that underlying anxiety about the country. As for the others, the ones who need to go right away are Delaney, Hickenlooper and Ryan.
I agree with what some of the MSNBC pundits were saying after the debate. They were all talking details they, as president, will have no control over. Legislation originates in congress and whatever the makeup of those bodies will decide what gets done. These candidates must be aspirational, show leadership and have a vision. Williamson did this somewhat but then again that’s what she does but that’s all she has going for her. Buttigieg had his moments too. Ryan and Bullock need to be listened to. All this “free stuff” being thrown out there will not sell in areas of the country we need to win to get rid of trump. Some candidates are just writing the scripts for attack ads for the GOP.
Agree. Everyone thinks they will be president and run the show, which is something we criticize Trump for. They are debating policy details that Congress will labor over for months or years. Taxing the wealthy to give out free stuff sounds bad and won’t fly. It also won’t happen so why tell voters it will?
I liked that the candidates are talking about how “we” beat Trump. They may disagree on some policies but they are at least united in the goal of ousting Trump and seem to agree that any plan anyone on that stage has is better than what Republicans are offering. The morning after Trump won, I was hoping Warren would run in 2020. I’m still team Warren.
In 1972, I spent several Saturdays making phone calls for the George McGovern campaign. McGovern's vision for America was grounded in the principles that to this day I believe in. What my youthful, idealistic self didn't realize in 1972 was American voters were not going to vote for a candidate who proposes the massive, abrupt change McGovern did. Even though history now shows that Senator McGovern was on the right side of almost every issue, his campaign and defeat was a huge setback for liberals. I say all of this because I see Democrats making the same mistakes in 2020. Far worse than Nixon, Trump is a cancer that continues to grow and spread to the core of the fabric of America. In a real sense, America is a cancer patient and the cancer needs to be eradicated before healing and restoration can occur. I'm 100% for universal healthcare, immigration reform, and fairness in the tax system. But to me, everyone of those issues needs to be secondary to defeating Donald Trump. It is a sad statement but, regardless of where they stand on the issues, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth are both unelectable. If either of them are the nominee, it will be a repeat of 1972.
Well said.
Well, the day after the debate, we now know that Delaney owns over $3.5 million stock in all kinds of Healthcare Industry garbage. I really am miffed that CNN wasted our time allowing him to pull off such a stunt. He was not even polling 1% yet they gave him question after question to try to make a case against Medicare for All. This was just another example of Corporate-owned media masquerading as "liberal" setting the stage to move Democrats to the Right. Delaney was just the "Right-Wing-Lefty" to do it. "Presidential Candidate Who Attacked Medicare for All is Invested in Health Care Companies,Former Rep. John Delaney assailed Medicare for All and asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to debate him. Turns out he has a financial stake in the for-profit health care industry. https://readsludge.com/2019/06/04/presidential-candidate-who-attacked-medicare-for-all-is-invested-in-health-care-companies/
Thank you for posting this. It is infuriating to read this. Absolutely the problem we have in America. So many men , making promises they never keep, and profitting all the whilst stealing from you. I do not like Trump (it was so hard to type without curse words). But he is right, the media is a joke , he's just an expert player, so far.
Mayor Pete is realistic, extremely intelligent and genuine. Whoever becomes the nominee should take him as the VP.
Warren has plan for just about everything.
I think I could be friends with Marianne. We could run naked around a bonfire and commune with nature! Peace