Democratic Primary Debate
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton definitely showed her depth of experience Tuesday night. The former Senator, First Lady, and Secretary of State showed us that she is no stranger to the debate stage. Clinton was extremely poised, confident, and aggressive. She showed her confidence by refusing to engage with Lincoln Chafee, with her now famous “no.” She called out Senator Sanders on not being tough enough on guns, bringing up his vote cast in 2005 to grant gun manufactures immunity from lawsuits. When Bernie Sanders said it was complicated, Hillary responded back with “It wasn’t complicated for me.” I believe one of the biggest moments of the night came when she was attacked for her vote for the Iraq War. She responded, “I recall very well being on a debate stage about 25 times with then-Senator Obama debating this issue. After the election, he asked me to be Secretary of State. He valued my judgment.” Any further attack here by association, is an attack on President Obama, who has an 88% approval rating among Democrats. Her time as Sectary of State shined during foreign policy questions. She really excelled with her specific policy proposals and talks of being in the Situation Room. Hillary was well prepared for this debate, any attack from the other candidates she had a smooth response. Like I stated before, she has been on this debate stage, where other candidates have not. Hillary Clinton did great, but she should have been nothing less than dominant.
Final Grade: A-
Bernie Sanders
Senator Bernie Sanders, who is trailing Hillary Clinton by 18 points in the latest Public Policy Poll, needed a big night to cut his deficit. He started strong with a powerful intro, appealing to the lower to middle class and minorities. As time went on, his weaknesses started to show. He wasn’t as polished as Hillary Clinton, and his voting record as an Independent in a rural state seem to undermine his democratic-socialist persona. One of his biggest moments of the night came when he criticized the ongoing controversy with Hillary’s emails: “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.” Senator Sanders wanted the time to be spent on more important matters, such as helping the middle class. While this was a big moment for Senator Sanders, it was almost a bigger moment for Hillary Clinton, as Sanders missed an opportunity to expose one of Hillary’s weaknesses. Bernie Sanders had some rough spots, but when he was on his game, it showed. Bernie showed his passion throughout the evening and pushed for prison reform, Wall Street reform, and making college affordable for everyone in this country. With more time on the stage, I am excited to see what Senator Sanders brings to the table in the future. Feel the Bern.
Final Grade: B
Martin O’Malley
Governor Martin O’Malley had the most to gain out of all the candidates in this debate. Polling at 1% in the latest Public Policy Poll, he needed to generate excitement about his campaign, and he came out flat. He seemed boring and monotone on the stage in the beginning, even his attacks on Hillary Clinton were dull and didn’t seem to land. During one attack on Clinton, he confused the President of Russia with the President of Syria. It wasn’t until they started talking about climate change that he started to get fired up. We started to see his passion for his progressive views that are near and dear to his heart. He touted to use an executive order to move America forward to a 100% clean electric grid by 2050. He spoke about how he made a big enemy from the NRA. O’Malley seemed to get more comfortable as time went on and his true colors seem to show during his closing statement. “On this stage you didn’t hear anyone denigrate women, you didn’t hear anyone make racist comments about new immigrants, you didn’t hear anyone speak ill of anyone because of their religious views.” To me this was the best closing statement out of any candidate, but where was this passion during the whole debate? Martin O’Malley was extremely inconsistent when he needed to be flawless.
Final Grade: C
Jim Webb
The former Virginia Senator, marine, and Secretary of the Navy had some buzz after he jokingly referenced that he killed a man while fighting in Vietnam. People made jokes after the debate on Jim Webb being a Republican, but to be fair Jim Webb actually had a couple shining moments in his very poor debate performance. He is strong on his values with immigration, speaking of his wife coming from refugee camps in Vietnam, not being able to speak English, and yet graduating from Cornell Law School. He emphasized the good side of immigration which the Republicans often seem to forget. He also had a strong stance on giving undocumented immigrants access to health care. Other than these small moments, he was either whining about his allotted speaking time, or giving answers that don’t exactly fit the Democratic platform, such as suggesting “All Lives Matter,” compared to “Black Lives Matter.” I don’t believe we will be seeing much more of Jim Webb.
Final Grade: D-
Lincoln Chafee
Awkward is the best word to describe the former Rhode Island governor’s performance. He looked very uncomfortable when he spoke. It seemed like nothing was going right for him on the stage, and he was continually on the defense. One of the biggest moments was when he was called out for his vote on Glass-Steagall while he was a Senator. He gave a terrible answer on how “he had just gotten there” and didn’t seem to know any better. When Anderson Cooper called him out on voting on something he didn’t know about, Lincoln Chafee complained Cooper was being “too rough.” Mr. Chafee, if you think a reporter from CNN is being too rough on you, then you shouldn’t run for President of the United States.
Final Grade: F
