I don’t usually watch political debates because I figure I can go to a candidate’s website and find out what they stand for. (If I can’t figure that out from the website, then my conclusion is that they don’t stand for anything.) However, it is useful to see how they present themselves – a kind of precursor to what we might have to listen to for the next four years (or more.)
So last night’s relative lack of substance coupled with a heaping dose of vitriol, really didn’t bother me. In fact, it gave me insight into how each candidate might fare against the onslaught of Trumpian rhetoric during the presidential campaign.
Let’s take a look at the candidates from the bottom up (so to speak.)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg. He was drawn and quartered by Senator Warren from the start and that poleaxed look never really went away. Questioned on Stop-and-Frisk, Mayor Bloomberg’s only defense seemed to be “well, everyone else does it!” He just couldn’t bring himself to admit to his mistake and apologize. (I’m sure Stop-and-Frisk plays well to the alt-right, but is that really what we want in a Democratic candidate?) Asked about the non-disclosure agreements that ended several lawsuits against him, he would not even say how many there were, never mind releasing those women to tell what happened. He insisted that they “signed voluntarily.” Either he doesn’t understand the power differential between a billionaire political figure and an employee or he understands it far too well and uses it to cover up his bad behavior. (Or crimes, we don’t know which.) When the questions turned to actual policy, Mayor Bloomberg’s answer amounted to “business will solve all our problems, trust me, I’m a billionaire!” That, and the delay in releasing his financial information, however, is sufficiently Trump-like that it should be making people think twice about another billionaire president. (Apparently those financial documents won’t be out until after Super Tuesday. Odd, that.) I thought, for a while, that he was being groomed by the DNC, but I can’t believe that even they are stupid enough to think President Trump won’t pound him into the ground. Somebody please get this clown off the stage.
Senator Amy Klobuchar. An almost complete lack of policy statements. Mayor Buttigieg seemed to take a perverse delight in taunting her with every bad thing anyone has ever said about her. (I’ll give him this much, he does his homework.) Senator Warren’s quip that Senator Klobuchar’s healthcare plan was “more like post-it note reading ‘insert plan here'”, seemed to strike home, though Senator Warren later came to her rescue when Senator Klobuchar was called to task for forgetting the name of the Mexican President in an interview. Senator Warren pointed out that “we’re all human and we sometimes forget things”. It was nice to see one woman come to the defense of another. Time after time, however, Senator Klobuchar seemed on the verge of tears. Personally, I would love to see a president that was able to cry in public – for a good reason, like sympathy for some great loss – but Senator Klobuchar’s chin-quivers were more like “Daddy, they’re being mean to me!” Yes, they were picking on her, but so will President Trump and it’s obvious she can’t handle that kind of pressure. President Trump would reduce her to tears in the first debate. Her only hope would be that President Trump refuses to debate her.
Vice President Joe Biden. In a close tie for next-to-the-bottom we have Vice President Biden, who spent a big part of the debate looking like he did “too much LDS at Berkley.” A few points of policy towards the end, but his refrain was pretty much, “when Obama and I…”. Yes, he was Vice President and that should count for something, but President Obama isn’t going to be there to hold his hand any more. President Obama is a lightning rod for the alt-right and Vice President Biden constantly harping on that connection will just make things worse. His willingness to compromise with the Senator “Moscow Mitch” McConnell isn’t going to save him either. The disruption by immigration activists at the end of the debate tells me that he isn’t likely to get much support from the Latinx/Chicanx community either, although he may ride President Obama’s legacy and garner significant black voter support. In the end, however, he is as uninspiring as Bloomberg and Klobuchar.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg. What can I say? He cosplays a good president. A smoothie. Definitely a smoothie. Well spoken, handsome and probably one of the best research staffs ever, judging by his performance. It is possible, just barely, but possible, that, with a good set of advisors around him, Mayor Buttigieg might make a decent president. However, since those advisors would more than likely be neo-liberal DNC plants, I’m not holding my breath waiting for him to bring any serious improvements in this country – at least not in terms of putting a leash on big business. Better than President Trump and definitely the first one I could vote for in November without hurling. His quip that Democrats “shouldn’t have to choose between one candidate who wants to burn this party down and another candidate who wants to buy this party out”, aimed at Senator Sanders and Mayor Bloomberg, was clever, but may bite him later, since it left Senator Warren standing proud of those two. I doubt very much if Senator Sanders wants to ‘burn it all down’ (although I do think that Mayor Bloomberg believes he can buy the election) but the issue here is what scares people who aren’t willing or able to read policy statements and see through the accusation. It’s possible Mayor Buttigieg is being disingenuous, but it’s also possible that he thinks hyperbole is a winning tactic. Sadly, it might be.
Senator Bernie Sanders. Mixed feelings here. I like most of what Senator Sanders offers, but he does come across as the angry revolutionary. Not a bad thing, necessarily, there’s plenty to be angry about, but it feeds right into Mayor Buttigieg’s “burn it all down” quip. And that little sound bite will go straight into the Republican propaganda machine. Senator Sanders would be hearing that line everywhere he goes from the convention until the election. I’m not convinced that the word ‘socialism’ scares as many people as the pundits make out, so it might not play as well as the Republicans think. Senator Sanders certainly speaks with conviction and can obviously fire people up, but that quote may scare some moderates clean out of the Democratic camp, let alone swing voters in the more conservative states. I’m not generally a fan of electability as a selection criteria, but it may have a place here. Yes, he’s ahead in the polls, but the Republicans would like nothing better than to face someone they could so easily play the ‘socialist’ card against. I won’t rule out efforts on their part to boost Sanders. Like I said, mixed feelings – I’d happily vote for him in November, but I’m not convinced he can win.
Elizabeth Warren. I was quite dismayed by her performance in my home state (New Hampshire) and it was a joy to see her fired up again. From her instant dismemberment of Bloomberg (and billionaires in general), her insistence on putting a leash on big business, to her constant reminders that a lot of voters aren’t white (and might just have different issues), she was on her game last night. Like Sanders, she is angry, but it comes out quieter, with a hard edge that tells us she serious about righting what’s wrong with this country and, by the way, ‘she has a plan for that.’ It is this, more than anything else, that sets her apart from the others: her preparation, her attention to the details of defining policy, her willingness to think things through and, if necessary, to re-think things. While she defended Klobuchar’s momentary memory lapse, she added that criticism should be leveled at policies, not people. “Look, you want to ask about whether or not you understand trade policy with Mexico? Have at it. If you get it wrong, you ought to be held accountable. You want to ask about autonomy, you ought to be held accountable. You want to ask about a thousand different issues and you get it wrong, you ought to be held accountable,” she said. This focus on having a coherent policy came through loud and clear, even in a debate that was, for the most part, devoid of particulars. I really do believe that, given the chance, she could have Trump on the ropes by election day. My first choice, God willing.