Of course it got heated, it is a competition to be the Democratic candidate....it is not a kumbyyah campfire get together....this is really important and they are competing against one another, it is not a circle firing line it is a competition. I want to see some guts and spine.....Mayor Pete clearly does not belong on the stage, totally unqualified and stands for nothing but his own career.
1
First, the candidate television appearances that folks are watching are not debates. They are more like glorified press conferences. Verbal fisticuffs are inevitable at some point as candidates strive to be heard as well as to differentiate themselves from their opponents. The process begins to look more like carnival and spectacle than an exchange of views.
Keep in mind that primary candidates, who are from the same party, tend to agree more than they disagree. So going on the attack can be an attention-getter that improves a candidate's position in the polls. Winning the nomination takes precedence over winning the White House.
Trump the clear winner again. Nice job Elizabeth!
4
Lots of info coming out about the people Bloomberg has hired for $2500 a month to post nice things about him on social media. Guess they’ve started here! He was awful in the debate, entitled and looked profoundly POd that anyone would dare challenge him. But he’s going to be challenged (thank you Elizabeth Warren!) and vetted on the debate stage after hiding behind the hundreds of millions he’s been spending on vanilla advertising. The Emperor has no Clothes. And don’t tell me his racist policies and comments about women don’t matter. They do.
5
A gang of jealous hyenas attacked Bloomberg, while the bigoted moderators hardly gave him any time to talk and make his points; and whatever time he had was spent having to defend himself. And when has one heard a politician apologizing? Apologizing for police behavior which had been set up before his time by the previous Mayor, Rudy Giuliani. Elizabeth Warren, standing right next to him, was particularly obnoxious, which is very sad because I really hope to see a woman in the White House.
5
There goes Warren again. She knows she has lost her shine so she must do what she does best, drag down all others to push them below her own standing.
From Bloomberg's debate performance it is clear that Bloomberg is not a spinner but a proven and accomplished achiever. His sizzle is quite less from what his way out of the box unique steak should project. America must understand that his proven record of accomplishments, his successes in business, politics and philanthropy are his unique sizzle.
The question is which leader will bring the biggest quality changes in the lives of the 99%. Who will lift America up economically & in the quality of life domestically and internationally. Bloomberg is the best equipped with the accomplished experience means to do a better job than all the other candidates out there. He is still the best candidate.
Bloomberg has baggage but who doesn't? He is the only one who has compensated those who he has offended. Biden has similar baggage but has not admitted to it, let alone compensated those he has wronged.
Bloomberg does not have any baggage where it really counts. The biggest baggage is financially unrealistic plans that Bernie and Warren are proposing, that are popular but dead on arrival.
We cannot give up on Bloomberg just yet as his leadership has much more to offer then any other candidate, including Trump.
The biggest reason for Bloomberg to be the next president is the benefits his leadership will bring to America and the world.
6
Elizabeth Warren reminds me of secretaries who used to work for me.
I ran large senior centers and homeless shelters for a living, sometimes employing dozens of people as cooks, drivers, home heath aides and social workers. They were busy places.
They carried the title of Assistant to the Executive Director, but a better title would have been Jack (or Jill) of all trades. They were expert typists and could take dictation, bur their real skills
were handling people, me included.
They got paid about half of what I was making, which wasn’t very much.
Writing grant proposals was a big part of my job, and I was
delighted to have their clerical skills at my disposal, but it was their skill at handling the daily emergencies that arose in the place that mattered most to me.
They had close ties to the communities we were working in and used these ties to get things done.
It took me a while to understand this and realize that there were days when I was better off working at home while leaving the real business of the place up to them.
These women were hard headed realists devoted to their jobs. You didn’t hear much about their family lives while they were working.
When I watched Sen. Warren give Mr. Bloomberg that trashing, I immediately felt sorry for him.
I recognized my secretaries in her and knew he was in the hands of someone still smarting from many years of frustration, disappointment and lack of recognition in her own career and is now looking to make up for it.
5
Seriously, someone needs to appeal to Mr. Obama to come forward and supervise the Democratic debates. Perhaps having an adult in the room might teach these folks how an adult, and a leader, best conduct themselves.
"Small" is how I described the proceedings. Not the way to motivate the electorate that will be needed to oust our Imperial Cancer.
7
The clearest message from Bloomberg was that he is totally out of touch with the real world. The people who made those commercials, filmed them, spliced them, decided who to put in them, flooded TV with them, helped to thicken the fog he seems to be living in. He walked on that stage like a political version of Florence Foster Jenkins, the deluded socialite who imaged that she was a great singer. All that baggage from his time as mayor and in the world of business was right there, like laying out a feast for tigers. What a rude awakening.
5
@dutchris
You think that was baggage?
Please. Everyone else running has something in their backgrounds.
They are not running for sainthood.
Dems, get your acts together or we will have four more nightmare years ahead.
2
I would like someone to ask the candidates how they plan to counter attack Trump and his upcoming vicious lies and insults in the run up to the general election. The person with the best answer and plan should get the nomination. The issues are secondary, hate to say it. No plan to fight Trump, you lose. This election is all about mud wrestling and if you're not ready for it get out of the way. Trump MUST lose no matter what it takes, even if it means putting your self at his level at times to put him in his place.
1
Her silly stunt tonight to draft a sort of NDA release for Bloomberg was too much reality TV. Looks like there were 65 employment type suits against Bloomberg LP - how does that compare to other companies of their size. I think she may regret this grandstanding tactic
3
This was a debate? Where were the issues facing us today that need to be addressed? Climate change, our precarious economy, the ballooning debt, our alienation from any of our allies, our crumbling infrastructure, Trump's arrogant flouting of any existing rule of law? Instead, this was a WWE mud fight, with all attacking and shouting over each other, in continuing character attacks. It was a disgusting display, actively encouraged by the debate "monitors". The only winner of last night's debate was Donald Trump. God help us all.....
2
Made for TV “debates” 18 months before the election. What a crock. For the next one, why not vote somebody off the island?
3
Warren didn't attack Bloomberg in any way we shouldn't expect and even require on a debate stage; she simply drew attention to his actual attacks on women in an entirely appropriate and topical way.
12
no one seems to mention the moderators for the evening. their questions seemed targeted to provide for the type of theater that emerged rather then intelligent conversation. shame on them and MSNBC.
8
Bloomberg should hope that democratic voter enthusiasm doesn’t equal his warmth and stage presence.
3
Last night's debate showed that the contest has devolved into nothing but a mud-fight. Bloomberg was treated as the newest convenient target. I suspect that other candidates, if they had the wealth to spend on a campaign, would spend some of their own money too. But Bloomberg's wealth was all they saw, evidently with envy and resentment, and used it to make points. I do not know where many of the candidates really stand on things. I know that Bloomberg has put his money into Democratic causes and climate causes. Sanders makes many promises but is fuzzy about the details. Warren's tirades wasted time. Like Bloomberg, a former Republican, she seems to want to publish an expose about many of the male candidates, and perhaps she should as that could be read at leisure while riding the subway rather than tolerated while waiting to hear where candidates stand on real problems our nation is facing. All of the candidates except Bloomberg - a deer in the Dem-party headlights - were eager to slash and burn their fellow Democrats. Frantic, mocking or even calm expressions of outrage, sarcasm, and mudslinging do not a debate make. There was no discussion about how any candidate planned to make the changes he or she promised. There was no discussion of how to defeat Donald Trump. There was just attacking and empty bragging. It was a disgraceful show and I am sure that the GOP and the Russians are gloating and looking forward to four more years in the White House.
10
Please, don't take this as demeaning a great president, Barrack Obama. I voted for him twice and would do so again. But, you see, I voted for him not because he was black (which he is not - his mother was white and he was raised by his white grandmother) but because he is intelligent, compassionate, and articulate on the problems we face as a nation. All the men on last night's debate stage showed they are not of the same calibre. Senators Klobuchar and Warren stood out as being the only Democratic candidates I could vote for. Both of them show the same qualities I want to see in our next president so we can heal from the damage done by Trump. Both of them are unafraid to speak their minds when needed. What a great tag team they would make in the two top civilian offices in the land. Only real problem I see is that we could lose two vital Democratic seats in the Senate. Hopefully, voters in their states will vote to keep their seats Democratic with equally talented and vocal people. Oh, by the way, that goes for all the states with Republican seats open this year. Throw out all the scoundrels, top to bottom.
5
I think that if you work for a candidate’s campaign, you should disclose that information when you post in support of them. There are so many new posters flooding us with pro-Bloomberg posts. I do not trust them. No more Bloomberg Bots!
6
I only watched the highlights, but even though he is low energy Bloomberg is a very solid person. And it may take a billionaire to beat a billionaire. Let's all line up behind or favorite billionaire and make the oligarchy real. The real question I have about Bloomberg is just what does he believe? It's not clear. What kind of President would he be? Would he be willing to implement real campaign finance reform even if it made it harder for him on the next go round? Reform is a tricky question. Trump is for justice reform, he wants to let all the "unfairly treated" money men out of jail as if they did no wrong. But all the actually unfairly treated little people can just stay in there, we've got to fulfill the contracts with the private prison companies after all. I've lived through a lot of really horrible stuff politically but this is the strangest turn of events of all. Billionaire vs Billionaire.
4
@Hugh Robertson
Agree with you but would just like to say this: If Bloomberg wins the nomination, I am pretty sure he would not run for a second term. He would be 82! I am thinking that he, or Bernie, will chose a much younger VP (but nit Buttegeig, please.)
1
No matter who the Democrats nominate, there will be polarization. It’s evident based on the broad differences in the nominees’ ideology and positions on issues. I don’t see a unifier coming out of the convention this summer.
4
This was not a debate. It was an attack on Bloomberg, who is probably the only one on the stage able to defeat the current president. If the Democrats are the fools they seem to be, we will lose the election as badly as Goldwater did. I am a lifelong, progressive Democrat, who is appalled at the situation. As Dennis from NYC said, we need to win in the swing states, such as Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. I, too, was hoping Sherrod Brown would run, and when he didn't we supported Biden. Biden now looks weak, and none of the other candidates on the stage last night, except Bloomberg, will be electable. If we nominate Sanders, we will lose the presidency and the House of Representatives. It will be a disaster.
I am an MSNBC listener and and had looked forward to the debate, but I was disgusted with the commentators, who neglected to ask sensible questions, and who encouraged the attackers.
12
Ms. Warren appears incapable of strategic thinking. Her evident goal was to tear down a billionaire, rather than to stop or slow Bernie Sanders. If Bernie is the nominee, I will vote for him, but I would vote for a flying monkey rather than cast a vote for Donald Trump. I would much prefer to vote for anyone (save Trump) than Bernie in the general election.
Why would I want another hostile male in the position of President? Bernie and Trump are two sides of the same coin.
2
I thought the goal was to defeat Trump. This circular firing squad only helped Trump. What a fiasco. Focus on the goal, Dems!
5
The Spanish speaking moderator was not intelligible or on target. No questions were asked about foreign affairs, education or economics.
5
Winners losers and in betweens. However it all shakes out this debate was smart gladiatorial funny and revealing. It was a political throw down like i don’t remember seeing. And who excelled at this lingual warfare: WArren. One minute takes the dagger out of Amy’s back only to slid her neck a few minutes later. It was artful. Unfortunately maybe a little late. I always felt Warren was the only one who could go toe to toe with the brute in the WH and last night she proved it. Loved it all: are you saying i am dumb? Lol.
5
Not a good idea when the real problem is trump not each other.
5
There are two interesting, compelling candidates in this race for the White House and they are Michael Bloomberg and the president. The rest are also rans,"boring as stones."Neither is reticent about speaking his mind. So the debate last night was a winnowing process, eliminating the tiresome Sanders, Biden, Buttigieg,Klobuchar,Warren and Stirer, at least from this point of view.
4
A nasty family squabble! And these folks promised to support the winner of this fiasco?
4
I was actually turned-off by the debate last night.
Clearly, Mike Bloomberg was like fresh seal meat in a sea of sharks. He didn't and could hold his own against the others, who have more experience in this type of forum.
If Bloomberg is serious, he needs to come out with a better battle plan and not solely rely on bombarding us with TV ads.
As to the other candidates, I was less impressed by their un-president-like behavior last night. Last night was more about who can throw the other guy under the bus, as opposed to solutions to issues on healthcare, immigration, and how America deals with foreign policy issues. I will not watch any more debates until a Democratic nominee is chosen. I will solely judge the candidates by their records, what their stances are on certain issues, and what their strategy would be to defeat Donald Trump.
6
The more I think about the attacks on Bloomberg, the more I think they are completely disproportional. First of all you have to weigh out the entirety of Bloomberg's positions and his decisions over his careers, both business and public. I would find it much easier to accept the errors Bloomberg has made in the past, when I compare Bush's unwarranted attack on Iraq and a war that killed thousands, many of whom were innocent civilians, women and children. Blacks were harmed with stop and frisk, but they were not slaughtered. So what I say is, put things into perspective, and with Bloomberg don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, because he has many positive attributes and I believe he could beat Trump, and in terms of decency he is astronomically better that Trump. (No I am not saying he is a baby, it's just an expression, that title goes to Trump.)
6
Last nigh’s debate showed the need for an independent candidate who will speak about real issues not just personal attacks. Personal attacks will not help to create better jobs, improved education, better health care and anything else that really matters to most Americans.
When will the national media begin to tell this story rather than covering infantile politicians who care only about themselves?
2
@ JTM
I agree about the media. They gave trump so much attention, so much free coverage. I believe they are most certainly, at least partially responsible for the mobster we have in the WH
3
WHY didnt any Democrat candidate last night show how we can defeat Trump, instead of attacking each other? They know we dont like squabbling. We want a calm, confident person who can lead. (In contrast, Trump rallies look happy & united.)
Trump does not care if seniors starve with less social security or higher drug prices; he does not care if children starve without food stamps & school lunches. He pardoned a bunch of criminals. His nominee to head up Intelligence Department will dismiss honorable staff members. He wants to be dictator for life, like those he admires. Why cant Dem debates focus on ways to beat Trump, not squabbles?
5
Sad to see that Democratic candidates were so vicious towards each other last night. Especially to Mike Bloomberg. And to Joe Biden who claimed that he didn’t do much as mayor, sorry Joe, being a life-long New Yorker Andy democrat, he did a great job as Mayor, more so than you did as VP for 8 years under Obama (taking nothing away from Barack). Bottom line is, as Chris Matthews said, somebody needs to tell Bernie flat out that America doesn’t want a socialist like him running country, and he will be a lame duck president if he wins. GOP will never pass any of his bills. So step aside Bernie and give the party a real chance to win in November. Elect Mike Bloomberg, he’s our only hope!
6
Bloomberg is underprepared and overhyped.
8
Unless the democrats can also retake the senate, the only positive here is that we won’t have to hear the name Trump 24-7. Which, when you think about it...
3
Wow, so many here are complaining about the "circular firing squad" but are trashing all of the candidates far worse than they trashed each other. Please try to be more supportive if you want Trump out of DC.
6
A real mud slinging evening.
It was clearly painful for Mr Bloomberg. He is an orderly person and not into shouting matches.
For me the most surprising performance was from Biden. He actually sounded and looked like a President.
Again health care is the Elephant in the room. What is disappointing is that they are all talking past each other. Further, the political reality is that as long as Mitch is the Majority Leader nothing will happen. The Dems must take the Senate and maintain their control of the house.This must include getting a new Senator in Kentucky. I would hope that that the Dems have developed an understanding of what Kentucky voters want that Mitch hasn"t provided them.
Further, the candidates need to understand that the US ship of state changes course very slowly. The people want to get rid of Trump but they are not going to be interested in jumping from the skillet into the fire.
8
Bloomberg seemed at best unrehearsed. His closing was awful: how can he miss the opportunity to share his personal story and vision for the country? As a viewer, I could only mute the constant hateful interruptions by Warren. The moderators failed to do anything when she filibustered. Warren is a fraud: she went from a 30 year residency in Harvard Sq to an Okie on the campaign trail. Charlie Baker, a republican governor, got more votes on the same ballot. NH voters have seen: the rest of the country will too. Sanders is a broken record. Says the same, unformed stuff over and over. Why bother to listen. Amy K is a solid contender. Pete is a speechifier. Biden is addled. So what do we do? Who beats Trump? Amy or Mike seem like the only choices...
7
Elizabeth Warren acted like a typical mean girl picking on the new kid in class. Hey we've all been to high school.
17
I don't know where you went to school, but where I'm from the smartest gal in the room was never "the mean girl" except when fearlessly cutting an entitled bully down to size.
11
Warren stood up for women and cut Bloomberg down to show she can do the same to Trump. Not a mean girl at all- a smart and capable person.
6
Richard
Who did Bloomberg bully? Everyone was just miffed he showed up.
1
What a dystopia we live in! Our 2020 presidential race could be a contest between a racist, sexist NY billionaire who used to be a Republican and is running as a Democrat, and a racist, sexist NY billionaire who used to be a Democrat and is running as a Republican.
10
Thank God I do not live in Nevada because the Dem candidates, except Pete, were a disgusting bunch last night. I don't think if I had to vote this weekend I could do it. Calling Sherrod Brown and any other Dem moderate who is in hiding to please come forth and rescue us. Old Uncle Joe given the heir apparent status kept Brown and other qualified people from throwing their hat into the ring!! Didn't we learn anything from the Hillary debacle as the "Chosen One"?? What a dismal bunch!
4
After faithfully watching all the previous debates, I sat this one out. And I'm not sorry I did. Wish I could sit out all the horse-race coverage, all the WWE-like expectations for blood, sweat, and tears. I don't care to see candidates tear each other to shreds. I would tune in to learn what they stand for and how they'll make a difference; let us determine who we want to throw to the mat and who we want to hand the golden belt.
1
Overall impressions:
Bloomberg. condescending; I'm a New Yorker and many people felt that "stop and frisk" was moving toward a police state. Many NewYorkers wondered if hispanics, whites, intellectuals, or jews would be next regarding that policy. He's scary.
Buttigeig. Needs to get off the stage. Has nothing to say. Its all "fluff" and that's a term that is used when a person talks but says nothing that qualifies their point of view.
Klobuchar. She had been a favorite until she let the mayor boy run all over her because of the question about the Mexican president.
Warren showed good sense to step in, break it up, and provide the audience with a sense of her use of authority and compassion in a moment of pure allegiance with another woman (Finally, a woman who can share her compassion in public in with just the right use of common sense!) AND to bring the attention back to the moment: we need someone who can pay attention to what is important.
Sanders. I gave money to Sanders in his last campaign. I cannot trust him to do what he says because, just as before, he stated, "I will support the Democratic nominee" and he did not...and look at the idiot in the White House. So, "fool me once."
Biden. Its unfortunate that Obama did not step aside for Biden or Clinton because we could have had a quarter century of dems now.
Warren. She's changed through the campaign and just as in the corporate world, things change daily...and employees have to modify. She's got my vote now.
8
@justin efrie Sorry, but Warren runs around with her hair o fire just like Bernie does. Sadly, there isn’t anyone in the bunch that moved me, but if I had to pick one, my money is on Bloomberg, no pun intended.
4
To all the critics of Elizabeth Warren-I'm sorry the little lady isn't as polite as you'd like. Should she bake some cookies for you next time?
14
they did not talk about anything that i care about.
-trump the racist, bigot, xenophobe, islamophobe and criminal in chief and his mafia
-removing the salt limit that has increased the taxes for many by many thousands of dollars to reward criminals who evade taxes and companies that pay no taxes
-consumer protection from scammers and criminals. the biggest criminal who scammed people with trump university,cheated the irs out of hundreds of millions in taxes while the rest of us, even poor people, pay taxes-he is now letting the biggest white,wealthy and influential criminals go scot free. it is a banana republic with a kangaroo senate.
-eradicating the republican party at the grass roots in california. not one republican should remain. they are together with trump destroying the courts, justice and democracy. we get ticketed and fined 300 for minor traffic infraction
-the receding antarctic glacier that will cause the glaciers to disappear with unknown consequences, and sea levels to rise by several feet. the lower floors of trump tower ending up under water would be a good thing by itself, though i don't wish that for anybody concerned about climate change. if rural america ends up under water and without livelihoods no regret-they brought it upon themselves and have only themselves to blame.they are ignorant and enable the low iq trump who left the paris treaty.
-unfairly denying green card holders,who pay taxes like everybody, social benefits
-electing a brown president
3
The moderators should never host a debate; ever. Dreadful job.
16
So the Trojan Horse turned out to be a pony, not a donkey.
Now I believe the candidates mostly understand we will not win being nice.
Fighters win battles faster than flowers.
3
This is a complete mess that the DNC is responsible for. Watching the circular firing squad going after each others "warts" while an unleashed, grifting, monster is tearing apart the fabric of our constitution and our country is sickening. Watching the dems grab defeat from the jaws of victory is an all too recurring nightmare. The DNC set this stage with too many candidates. Rule changes to allow certain people in (Bloomberg) while washing the color off the stage is yet another example of the DNC's incompetence. Get ready for four more year of a lawless, unhinged, racist tearing our country apart.
6
Just love Elizabeth berating Mike about stop and frisking black people while she has no shame skating through life pretending to be a Native American for her own benefit and just maybe taking a spot away from real Native Americans.
13
In the analysis, Bloomberg is called undersized. Sounds pejorative to me.
The problem with the Democrats is that many are so focused on putting through candidates through political and moral purity tests that no normal person could pass, that the forest gets lost in the trees. The advantage for the Republicans is that they are willing to overlook the most immoral and unhinged president we’ve ever had because for them, the ends justify the means. The ends = abolishing roe v wade, keeping their guns, denying climate change, keeping out the immigrants. Evangelicals seriously believe God sent Trump down to fulfill His will for America — I know this thanks to my hardcore Trump-supporting cousin who sends me YouTube videos of actual sermons happening in America purporting this theory.
Wake up, Democrats, and try thinking and playing like a Republican for once. Of the candidates that are left, who can beat Trump, who can WIN? I, for one, am tired of watching the circular firing squad. The debate last night was truly unsettling, and I couldn’t stop picturing Trump laughing his face off. Yes, I care about these candidates’ pasts, and while I find it very troubling that Bloomberg has dozens of signed NDAs with various women, that doesn’t impact his ability to do the job of President, and to do it well. Most importantly, he can win. No one else on that stage can pull it off due to sexism, homophobia, fear of socialism — that’s the reality of the America we live in today, no matter how much you wish it wasn’t the case.
11
@jessica totally agree, couldn’t have said it better myself, thank you Jessica.
6
Nobody thought Trump would actually win. Republicans chose him because they liked him. Nobody actually likes Mike. Nobody ever has anything good to say about him other than “he can win,” which seems like a very dubious proposition at best.
3
@ Ben
Not true. New Yorkers in general seem to like Bloomberg. He won election three times. That tells you something.
He isn’t a saint, but he is not running for sainthood.
3
Imagine Elizabeth Warren standing in judgement of anyone esp. Bloomberg. He has given millions to higher education. Warren has made millions from being part of the higher education racket. She reportedly makes $500K per year teaching 1 session of 1 course per semester. No wonder her student debt plan lets the colleges and universities off the hook. She's colluding with them.
8
I wish that the question to Sanders, and maybe all of the candidates, would be about who they would be bringing into the cabinet, oval office, to implement or bring forward their policies. At this point, I see Sanders waving his fingers, and promising a chicken in eve4y pot, which is easier said than done. He doesn't seem to be diplomatic,which troubles me. I deeply fear four more years of the poisonous liar in the White House, and wish that the sniping among Democrats would stop, and questions beyond what brings forth the pre scripted policy rants would happen.
8
Isn't the format of a debate supposed to be the defense of positions on issues, not the defense of the debaters from personal attacks? The so-called moderators played a game of sic-em, with the result that candidates spent their time attacking each other. All we learned from this was how fast they are on their feet and how hard they can swing.
8
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away ...
There actually was a time in US history when Presidential debates were hosted by the League of Women Voters. They were non-partisan, informative, and a credit to democracy. But because they focussed on real issues, and forced the candidates to come prepared to honestly present and defend their positions, the "powers that be" decided they didn't want that anymore. So the LWV was pushed aside in favor of the pundits of the infotainment industry. Who are only concerned with boosting their own ratings, and seeing how many "gotcha" clips they can collect. And US democracy has been sliding downhill ever since.
77
Happy retiree: Well said!!!!! I’m 63,and remember those debates (Ok Boomer!!). I haven’t watched the democratic (or republican) debates in a long time...because it’s just a rehash of the constant bombardment of info by CNN/FOX (and,unfortunately NYT). It’s exhausting! But was excited to watch last night because of Bloomberg. He bombed...but that’s not my takeaway. Elizabeth Warren,obviously a very bright and accomplished person, demeans herself by constantly attacking anyone she can...but the only time she spoke about what she believed in was when she was attacked. And they were all egged on by the illustrious crew of journalists who go for the salacious rather than the pertinent. This plays right into Donald’s hands. You can say what you want about the Donald...but he’s outsmarted all the liberal media by exploiting there need for career success,ratings and greed. And he’ll be re-elected because of it.
9
@Happy retiree How can we get at least one debate moderated by the LWV? That would probably be the only one a lot of us would watch. More than one would be better, but at the very least.
Complaints about the poor moderation should be listened to.
9
As expected, lots of people are commenting on the winners and losers tonight. Unfortunately, less than 10% of the electorate typically watches any particular debate. And Trump lost every debate in 2016 as did Bush the lesser in 2004. But the debates didn't determine the election winner in either cycle, and they have little bearing on how a candidate will actually govern.
For myself, I couldn't stand the constant attacks and turned it off after a few minutes, only returning briefly to hear closing statements. I sincerely wish the candidates would agree to just debate the issues in depth and leave out the personal attacks. It looks juvenile and does more harm than good.
46
@Michael Tyndall I've rewatched the Trump debated multiple times for my own analysis on how he won. I don't know who decides the winners, but it certainly didn't look to me that he was losing at all.
3
I spent some time at lunch reading these comments and I was surprised at one key point that everyone missed. It was when Warren said "I am a capitalist". To me that might go down in history as the equivalent of Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook." Warren and Bernie started out their campaigns pandering to the far left wing of the party. But when Warren's campaign flopped, she dumped Medicare for all. Now she's disavowing the aims of the progressive wing altogether. She's now in political limbo with no base to lean on.
4
I'm tired of Democratic candidates who have some purity test that only allows them to be the candidate. I don't care if you get money from small donors or big donors or yourself. I don't particularly think shoving Medicare for all at people is a winning idea. I don't think anyone on stage wins some purity contest with minorities so quit acting like you do. I don't think being a Washington insider or outsider is critical to being the candidate.
I want someone who can present their ideas, ideas all Americans can support, stand up to the Trump team's withering fire, get people hoping for a better future and be the proverbial candidate you'd like to have a beer with. I want someone who will be my president next year. When you backstab other candidates, you're telling me that you don't believe you have what it takes to win on your own strengths.
3
But what's the alternative?
"Last night just proved how ridiculously non-productive and expensive these debates are."
At least a debate gives us a chance to see all of the (top-tier) candidates in action.
3
I don't doubt for a moment that "he's the real deal," but Sanders is too old. So is Biden. If you like Sanders, consider Warren instead. She's old too, but she looks and acts much younger than Bernie.
"The mainstream media always pretends it is surprised that Sanders walks away unscathed. Sanders always walks away unscathed because he’s the real deal."
What amazes me about Bernie is that most of his followers seem genuinely surprised by his ideas, as if they're new. Bernie has been around for a very long time, and all of his ideas have been around even longer.
6
Yes, but most American voters are not Democrats, and they agree with Bloomberg's policies:
"Bloomberg has already alienated a sizable percentage of the Democratic base."
If the goal is "purity," pick Sanders. But if the goal is to beat Trump, pick Bloomberg.
8
Everyone attacked Bloomberg, and his performance is seen as some sort of "disaster" by the paid pundits, but he made a lot of great points, such as that while Sanders, etc. attack the fact that billionaires pay so little in taxes, the tax code is written by Senators. And that his billions are completely self-made. And that the "democratic socialist" Sanders is a millionaire with 3 houses. And that he has had women in high positions for years in all of his companies. Bloomberg just made his points calmly and confidently, not in a fit of rage, which for some reason is seen as a character flaw.
14
@Rock Turtleneck Could not agree more with every word of this post. Bloomberg is still my candidate. When they pilloried him for the tax code, I was agog and aghast.
9
@printer Thanks! I was also thinking that Bloomberg must have been shocked by the barrage as this was his first debate. I don't think anyone would expect to be bombarded so ruthlessly right from the start, no matter who you are.
3
@Rock Turtleneck Right - and I would think that he seldom has to raise his voice or wave his hand to "get a turn" and be heard.
3
The debate was a complete turnoff. The only candidates that made some effort on specific details for some policies were Klobuchar and Pete. The rest appeared to be angry politicians blabbering or yelling, and interrupting each other. Wasted my time.
5
Bloomberg just needs to ask Warren, whom the Times has recommended, to produce her applications to college and graduate schools, and employment to see if they are 'kosher".
She is hiding behind the schools who refuse to release them on privacy concerns, policy. That would even the field and quiet her attacks.
3
Bloomberg needs to release his tax returns first.
1
Bloomberg is toast. His "apologies" regarding "stop and frisk" are way too little too late. His non-answers regarding NDA's with women employees are sleazy. And his lame excuse for not releasing his tax returns is downright Trumpian. My husband is a CPA tax accountant who worked for a huge accounting firm serving billionaire clients. Everything is digital now. Printing out and sending even the most complicated returns is done with the touch of a button - even if it is thousands of pages as Bloomberg claims. He's just a quasi-liberal version of Trump. We can do a lot better.
3
Look at what purity tests and identity politics have done to the Democrats.
It's gotten to the point where if you received a heart from a person cadaver heart donor who was rumored to have "offended" somebody somehow, then you cannot be considered for XYZ.
Dems have fallen on their own unicorn swords.
9
I think Pres. Trump, the capitalist, won over the Bolsheviks and oligarchs in last night's Democrat Party debate.
3
Bloomberg should not have been allowed to come in at this late date. It made the debate chaotic and out of focus.
Important issues were diminished.
Bloomberg was the best Mayor in our modern history.
Last night, he made a major idiot out of himself.
As did Warren, Bernie and Buttgeig.
Amy Klobuchar was the only candidate who remembered we were trying to beat out Donald Trump.
She brilliantly brought Buttgeig down to size.
4
@delores
Bloomberg qualified under the rules.
1
I begrudgingly gave Bloomberg a chance last night.
UGH!
NEXT!
Sincerely,
A Lifelong New Yorker
3
Smoke filled backrooms look better and better.
7
I thought debate was ugly.
It did not reflect the Democratic ethos at all.
I will vote for a safety-pin if it’s nominated by DNC to get rid of the bubonic plague sitting in the WH... but it made me sad.
At such a time we need a coherent, decent, but sharp candidate who can walk the middle ground— socialist values which benefit the society and progressive ideals which place a check on the ever increasing billionaires/millionaires— and we don’t have one!
I like Ms Warren, but I wish she had toned down her healthcare rhetoric early on. It has damaged her position irrevocably.
You have the most nativist, misogynistic, pathological liar and narcissistic President in the history of USA who threatens DOJ, SC, grants pardons to corporate criminals, has put North America and Europe in serious jeopardy with the current foreign policy... and this is the best we can do with the candidates?
Lord Almighty, have mercy on us, if all this pathetic, incompetent and infighting behaviour gets DT re-elected!
2
The great white hope was soundly pummelled. By a woman.
4
#Bloomberg - Trump version 2.0
2
Last night just proved how ridiculously non-productive and expensive these debates are. This one was especially painful to watch; makes me happy that I didn't waste too much of my time watching previous debates. The Democratic candidates are only following the lead of an unfit leader. Dems, stop attacking each other, try to find common ground and unite behind one candidate!
1
I am increasingly convinced that the mainstream media *wants* Trump to win as they keep getting to whip up the hysteria and increase their viewership. Nothing else explains why these debates are held the way they are.
Rather than getting thoughtful, nuanced, and substantive policy-driven answers in response to serious, meaningful questions, we get pointless and sensationalist-questions, cheap-shot one-liners, bickering, and name-calling - in short, everything Trump excels at.
Are we watching a Presidential debate or a gladiatorial blood-sport?
"Are you not entertained?"
4
The mainstream media always pretends it is surprised that Sanders walks away unscathed. Sanders always walks away unscathed because he’s the real deal. He’s not corrupt, has no baggage, has never treated women as objects for his amusement, has never flip-flopped, has never defrauded students, has never stolen from his own charity, never singled out minorities for punishment (like Bloomberg). We get the state propaganda station over at Faux News and the we hate democracy and Sanders from the mainstream media. The American people are sick of 40 years of our politicians and the media falling all over themselves to work for their rich masters and personal greed - exclusively.
1
@DSD
Sanders is the real deal all right. The millionaire socialist who owns three homes. And wants to buy the election with "free" healthcare and "free" college provided by the taxpayer. At least Bloomberg wants to buy the election with his own money.
4
@ DSD
Sanders is unelectable because he will be smeared with the socialist or communist label. Also, while it is true that he has been saying the same things for all of his long political life, he has not been a productive Senator, legislatively speaking. He will be smeared on this, as well.
Amy Klobuchar is my pick.
I’m afraid for our country. I’m afraid that a regime change (Executive & Senate) is even MORE urgent than climate change.
This is the most important vote of my life (I’m 68). Bernie is the only one who is radical enough. Yes, Radical. I said it. Our democracy needs a radical Reboot and I believe Bernie is the real deal.
What is everyone so afraid of??
4
GGTM
We are afraid, very afraid, that Sanders cannot win.
There was no debate. It was childish slinging of arrows by everyone but Bloomberg and intellectual dishonesty. In my opinion, Klobuchar was the loser. She appeared nervous, angry, defensive and uneven in temperament.
Mike Bloomberg is the only candidate who can beat Trump. He showed poorly on this panel because the audience was against him no matter what he said (I thought we wanted someone who would admit to having made mistakes), and that Warren was allowed to shamelessly browbeat him for not "apologizing in the right way", condemning him not for correcting his mistakes, but for making them in the first place. Warren lost any interest of mine when she starting called for homosexual reparations and pandering to trans activists. She can't beat Trump. Neither can Sanders.
But here's the real reason Bloomberg is the only one who can beat Trump: there are Trump voters who are honestly disgusted with the Republican party and with Trump. They'll vote for Bloomberg given the option. Give the other options, they vote for Trump again.
6
I am waiting till election day to vote in a new president to the white house. I will vote for who ever is running against the currant occupant. Anyone, as many commenters have pointed out, would do a much better job than
trump. You will find fault with all the candidates but they are all decent human beings. Thats a prerequisite for a leader that trump has failed at miserably.
2
"Looks like Lizzy might be the one to rock Trump. Bloomberg would get crushed."
At the moment, Trump would beat ANY Democrat, handily. The NYT, and many voters, prefer Warren, and I find her impressive, but Trump would mop the floor with her or Sanders. Unfortunately for the Democratic Party, Trump probably would beat Bloomberg too. Probably by not as much, though, and a Bloomberg nomination would at least preserve the Democratic Party, which otherwise appears likely to go the way of the former Liberal Party in the UK.
3
If its not clear by now than Warren should be the nominee, I hope it will be soon. She has the broadest
and most integrative understanding of the most pressing issues of our time. She is the most personable. She is whip smart, accurate, cunning and unafraid. She values truth. She can stand up to anyone. She has the best and most altruistic reasons to be on that stage. She chooses her moments and respectfully measures her rebuttals whether they be jabs or knockout blows, and when she delivers them they are always effective. Its obvious she likes people. Shes inspiring, has a good sense of humor and has a big heart. Her followers are not old resentful hippies, trust-fund agitators and recreational rioters. She is the adult in the room. Oh, and did I mention shes a woman.
3
I only tuned in for the second half, because, frankly, I'd rather watch NOVA on PBS. I fully expected the candidates to pile on Mike Bloomberg, as the newcomer. Still, it's hard to feel sorry for any billionaire. Biden was once regarded as the front runner, but he sounds out of it, and disconnected from reality. I'm aware that he has a stutter he fights from a recent Atlantic Monthly article, but his speech sounds like he's borderline senile. Reagan came off a lot better in 1980, but he had experience as an actor, and governor of California.
3
People keep pointing out how "embarrassing" the debate was for the Democratic candidates. Embarrassing? While trump mocked a 16 year old girl with autism on Twitter, trump junior killed an endangered sheep in Mongolia (and got the permit retroactively), and the entire trump family was busted for stealing charity money from veterans and kids with cancer. The Trump family is so cartoonishly evil, it's embarrassing that they're in the White House.
10
I seem to remember a word in Japanese 'Hara Kiri" which defines a noble suicide usually performed by a male who protects his honor by eviscerating his frontal guts out: stomach, intestines, liver, kidney, spleen. Self-inflicted punishment to redeem his reputation. That's what I saw and turned off last night as the Democratic Candidates gorged one another. It started almost immediately when Sen. Warren went for Mayor Bloomberg's jugular. Hideous. Sprinkled Holy Water--I'm Catholic--around the room and left the room for bed which did not come with sleep for a long time remembering the demise of the Democrats on National T.V.
3
Shame on the so-called "moderators" who stood by as each candidate, intent on demonstrating their purity, trashed. Bloomberg. Elizabeth Warren was perhaps the worst of these, snarling in high dudgeon. Sanders remains a menace, querulous and angry, yet threatening to capture the nomination and guarantee us four more years of Trump.
6
Buttigieg came across as a petulant adolescent trying to needle his Mommy. Not a good look.
Grounded until 2028.
7
A fair bet:
"Trump must be very pleased at this point with his prospects for re-election."
Things might change. For example, all but one Democratic candidate may bow out tomorrow, or Trump might get hit by a truck before Election Day. But if nothing major happens, and the Democrats continue to bad-mouth each other as they did last night, Trump's re-election appears very likely.
3
@Commenter Here’s hoping that a Democrat (maybe a young Kennedy appears out of nowhere like some kind of a God), or that Trumpy does get hit by that truck you mention. Because if these two things don’t happen, we are in for 4 more years of this hell. I’m also thinking of a minor illness that renders him unable to speak, & reduces him to a constant drool, that Melania will have to wipe from his face with a monogrammed handkerchief!
2
I watched last night. Very depressing. All candidates have flaws. I worked for Bloomberg; I know well that he is not the pig Warren et al. portrayed him to be. Arrogant and elitist? Sure. But hardly the only one or extremely so. Further, very smart, experienced at government, and, as it appears that America loves a billionaire, perhaps electable. Which should be the primary consideration, in the present context.
It's *not* primarily about the issues, as some commenters aver. It never is, and in particular is not now.
Unless the Democratic coalition permanently splinters, the election will likely be close and turn on the few battleground states that were close in the last election.
The relevant question is simply:
What Democratic ticket can likely prevail in those states?
I had thought Joe Biden/Sherrod Brown.
Now I don't know, but think not Sanders (socialist,intolerant and in particular Israel-hating surrogates), not Warren (look at the polls and primaries), and not Buttigieg (weak with black voters and likely not the ideal candidate to carry swing states).
25
@Dennis Anyone but Biden beats Trump. And the eventual nominee would greatly help the Democrats by choosing Stacy Abrams as their vice-president.
1
@Dennis "Socialist" is one of several meaningless buzzwords that Trump's propaganda army regurgitates in an attempt to stereotype and misrepresent Democrats (and anyone else who opposes trump) in the scariest light possible.
Any Democratic candidate would be leagues better than the person who's abused the power of his office for the past 3 years. Their egos may vary, but they're all fundamentally decent people who know right from wrong. Including Bloomberg, who has apologized and taken responsibility for his poor judgment in the past, something Trump would never do. Unlike Trump, their policy decisions won't be based solely on self-interest or spite for Obama. They all know and respect the Constitution. They'll all work with Congress, not against it. They all recognize the importance of our ties to allies. They won't pander to dictators who've made it no secret of their wish to destroy the U.S. Their cabinets won't be comprised of rich oligarchs, religious extremists or industry lobbyists, people bent on weakening and destroying the very agencies they're supposed to lead. They can all manage a coherent line of thought.
I could go on, but there's only so many characters allowed in a comment. People need to ignore the MSM narratives and do their own objective research on the Dem candidates' actual voting records, their past experience, their proposals & policy ideas. It's not hard to see that each candidate brings way more strengths to the table than what trump brings.
6
@Dennis "Socialist" is one of several meaningless buzzwords that Trump's propaganda army regurgitates in an attempt to stereotype and misrepresent Democrats (and anyone else who opposes trump) in the scariest light possible.
Any Democratic candidate would be leagues better than the person who's abused the power of his office for the past 3 years. Their egos may vary, but they're all fundamentally decent people who know right from wrong. Including Bloomberg, who has apologized and taken responsibility for his poor judgment in the past, something Trump would never do. Unlike Trump, their policy decisions won't be based solely on self-interest or spite for Obama. They all know and respect the Constitution. They'll all work with Congress, not against it. They all recognize the importance of our ties to allies. They won't pander to dictators who've made it no secret of their wish to destroy the U.S. Their cabinets won't be comprised of rich oligarchs, religious extremists or industry lobbyists, people bent on weakening and destroying the very agencies they're supposed to lead. They can all manage a coherent line of thought.
I could go on, but there's only so many characters allowed in a comment. People need to ignore the MSM narratives and do their own objective research on the Dem candidates' actual voting records, their past experience, their proposals & policy ideas. It's not hard to see that each candidate brings way more strengths to the table than what trump brings.
3
This commenter is exactly right:
"Remember, Democratic votes in CA, VT, and MA count for nothing; Democrats need the votes of independents in MI and PA to win the presidency. Picking someone like Sanders or Warren all but guarantees that the party is going to lose those states."
5
Remember the 70s Pogo poster: "We have met the enemy and it is us." That's what the Democrats were last night. Lester Holt let Sen. Warren speak far more often than the others. And while she was extremely effective attacking other candidates' positions, the Republicans are going to use her remarks, and those of others, as soundbites in the general election.
And did anybody notice there was not one word about foreign policy issues?
8
I couldn't watch the debate. The media has been hyping the gladiatorial combat they set up to increase viewership.
The media/entertainment industry is not who should be putting on primary debates. They only want what they call entertainment.
Why all the questions about health care? The president can't do anything without congress.
So, where were the questions about foreign policy and trade, which the president can affect? How about the budget? Where was the discussion of executive obstinance and immorality?
Voters are not well served by the media control over debates. The DNC should run the show with questions from the public and independent experts, not TV stars.
4
Superb commentary! Thank you, Alexander and Jonathan. You may well have saved me not only hours but many emotionally based conclusions/presumptions.
The panel also lost complete control over the candidates - it was as if the panel were the substitute teachers and the pupils took great advantage of it. In the future, the mike should only be on the person to whom the question was posed and then to the other candidates one at a time when selected to respond. Only one mike should be on at a time.
4
The Democratic candidates are jostling for attention/support. It would be great if they'd spend more time debating their positions on issues that the voters need to hear about.
But? do the Republicans argue over policy/debate issues/point out 'flaws' in their colleagues-or their 'leader'? Maybe it's more useful to have spirited debates that bring out the pros/cons of our policies/issues. Then we get to 'pick'. Republicans don't have that 'problem' as they speak with one voice.
1
To all the people out there complaining about candidates arguing with each other, this is a primary contest. They are supposed to argue with each other, to promote their ideas and try to show why their opponents ideas are bad. Once a single candidate has been chosen then they can coalesce behind those ideas and support them. It would be a funny primary if they all agreed with each other. What choice would there be then?
3
This commenter is right:
"[W]hy ... is there so much focus on Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policies and not on all the good that he did for NYC?"
Bloomberg can beat Trump. None of the other candidates can. If the goal is to beat Trump, Bloomberg should get the nod. If the goal is simply to get the nod, maybe some other candidate should get the nomination. But that candidate will simply go the way of Walter Mondale, Bob Dole and John Kerry. Remember them?
4
I'm sure Bloomberg would prefer not to spend his money on ads:
"If [Bloomberg is] our nominee it makes it look like we can be bought."
Bloomberg has no real choice but to spend his money. NYC residents know him (and elected him their mayor 3 times), but the rest of the country doesn't.
2
I too was dismayed by the moderators - way too many. They should have just let Chuck Todd do it - he lives and breathes politics. Be that as it may, I still like Amy Klobuchar - I can relate to blanking out on names, even when I'm not under stress. And Bernie and Elizabeth still come across as angry and outraged as ever.
4
@AB
Pastoral Pete revealed that there's a snake lurking in his 'calm, reassuring' demeanor. (Although some of us knew that already). Amy held her own and had a great closing statement.
2
@irene
President Obrador is the president of the neighbouring country of 126 million people. You know the one with the biggest trade and them pesky hispanics who are numerous in Nevada. I so used to be for Amy. Now only pocito.
@Bob Guthrie
If that is the worse thing you can say about Klobuchar, then she has my vote.
Although the debates make for interesting reality tv, most Trump supporters did not watch. However they are all seeing the Bloomberg tv campaign that is saturating the air waves and these ads may well sway enough Trump supporters to win the election for Mike Bloomberg
1
@Miriam Fishman Astroturf campaigns don't work. Also, Guiliani saturated the airwaves in 2008, running on the same arguments as Bloomberg today,
1
The debate will hopefully be only a temporary setback, but should the candidates who so proudly verbally undermined other candidates feel any satisfaction after they look back at their performances. Almost nobody laid a glove on Trump. His legal wrangling this week is showing how boundless his corruption is, but the Dems are happy to critique one another for verbal gaps, or inappropriate language or not be sufficiently supportive of various agendas. Trump was the big winner. If we’re the candidates I would assess what happened last night and make a concerted effort as a group to put the focus and fight on Trump and policy. Otherwise, these candidates may watch in Nov as our worst nightmare come true.
1
When the debates are concluded, the primaries over, and the party finally settles on a nominee, the claws will go back in, the fur will stop flying, the howling will cease, and the Democrats will rally 'round their nominee. All Democrats, even or maybe especially Bernie's most vociferous supporters, understand what's at stake in the next election.
1
Nearly all commenters and voters agree that Democrats should rally behind a single candidate who can beat Trump.
The candidates all agree too.
The difference is that each candidate thinks voters and commenters should rally behind him or her. No candidate left standing is willing to bow out, and no one appears likely to fall on his or her sword any time soon. I foresee nothing but continued schism between the "progressive" and "moderate" wings of the Democratic Party, which will benefit only one person: Donald Trump.
This commenter is right:
"Bloomberg is the only one of the bunch that can beat Trump!"
If I were Bloomberg, I'd hesitate to apologize quite so profusely for his "stop and frisk" policy. Many Americans like to hear that it reduced NYC murders (already low) by over 50%. Let's not forget that there will be a GENERAL election campaign after this Democratic primary is over, and that the Democratic Party will need some independent votes to win.
2
@Commenter There is no doubt that Bloomberg will tempt some Republicans--at least a few hundreds, maybe even thousands.
2
Yet Bloomberg was elected three times:
"But [Bloomberg] is no Democrat, he's a more subtle Trump."
Not once. Not twice. Three times. And the last time, NYC voters even approved a change to the local term limits law so they could vote for Bloomberg again.
Bloomberg's electoral success doesn't impress some readers, but it does impress those Americans who live outside of NYC. Last I heard, NYC has more residents than the entire state of Vermont.
2
@Commenter Changing the rules to run a third time says a lot about Bloomberg. Also, he bared eked out a win in 2009. Maybe Americans who live outside NYC don't pay attention to the details.
3
For most Americans, that's enough:
"Bloomberg stands for exactly nothing. He's a Wall St friendly, tepidly neo-liberal technocrat."
In other words, Bloomberg would be a presentable and generally liberal alternative to Trump. Is there something wrong with that?
1
@Commenter I finally get it--you're pulling my leg with these comments. Well played sir.
Is the goal simply to get the nomination, or is the goal to beat Trump?
"Did Bloomberg think money alone could buy him the nomination?"
I thought it was the latter. If so, does anyone believe that someone other than Bloomberg can achieve that goal?
2
Reading through some of the comments here from who I can only presume are liberal Democrats, I am saddened about the current state of the Democratic party. It seems the Democrats expect their candidates to be perfect in any way - why else is there so much focus on Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policies and not on all the good that he did for NYC? What about the fact that he successfully led NYC through a very traumatic post-9/11 period? I don't see any of the other candidates having the wherewithal to do that. What governance experience can Warren and Sanders point to?
Based on the current trajectory of the candidates, I see 4 more years of Trump. Sanders will lose the general election because of his radical ideas ("free everything"), Warren is going nowhere in the polls and would probably lose the general election as well, and the moderates are split between Klobuchar and Buttigieg. Remember, Democratic votes in CA, VT, and MA count for nothing; Democrats need the votes of independents in MI and PA to win the presidency. Picking someone like Sanders or Warren all but guarantees that the party is going to lose those states.
7
@PK Bloomberg got cut off every single time he tried to talk about anything that wasn't a defense under fire. Good thing he's got the resources to combat the impression that there's nothing else to the guy. He said some dumb things, but I didn't hear anything that Americans are "above" saying inside their heads. I think people are overestimating the acceptable threshold of political correctness in this country. Particularly among the voting demographic...
1
@PK No one in NYC wants Bloomberg, just as no one in NYC wanted Trump.
3
@J speak for yourself J, I certainly wouldn’t mind Bloomberg as President! He’s better than the entire lot of Dems running!!
3
There were 31 seats that the Democrats won in 2018 that Trump won in 2016. Will they win those seats with Sanders at the top of the ticket? And if Sanders win the general election and the Democrats lose the house and fail to flip the Senate, will Sanders get anything done?
6
Here's a great example:
"Watching & listening to the debate, the most impressive candidate, by far, was Elizabeth Warren."
EVERYONE agrees that Democrats should unite behind a single candidate who can defeat Trump. They all disagree, however, on whom that candidate should be. All of them think they should be the one, and nearly all of them have fervent supporters.
@Commenter
Surely that is what the primaries are for? To find out who the candidate will be.
1
I wish the media focused on issues discussed in debates and candidates varying proposed solutions for problems. To focus on their acting out their rivalry is not giving us any news as acting out rivalry is what a debate is for.
5
To win the Democrats need to stand for something. Bloomberg stands for exactly nothing. He's a Wall St friendly, tepidly neo-liberal technocrat. If he's our nominee it makes it look like we can be bought. Not the look we need. Again.
7
@teach
If you look at Bloomberg Philanthropie's long list of ongoing engagements, you will see that he stands for many things. I just summarized a few of many areas wherein he's channeling his resources:
-Local, global and ocean climate issues.
-Public health, including women's reproductive health, combating opioids, road safety and tobacco control.
Innovations to benefit cities.
-Public arts
-Public education
-Post-secondary education
-Women's economic development.
One hideous debate, in which he failed to descend into histrionics like the others on stage, does not define him or what he "stands for."
1
Bloomberg revealed all the hallmarks in last night's Las Vegas debate of a guy who should be challenging Trump for the Republican nomination.
He is racist, as shown by his NYPD to surveillance of Muslims, and by carrying out the infamous "stop and frisk" policy in only minority neighborhoods. He supports redlining, which discriminates against where racial minorities can buy and sell property.
Bloomberg demanded a number of non-disclosure agreements be signed by female employees, which he said were "consensual" and caused by a "joke" they didn't like. He refused to release these women from their NDAs.
Bloomberg proudly pointed out that he was the only Democratic candidate who had started a business. Sanders' remark that Bloomberg became wealthy via his employees, not by himself, was appreciated.
Then Bloomberg's charged directly into the lying talking point territory of Republicans, calling Sanders' Democratic Socialism "Communism", and claiming Sanders wanted to end Capitalism.
He failed to mention that Democratic Socialism is the form of government of EU countries and Canada, where Capitalism is very much alive and well.
His philanthropy can make him look like a better guy than Trump--he has given to environmental causes.
But this guy is no Democrat, he's a more subtle Trump. He should have challenged the Donald.
6
Did Bloomberg think money alone could buy him the nomination?
No effort seems to have been made to prepare for what should have been expected.
The body language in the photo says it all..... Bloomberg off to the side, not really wanted by the rest of the group. Bloomberg would do the nation a favor by dropping out and funding anti-Trump efforts.
4
@cynicalskeptic His ads are all about Trump, specifically how he is damaging the country.
It has to be said. Bloomberg is a billionaire because of rent seeking proprietary software.
2
@John Genuine question: What is wrong with that?
2
When the debate ended, Pete turned to shake Amy's hand first and she bolted right past him and off the stage. Is that going to be here reaction to criticism from Trump. No, she is finished, and won't get to meet with Putin either. She can't handle a debate against in her words an inexperienced Midwest small town mayor, Her ambition to be a leader just died with her attitude. I am not a sexist by any means, but she did not display any leadership, management skills or do the female race any favors with her disposition. Goodbye Amy.
6
@GARRY
Shaking hands is overrated and unsanitary. Would be much better if candidates did a 'namaste' bow.
1
2020 Prayer
One day I’d like to stop living in a basement; I want to live in a better smell. I want to see if it’s sunny or if it’s raining; from down here it’s so hard to tell!
I’d like to be able to take a shower, in a tub without bugs in the drain. I’d like to be able to carry my laundry without ever tripping up stairs again.
I remember the one time I had a full kitchen, but the water in it was no good. All the rest were just makeshift kitchens, so I cooked however I could.
Never had many amenities to use, washing dishes in the bathroom sink. Timing cooking to avoid blowing a fuse, putting up with some basement stink.
Been robbed by crooked landlords, had my stuff ruined and flooded more than once! But the laws aren’t set up to protect me, so I guard against these modern-day hunts.
I didn’t create this economy, it was doomed before I ever grew up. Seems that the establishment’s now the enemy? Been 40 years trying to catch up!
4
Sorry but that was awful and hard to watch. It has become okay to vilify people who have worked hard to be successful. According to the Democratic Party business and businessmen are all evil, especially if they are successful. Most people who take the risk to go into business for themselves don't make a minimum wage, they can't and on top of that they work long hours with no pay. Mr Bloomberg has done more to benefit the working lives of men and women in this country than anyone on that stage - combined.
7
@DonatelloP. The system is set up so that once you're successful and have made money, you can then make TONS more money by the sheer fact of having money. You're making money on money, not on what made your business successful in the first place. Your business can avoid taxes, engage in anti-competitive practices so that you keep other businesses from making money, exploit your workers, exploit your customers by sidestepping environmental and safety concerns, buy politicians to change regulations, etc -- you're now an stoppable money making machine. Capitalism is good, but runaway capitalism is not. Society suffers whenever money/power is concentrated in the hands of a few. You're right there's no point in vilifying those who have made money, but you're missing the point of what Democratic Socialism is.
3
@DYB
The irony is that Donald embraces warmly the KGB boss and the extreme socialist Kim Jong un. Yet the average person in moderately socialist places in Europe have it way better than Americans chasing the American dream which is just that- only a dream.
1
SO many people have said Bloomberg is a match for Trump in the debates...”gets under his skin” is the narrative, based on a couple of Trump tweets.
He didn’t last five minutes with Elizabeth Warren.
He looked like a deer in the lights several times last night.
Ran off the stage after the debate rather than mingle with the other candidates.
Looks like Lizzy might be the one to rock Trump. Bloomberg would get crushed.
4
@Francis I didn't see deer-in-headlights, I saw someone who knows when to shut up. Imagine the ways he could have torn into her, yelled over her, been a jerk, etc. That would have been disastrous. Pete couldn't even get away with returning Amy's constant fire without Warren butting in.
5
Politics is a blood sport: always has been, always will be. It's a shame American society has become obsessed with it. It doesn't have to be this way.
I want a federal government of relatively competent, trustworthy people so I can worry more about important things in life. Times like these drive folks toward the absurdity of libertarianism just so they can escape the noise.
6
I thought Warren talked, and talked and talked and overall said very little. She had only two memorable moments: one bad, one good.
1. BAD moment - when she attacked Bloomberg about the NDAs. That was a low. I don't have a problem with the NDAs as long as they were entered into consensually. If they were not consensual, then they are not enforceable so no release is necessary from Bloomberg. Also I don't have a problem with Bloomberg getting an NDA over stupid remarks he made in the past. We all say or have said something that we are not proud of at some point in our lives. Since we don't have deep pockets we do not need worry about potential lawsuits. That's not his case...hence the NDAs. And in this context ... let's do a slow clap for Biden, who has his own history of socially inept moments, and who gleefully joined Warren. I admired Bloomberg's forbearance. He should have told Biden: I will sign those releases, when you will apologize in writing for sniffing that woman's hair or for rubbing the other one's nose. But that would that have been SILLY so I commend Bloomberg for not going where Warren and Biden went.
2. GOOD moment: when she defended Amy Klobuchar over the incident related to the Mexican president's name. That was so classy of her. And a slow clap for the Telemundo anchor who asked the question. Maybe in the Fox News world that is considered journalism... on this side of the spectrum that's just a piece of news that belongs to the gutter.
6
@Leila Please list 1 convincing reason why anyone would sign an NDA
1
Sure, Bloomberg had a terrible night. But what about Bernie? Between Bloomberg and Buttigieg, and even Bernie himself, Bernie came across as a doddering fool who is full of strident, populist rhetoric, but devoid of any real substance. And Bloomberg effectively highlighted the stench of socialism that renders Bernie completely unelectable.
12
@Ed Bernie's babbling will give the Trump campaign it's best asset to ensure a victory.
Bloomberg is the only one of the bunch that can beat Trump!
That is the headline!
And Warren and Klobuchar the others don't play well with others.
To be expected from politicians who are afraid of failure...
8
I am so sick of the yelling back and forth on display at this "debate" . Although I will vote for which ever democrats gets the nomination I favored Bloomberg and Klobuchar with their no nonsense attitude and practicality. Neither one is a particularly charismatic personality but I want my politicians served up plain right now.
7
@Gail Agreed. And I think a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket could be a winning combo. It has managerial competence, governmental experience and mid-western appeal - all are necessary assets to win.
1
It’s time for the good ole days when political professionals picked the candidates. This McGovernesqe show is going to lead to four more years of Trump. Oh, and Trump is where he is because the Republican Party bosses were not able to pick a candidate. The masses just want a bar brawl and for some reason seem to like narcissistic dictators i.e., Trump v. Bernie. I’ll stay home.
3
@Retired Hard Worker
I don't fully agree with all you've written but I agree with a lot of what you've written. Especially the part about the Republicans in the 2016 primary season. A lot of us forget that that was a fiasco and Trump capitalized on it.
And just mentioning McGovern still gives me hives. And I was only 12 then! Imagine losing to Nixon in a super landslide? Yikes. We are still paying for that.
1
Lousy politics. Excellent reality television with its interchange of moronic barbed witticisms. I am sure Mr. Reality Television himself, Donald Trump, quite enjoyed it. As a voter I am looking for someone who can win the swing states and get elected and who can then manage the executive branch of the US government. To me that narrows it down to Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg.
5
Fully prepared for Trump to win again - only this time he will get the popular vote. There's no way I will vote for Bernie Sanders if he is the nominee. I want him to be humiliated if that's possible for a narcissist.
3
@Kiko No vote, no complaining. Deal?
4
And Trump isn’t?
4
It was a no brainer that the candidates were going to attack Bloomberg like the crows did to Suzanne Pleshette in THE BIRDS.
Welcome to the world of national politics, Mike!
4
Well, after last night's debate performance, former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg needs to re-think his campaign slogan, "Mike will get it done." Because after last night, Mike did not get it done.
I never thought anyone could make former VP Joe Biden look exciting and energetic. Bloomberg did just that.
Bloomberg simply crashed in flames. Watching the debate and his answers, responses, stiffness, discomfort and facial expressions reminded me of Herb Morrison's broadcast of the Hindenburg disaster: "It's fire—and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my, get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames, and the—and it's falling on the mooring-mast and all the folks agree that this is terrible, this is one of the worst catastrophes in the world. . . . . It's smoke, and it's flames now . . . . Oh, the humanity."
How could Bloomberg be so unprepared? His debate prep team should look for other jobs. It was a fiasco. Yikes!
9
@Eugene Gorrin
-Was it Bloomberg's job last night to look "exciting and energetic?"
-Will his fortunes rise or fall on the strength of that one debate?
-Is describing an event or performance as "a fiasco" a bit simplistic and reductive?
-Is it possible he was engaged in listening and processing what was unfolding on that stage, rather than mounting an hysterical performance?
-What would a better response to being attacked by Elizabeth Warren have been? Screaming accusations back at her? Capitulating to her bullying?
-When the dust settles, will Bloomberg owe anyone an apology for attacking them? Lying about them?
-Isn't there more at stake in this election than success at shooting someone down in front of a bunch of other shaky old politicians? "Wow! Sick BURN Elizabeth!You go!"
Those are my questions, thanks.
1
And why did they take the scalpels out for each other and didn't talk much about the elephant in the room--Donald Trump?
4
@Irene
Because this was a stage to try and show how the other candidates ideas were lacking, as opposed to their own?
Whoever wins the nomination will need to unify the party. I didn't see a lot of unity last night. Let's have a debate where each candidate must praise the opponents to their right and left. Only then can we see who would be the best person to unite the party.
4
That wasn't a debate, that was a shouting match. The format was poor, the candidates looked like angry first graders waving their hands for attention. The questions and the format were designed for maximum chaos, not for informing anyone. All the candidates lost this one.
10
I turned it off after forty five minutes. I'm interested in policies, not bloodbaths. Except for the few clever turns of phrases, none uttered spur of the moment, I heard nothing new. Nothing. They're all well established personalities, Six Characters in Search of a Presidency.
I don't need to hear that homelessness is wrong, that climate change is real, that minimum wage is a necessity. I need to know, chapter and verse, what the candidates will do about it. They all need to put their knives back in and give us calm, rational solutions. I am finished with the spectacle, with the flashy sets, and with the self important but utterly useless moderators. It's all so disheartening.
I will not be back until November.
12
Luckily, the debates don't matter. Unless a candidate has a Nixon versus Kennedy moment, there's no real downside. There are some upsides, however, in that lesser funded and lesser known candidates can get some media attention.
2
If this is the best we've got, we're in deep trouble, Dems. If none of these candidates are appealing to me, a lifelong liberal, how are they going to win over Independents and swing voters?
1
@ajbown Consider the alternative.
1
Thank God for Warren's return to true fighting form and speaking blunt truth that Bloomberg will have a hard time overcoming even with his expected 100 million dollar disinformational advertising to recast what everyone saw. I have a question: After Buttigieg revealed himself as an arrogant no experience politician, who will the big Money Demos choose next to be their new champion against Warren and Sanders?
6
@Paul from Oakland ...except Warren had to lie several times about Bloomberg to score brownie points. And if you ask Bernie, it is not the first time that she lied on live national television.
1
I hope we go to a brokered convention and pick another viable candidate altogether. I want Trump out desperately but I cannot stand Bernie's arrogance-- he thinks he knows it all. More importantly, I have never forgiven him for not voting for the 2007 immigration bill. He could have been instrumental in making it happen and at least we would have made some progress much like Obamacare. The problem was for Bernie it's always "my way or the highway".
5
My only general question is this:
Is this cable news, cattle-call, "Dancing With the Stars" nominating process as demeaning and humiliating for the candidates as it is for those of us forced to watch it.
The only people happy with the process seem to be the news media, who produce and choreograph these entertainment spectacles for prime-time profit.
I am ready to unplug from the process, turn off cable news until November, and just vote Democratic, without subjecting myself to all the trauma and anxiety of the daily news cycle.
8
I wasn't impressed by the candidates behavior in the debate. Rather than discuss their proposals and question each other regarding them the candidates resorted to insults and gotcha lines to embarrass the other candidates. Very little useful information was provided to voters about what exactly each candidate would do as president. As a result in reduced the stature of each candidate in the voters mind. In their bickering they looked like battling toddlers and more in common with Trump.
2
The moderators were, more or less, terrible. Honestly, Warren's follow up about Bloomberg's sexism is how journalists should learn to follow up. Otherwise, the moderators peddled about 90% of the same tired questions and ridiculous tropes about socialism, Trump, etc.
I'm glad that the candidates drew a sharper distinction about policy differences, and highlighted past judgments that deserve scrutiny. Overall, Warren had the best evening, changing the trajectory of her campaign. Bloomberg really had no answers for indefensible Stop and Frisk policy (twelve years of operation and another 7 years of justifying), his multiple NDAs ostensibly related to inappropriate comments, and his previous stances on Obamacare, Bush, Iraq war, etc. They did not yet bring up how he crushed Occupy Wall Street by sending in bulldozers and cops.
The other candidates pretty much held serve - for the laggards, standing still is losing ground. For Bernie as the frontrunner, he is cementing his lead. And it is okay to vigorously present your case as to why voters should choose you.
Without personal attacks (which it got a little testy between Pete and Amy) voters need to understand the differences between candidates. This "never criticize a fellow Dem" belies the competitive nature of politics and is akin to fairy dust.
2
I measure this debate a bit different. Bloomberg has spent most his time and money attacking trump. His performance at the debate reflectef his strategy. While everyone else attached each orher, he soaked the criticism up while staying on message to beat Trump.
8
Had they lived in New York City following 9/11, each of the candidates on stage probably would have voted for Mike Bloomberg as mayor. He wasn't a perfect mayor. He was insensitive toward low-income New Yorkers and the homeless. But he got rid of smoking, improved education, strengthened cultural institutions and the city prospered under Bloomberg.
8
I would like the Democratic primaries in all races to use "rank ordered voting" We do not need super anyone votes. The consolidated rank from each state can then be used to select the nominee at the convention. And please use computers to count, this is the 21st century!
5
@John Domogalla
What happens if you change your mind in between when you voted and the convention? What if new information comes out?
Ranked choice is a poor voting system which is entirely capable to electing a candidate whom no one wants.
There's another possibility that hasn't been mentioned here. Perhaps he was an equal opportunity insulter who leveled scathing sexual comments at anyone who displeased him at work. It's not an endearing trait, but it might not be as sexist as it is being cast.
The context and the mix are critical here.
First, the context: Did he insult women because they rejected his sexual advances, or because they underperformed at work? Or did he make unwanted sexual advances to the women who worked for him and then insult him when they declined?
Next, the mix: Did he also use references to sexuality to insult men who underperformed at work? There are numerous insults that could refer to the size of a man's sexual apparatus, or their taste in partners.
If that is true, the men would be unlikely to report it as a sexual harassment, and would have seen it for what it was; an angry boss making crude comments about their performance. On the other hand, women might have seen it and reported it as sexual harassment.
I don't know that this is true; I'm speculating. Someone ought to check though.
1
@mlbex Great question: when Mike harassed and demeaned people, did he only violate labor laws or also criminal statutes? Someone ought to check it out.
2
@J If you prosecuted every boss that ever insulted people for poor performance, the entire management team would be in jail.
The question should not be about one debate performance. It should be about who can beat Trump. Who do Dems want on the debate stage against Trump? Warren? Sanders? Mayor Pete? Biden? Klobuchar? The answer will prove to be Bloomberg. Even with all his baggage.
6
Warren took down Bloomberg which benefited Bernie.
Things are going as planned...
3
Look, do you want to beat Trump or not. Bloomberg is our best chance. Period.
11
@Barbara Herbst Bloomberg/Hillary 2020!
Most would agree, the skill set to get elected is a bit different then the skill set to rule.
We fall under the spell of showmanship, charisma, etc at times when voting. The person who has the best of those qualities emerges frequently as a front runner and may win but turns out to be a horrible elected official.
6
It was a truly terrible "debate". Too much screaming and scolding, very petty.
I thought Amy Klobuchar was the winner. She could take any incoming criticism and counter it with facts and wit.
I am now leaning more to her.
Warren, I respect deeply, but I think she comes across as a scold and too overwrought.
5
Bloomberg, as a candidate, as committed to continue to spend his wealth in anti-trump ads and campaigns even if he does not win the nomination.
The rest of the pack.. simply want to destroy any possible contender in the primaries.. no matter the future cost of doing so.
THIS is a test of character, and the pack failed last night in my view... even the great mediator who wants to bring the party together... Warren.
Yes... yes.. Bloomberg has a past, and a history... so what? All of these candidates have baggage from their past and history.
What matters is today.. and today is TRUMP. Get that through your thick heads candidates... the target is TRUMP... not each other.
Seriously.. if this is what Democrats offer the electorate..... why shouldn't Trump just sit back and let them self destruct on one another. Mindless...and completely off the mission that both moderates and Democrats of all leanings want.... TRUMP DEFEATED IN 2020.
6
The video is labelled Highlights from the Debate but it sure looks like they picked the 'lowlights' (is there such a word?) when the candidates attacked each other. I've only watched this video, but surely the whole event wasn't at this pitch.
We see enough personal attacks on Facebook - do we have to see them cherry-picked in the NYT as well ?
1
So the news is in- Bloomberg is not a good debater. But what he showed was he is the only one of the crew that acted as an adult. With Klobuchar telling us what she did in the fourth grade, and Warren still acting like she is our third grade teacher, patronizing us at every turn, and Sanders revealing his virulent hatred of successful people, Bloomberg's disdain for the clown show was as refreshing as it was real.
11
@boji3
I disagree. His refusal to release those who’ve signed NDAs is problematic to me. I’m tired of wealthy men hiding behind NDAs. If you have nothing to hide, bring it to light. If you refuse, I’d say you’ve done something wrong and paid to cover it up.
We have an issue with institutions like the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church that have hidden terrible things and protected the wrong people. Who are the NDAs protecting?
2
@S sounds good to me!
It was pathetic to watch the desperate act by Warren last night. I had lot of respect for her past work on consumer protection agency and supported her. But she is a different person today. Her lust for power has no limit. What was she thinking? Con man the genius propaganda king will mislead the voters to the max. Her vulgar comments on Bloomberg was so out of line and will be a great feeder for con man’s reelection. Does she realize that it is Bloomberg’ money machine that played a large part to win the Congress. Con man was impeached because of the majority in Congress. Sorry, Citizen vs United gave politicians unlimited access to $$$. Besides all the drama on bashing billionaires, the election will heavily depend upon funding. Warren has started taking money from superPAC. Bernie will do the same if he wins the primary. Bloomberg has done much more for the nation than Warren. Her relentless insults were totally uncalled for. Bloomberg is a technocrat and gentle by nature. Warren was very lucky that he didn’t counter back with her claim as a native Indian. She could look really bad if Bloomberg took that stance. It is a travesty to watch how politics and lust for power destroys an individual. I have lost all respect for Warren after last night. I do regret that I have supported her in the past. She should be ashamed of what she has turned into,
8
Undoubtedly, Bloomberg’s taxes are complex, and certainly he doesn’t use TurboTax. But the returns he filed over the past 5 years must be done and available. Maybe few in the country will understand the complexity, but I’m sure that the NYT and WaPost have some sharp tax consultants who can wade through them and report the interesting and significant details as they affect public policy. Of course, maybe that’s the real reason for stonewalling.
3
@Ockham9 three weeks is not unreasonable
@Ockham9
Who really cares about Bloomberg's tax returns? I don't. Nor do I care about Warren or Sanders or Biden. There is never going to be anything scandalous or even interesting in them because they'll make sure that there isn't.
1
Everyone including all Democrats wants to be rich but most cannot do it despite there best efforts. So the best thing they can do is to criticize who made it out their own effort by associating the rich with evil and tax them so the loot can be shared. Except for Bloomberg, all the democratic candidates are fed and paid by the taxpayer's dole and largess; and none have never created any job except their own. They believe the zero and sum of wealth creation when the rich are getting more the poor must be gotten less and none of these parasites have any idea that wealth can be created by innovation and new invention.
3
All the Democrats are going low. I’m looking for someone to go high.
Way too many moderators. Way too much hand waving, shouting, and gotcha questions and answers. With 6 candidates, each should have been given at least 15 minutes to tell his or her story.
4
Gosh, how I wish the geriatric B boys - Bloomberg, Bernie, and Biden - had never gotten in. Ageism, sexism much? Sorry, I'm too old to care much, in this case. This field is a down side to longevity. We need a niche for eminent elders.
How I would love to see Liz, Pete, and Amy duke it out on their ideas!
But I'll be campaigning and voting Blue No Matter Who. Need I say ... Trump, Supreme Court, Paris Climate Accords? Any Dem will do if we are determined.
3
Here again the Dems are cannibalizing their own. Wake up as the enemy is Trump, so go after Trump. If they don’t we’ll have a real autocratic banana republic!
3
When I read these comments about how Warren shined it reinforces my feeling that only Bloomberg has a chance against Trump but I suspect if he gets the nomination the other candidates supporters will take their marbles and go home.
Bloomberg stole the show in my opinion when he said and I paraphrase: "A Socialist doesnt have a chance against Trump, its a ridiculous idea. Im a Capitalist and is it fair to say Im the only person on this stage thats ever started a business?"
It will come down to Mike and Bernie. Klobuchar and Buttigieg looked like school kids bickering about unimportant things, Biden couldnt string 2 sentences together.
9
Everyone is saying that Warren ‘won’ last night but the truth, sadly, is that she will be touted as nothing more than a shrill, man-hating, xenophobic liar and that is what faux news will sell and it’ll be put on tshirts and hats to ‘lock up pocohontas’ and it’ll be trump for four more years. No. I implore all dems to suck up your ideologies and vote for the centrist- whomever that will be.
15
BLOOMBUST.
4
Warren would see this party burn if she could be queen of the ashes
8
Stupid candidates. Bloomberg got in that stage specifically to take the fire from other candidates. But they turned on each other anyway
Bloomberg is not in the election to win; he is there to spend money fighting another 4 years of republican dictatorship.
10
@LS
Bloomberg got into the race as the replacement for Biden if(when) he imploded. The only other option is Sanders.
Holy cow! Warren hit the ball way out of the park. I would love to see her debate Trump, but I'm sure he will not do it. He knows she would pulverize him.
11
Warren/Buttigieg 2020
Warren/Buttigieg 2024
Buttigieg/AOC 2028
2
@JeffW Buttigieg and AOC stand for completely different things — how did you end up putting them together?
3
Ugly. ugliest - Warren. She made good points but in an uncivil manner. All of them looked bad.
10
I'm sorry but every time I hear Joe getting all feisty and "mad as hell" I cant help but always recall that pathetic sight Jack Palance put on for the Academy Awards Show of doing a one armed push up on stage when accepting his award for Curly in City Slickers.
5
Maybe what these candidates needed was a real billionaire to practice on. Trying to atone for 2016 primary problems the DNC orchestrated this mess with a gaggle of candidates who have been having a series of relatively polite policy discussions leaving Democratic voters with a severe case of FOMO and trump surging. So finally Bloomberg got them to focus and, if so, he served a purpose. Candidates bring your best stuff. Let the MANY voters who don't follow policy debates see some emotional engagement in them and their issues. And maybe out James Carville's interview on a replay loop.
3
I'm preparing for the next 4 years under Trump. I can't believe that both Sanders and Warren attacked Bloomberg's wealth. Warren said later that Bloomberg did not fit to be the president of the US. My goodness. Nobody could pass the Democratic test.
20
I couldn't stay with the debate last night - it was so noisy, mean-spirited and discouraging.
They all made good points, but that didn't make me confident in any of them.
My biggest take away was "what an unlikable and ill-prepared man Mike Bloomberg is".
I had not had that opinion of Bloomberg before the debate, but I do now.
10
Watch the debate again, people, and look for the candidate who looks most presidential. It's Bloomberg.
While the others are screaming, yelling, interrupting each other and the moderators, trying to inject their shrill voices like impatient kids, one person is restrained, somewhat bored and a little annoyed. It's Bloomberg.
To win big and flip the Senate without the help of the DNC, clueless about how to do almost anything they could do to structure the Democratic primary season, the eventual nominee will need to carry the entire party on their back to finish line this fall. Only one candidate has the money and the organization to do that. It's Bloomberg.
Bernie may have the support to get the nomination, but not to fight the blitz of advertising the Trump campaign will rain down painting the red menace of Bernie's "Socialist" self-appended label. One candidate does have the money to fight any conceivable attack and counter any Republican tactic. It's Bloomberg.
This nightmare of a Trump presidency where our democratic traditions and assumptions dutifully followed by prior presidents for 50 years have been bulldozed down must end soon. The candidate with the best thought-out strategy, the most resources, and the best chance to defeat Trump this fall should be the Democratic nominee. It's Bloomberg.
If you don't agree, watch the debate last night again without the sound on, and see who looks most presidential. It's Bloomberg.
24
@Dennis
AGREE 100%
2
@Dennis
Watched the debate the first time. Saw the candidate who clearly felt so entitled that he didn't think he needed to prepare for the event or bother to engage in the discussion. Heard the one who said the only problem with Trump is that he's not a good manager. Witnessed the one who so assumed he was untouchable that he didn't even seem to realize he was being eviscerated.
It was Bloomberg.
4
@JeffW Over the next few days the dust will settle and Bloomberg's participation will make more and more sense. I agree that he was ill-prepared for vituperative and inappropriate attacks by Warren. Jumping on him and insisting he immediately release everyone from NDAs (Warren hysterically shouting: "maybe dozens") He appropriately declined to make such a rash promise.
That's like the old trope of asking "answer us: why did you kill your father?"
Also, just because he was standing quietly, with some dignity, listening instead of screaming, it doesn't mean he felt entitled, was bored, or disengaged.
3
I think we all WANT to believe that people vote on substance and policy. They don’t.
Bloomberg’s amazing ads could help him win but man was he uninspiring. Him and Joe just seemed to be grasping for the words. Not as sharp as they once were - which is a normal part of aging.
Meanwhile, Bernie showed he could hammer home the same message over and over and over while exciting his base - much like Trump. Just as polarizing (but legit worked for Trump so why not Bernie?)
It’s historically likely that people will vote for the best speaker. It is how Pete and Bernie are getting votes but it could really come down to Bloomberg money vs Bernie money and whether or not it is turnout among the working class or moderate Republicans that will determine the election. (Guessing moderate Republicans because they will vote for Bloomberg and against Bernie while a good running mate and amazing ads will help Mike with working class/ low info voters).
Meanwhile, imma just gonna eat some popcorn and see how this all plays out. I know who I am campaigning against and who I campaign for is whoever wins the nomination. I don’t need to like them. My preferred candidate is out and shame on us for losing the smartest and most likable dude running.
3
In the picture, Michael Bloomberg is standing a bit away from the other candidates. He is a distant man and this is quite telling. He does not look comfortable and maybe because he was not. He appeared aloof which is the true portrait of the man. Not exactly what you want in a President.
10
@KMW
This is what's wrong with the Left. The Left would prefer a candidate they could see on Dancing with the Stars over an accomplished self-made person who refuses to be a cheesy smiley person.
9
@KMW I don't blame Bloomberg for standing a bit away. The others all have been a hollering hot mess. This election is about serious issues not cult of the personality.
5
@KMW
Yeah...I'd prefer a loud mouth, open mouth insert foot
exciting liar in the White House...
O wait. Never mind.
Empty barrels make the most noise.
1
Unless Sanders is defeated in the primary, he will be defeated in the general.
He fragments the vote of the Democrats, we will splinter the votes of the American general public even more.
At a time when the very fate of the Republic is at stake, we need to take back the White House and Congress through clear messaging, tactics and resources - not extremism that will capture a minority of the majority.
For a socialist millionaire to claim it is immoral to a billionaire is hypocritically drawing a convenient wealth line where it suits him.
14
@David Parsons I guess for Sanders and Warren, it's OK to make millions but not billions :)
1
I just looked at the accompanying photo, which says it all.
There are the 4 life-long Democrats and 1 Independent (more democratic in spirit than most Democrats) facing the audience and appearing welcoming: Liz looking ernest and eager; Bernie in command and waving; Biden grinning (not sure why though--habit probably); Pete looking choir-boy pleasant; and Amy pivoting toward the other Democrats with a smile and signaling she is willing to work hard.
Who is standing away from the Democrats, not looking at the people/audience, appearing glum and uncomfortable with these people he is on stage with and not used to?
Bloomberg was snippy, snide, and a big disappointment last night. His demeanor and comportment reminded me of a Republican interloper hoping to take over and be accepted as a Democrat
8
It’s time to end these schoolyard debates.
Let’s go about the job of selecting our nominee as we would a job interview.
Let each candidate have time to present their record of achievement and their specific, realistic plans for their first 4 years . This could be the first night. The second night will be devoted to questions to each candidate from moderators and voters . This is how job interviews should be conducted
The mayhem we witnessed last night is the blueprint for 4 years of
Republican domination, Presidency, House and Senate
14
Same old, same old. I haven't changed my mind about my picks. And won't be changing my mind come November.
3
"Bloomberg has been the target of ire for his spending on campaign ads. You can’t blame his opponents." (Gail Collins, NYTimes, 19Feb2020) As an Independent, I find the attitude of the Democratic candidates self-defeating. Mr. Bloomberg has promised to support whoever the Democratic nominee is, and has made removing Mr. Trump a primary goal. Also, he is not devouring campaign donations that can go to others. One might think the Democrats would welcome such a man, especially when all his policy positions are appealing - health care, the environment, taxation, etc. Yes, there have been controversies, but nothing remotely close to Mr. Trump's fiascoes. E.g.: "I Was the Judge in the Stop-and-Frisk Case. I Don’t Think Bloomberg Is Racist." (NYTimes, 19Feb2020)
The "winner" of the Nevada debate is clearly Mr. Trump, who is undoubtedly greatly enjoying the Democrat's circular firing squad.
5
Klobuchar was the only one on that stage last night that remotely resembled a normal person. Everyone else is like some sort of twisted caricature. I can't stand Trump and want him out of office, but he must love all the infighting, pointless gotchas and willingness of pundits to elevate or destroy the candidates who don't tickle their fancy. His chances for reelection are growing by the minute.
7
Is anyone really surprised that Mike Bloomberg hasn’t spent months honing his debate skills and that he fared poorly against several now-professional debaters? Really surprised?? The guy is a businessman and a philanthropist. He’s smart enough to build a powerhouse of a company. He’s given away more money than most of us will ever make. He is committed to defeating Mr. Trump. And let’s also not forget: when you’re the major of NYC, you’re not exactly debating opponents on the public stage every day let alone every year. Of course he had a rocky start. What’s baffling is that anyone finds that surprising. I’m not a big fan of his, but come on.
15
Elizabeth Warren is far and away the most qualified candidate. She is smart, knowledgeable, has integrity and has shown that she will fight corruption and take measures to try to help the middle class and poor who are struggling.
However, I believe misogyny is rampant in this country and sadly as much as we want to believe that we make rational choices, our unconscious biases will play a huge and most likely, decisive roll in who we vote for. Therefore, I hate to say it but Warren and Klobuchar are not electable.
The same applies to Buttigieg. If American't have bias against women, do you really think they are going to vote for a gay man? So far we just see images of Buttigieg by himself. How about when trump starts blasting images of he and his husband? That will surely tap into the unconscious biases of many Americans. Are we ready to have gay couple represent the US in formal meetings with international heads of states and their hetero spouses? I wish we were.
I hate to have to make this argument because I would love to see Elizabeth Warren elected but frankly, I don't have any faith in my fellow Americans to make an intelligent, rational choice for president. We need to focus on who can realistically defeat trump.
4
@Anne
Misogyny? Perhaps you forgot already that in 2016 the Democratic nominee was Hillary Clinton who actually got more total votes than Trump?
Maybe it isn't misogyny or homophobia but the actual candidates?
@Locke_ And remember in 2016 Hillary Clinton who was so far beyond qualified (especially in contrast to trump) lost the election? The fact the Clinton didn't win and the irrational reactions to her ( she's too aggressive, I just don't like her, I don't like her voice etc...) made it crystal clear that although we Americans like to believe that women are perceived and treated equally, they are not. Hence the women's march and the me too movement.
1
"Bloomberg Draws Sharp Jabs From Rivals"
Yes, but Trump can't throw these jabs at Bloomberg.
Trump is much worse in any department.
10
@uji10jo
Trump isn't running for a party which celebrates virtue signalling.
I just have one comment to say about some on here to everyone that say Elizabeth Warren is too emotional. This is outright sexist talk and something the Republicans love to hear. There is a different between being emotional and being passionate. Elizabeth Warren speaks with passion, DJT speaks like an emotional disturbed child. Now tell me who is more emotional?
12
@Jimmy
Disagree. Warren isn't passionate, just emotional. She's extremely irritating. That isn't sexist if it's true. At least she's off her stupid "I took 5 million selfies" kick. If she were simply "passionate" she'd know how to defend her arguments. But she hasn't a clue on the cost of anything.
This "debate" was painful to watch, a train wreck, mostly sickening. All the screaming, interrupting, and emphasis on past misdeeds. All those anxious hands going up--me! me! Call on me! It was cringe worthy--all those adults fighting for time and screaming over each other.
The whole thing was out of control, and the "moderators" are culpable as well.
Yeah, Bloomberg was a zombie, but he also appeared to be stunned into disbelief over the food fight going on to his left. He was right to say that the conversation was appalling.
It's not difficult to imagine the other side rolling in laughter and glee over this performance.
Please, Dems, go forward, not backward.
19
Want good TV? Elect Trump.
None of these candidates is good TV. If that's what you want dear readers, than you already have your president.
7
@ Eric
Thank you for this comment! I was thinking of the debates when Trump was running. Good TV if you want entertainment. That’s all well and good until you want the entertainment to actually lead our country.
The debates are not reality TV meant for our entertainment. They are real life job interviews that give us a window into how our candidates act under fire, how clearly they can communicate an idea under pressure, what kind of character they possess.
Lots of blame in these posts on the moderators.
The moderators are not to blame for the field of extremely weak candidates who have not accomplished anything with the exception of Bloomberg.
Bloomberg acts as though he's expected to be ashamed of his wealth, and he shouldn't. The Left has partially trained him to disdain money. The Left prides itself on social welfare programs and how many freebies it can make government dish out.
What the Left loses sight of is, yes, some social programs are necessary for various people and those needing help should get help. But the Left works very hard at trying to convince everyone that they must be a victim of something and only a boatload of freebies can save them. Success is not how many people you can slam onto welfare roles, it's how many people you can make self sufficient to feel the dignity of providing for yourself, perhaps becoming a springboard to much greater success.
Notice how Dr. Ben Carson is treated by the Media and the Left. Born to an indigent illiterate mother, nonetheless becoming extremely successful. But he is grossly inconvenient to the Left narrative and gets berated. Nobody calls HIS critics "racist".
And now we're supposed to welcome all illegal aliens and provide them with free everything?
The 2020 election is going to be a total bloodbath for Democrats.
Trump 2020
6
@Elizabeth Carlisle, FYI, Ben Carson was raised in a foster home by white foster parents. The left views him the way they do because of who (GOP) he chooses to attach himself to. A man is only as good as the company he keeps.
3
Next time be the party of civility and respect that will not undermine the candidate—whomever—who will run against Trump.
Next time talk about policies, each person 3 mi it’s on each chosen policy topic. Then a round that let’s each say how they view their policy from others. NOattacks!
8
I would have liked some comment about the people asking the questions and the quality of their performance. Those unnamed people were obviously biased and their intentions designed to propagate rumors rather than investigate or educate.
Last night the candidates were encouraged to fight it out. The so called "winners" were the ones who were the loudest and interrupted the most with the nastiest comments. Is that the kind of president we are looking for? Not me! We already have one of those in the White House. I want someone who learned how to play with others in kindergarten.
Finally, very little research will show that the seeds for the Bernie Bros attack were planted when Hillary Clinton ran against Barack Obama in 2008. Her "Obama boys" attack was just that, a political attack against young black men supporting Obama. It was both racist and sexist. No evidence was ever shown for those accusations as far as I can tell. Has there ever been an independent study done to fact check it?
Did Bernie Sanders really use the word "deplorable" in describing the bad behavior he was disowning last night, or was it the authors’ word, a reminder of Hillary Clinton's calling the supporter of Donald Trump “the deplorables”?
I am frustrated by Elizabeth Warren. I want to be excited by her. I support her, now that Andrew Yang has dropped out. But she is one of the most intelligent proponents of a way of thinking that doesn't work and is intellectually lazy. The problem is not the individual billionaire but the structure that enabled them to achieve this dominance in the first place. Frantz Fanon said that the West isn't going to get anywhere until it gets rid of the figure of the scape goat. An effective leader is not just someone who scores points by eviscerating someone else in a heroic gesture. I don't mean that I think Warren should 'tone it down,' I'm glad she came out with guns blazing. I like passionate Warren, and her points are good; but she needs to take it farther than where she is. 'Structural change ' does not mean pointing the finger at individuals who themselves pointed. The philosopher Eric Cazdyn talks about non moralizing critiques of capitalism, which are not personal. He says that if you fix the present in your gaze as this horrible dys topia, it actually projects the present into the future by suggesting that the way things 'are ' (which you yourself naturally have nothing to do with but is always someone else's fault) is the way they always 'will be.' It suggests a static notion of time, as opposed to the idea of revolutionary time, that 'the future starts today.' I feel like there is an ideological hole in these debates, which shows the need to move beyond left vs right.
2
One good thing, we're talking about the democrats instead of Trump. Attack, be obnoxious or outrageous -- a night right out of Trump's play book.
3
I was disappointed in their performance. Except Amy’s. She comported herself well.
5
I’m a little perturbed by everyone complaining about “how bad” the debate went and how they want to vote for nobody and are ashamed by the democratic party. As you sit home on the comfort of your own couch watching the news, these people are actually up there fighting and doing something. Whether you agree with them or not, or like their performance, i believe last night’s debate reflected the urgency and passion of these candidates. Nobody is perfect. Poo-pooing news and media ain’t gonna get you nowhere. This is where we are at, and this is the state of the world today. Accept and participate or don’t complain!
5
The NBC moderators were pathetic. They lost control as the candidates turned it into a gangster street fight.
No presidential material but Bloomberg.
10
RE: (From the Wapo)
"Sanders has introduced a proposal requiring that all publicly traded corporations issue new shares that amount 20 percent of company stock to their employees, a plan intended to give workers a more power over their bosses. The proposal would also apply to all privately held companies with more than $100 million in revenue.
Sanders and Warren have also proposed requiring large corporations to give workers a share of the seats on their boards of directors. That marks a dramatic change from 2016, when Hillary Clinton primarily pitched a tax break for corporations that shared profits with their workers.
Under Sanders’ plan, the funds would be placed under the control of a board democratically elected by the company’s workers. His campaign has estimated 56 million workers in more than 22,000 companies would be affected by the change."
Uh huh........ plagiarized straight from the Labour party manifesto last November.
It was HUGE objection to Labour from voters - it was called the seizing of property (reduces the value of shres are out there) and putting janitors in charge of multi-million and billion dollar companies...
Work so well for Labour - the worst showing in an election in over 84 - last time it was worse was 1935
Has anyone explained to this bunch that adopting policies that have been HAMMERED by voters in countries more to the left than the US is probably so not a good idea?
18
@AnnS
Look at the bright side. George McGovern won one state and D.C. against Nixon. Bernie might win four or five states tops against Trump. Now that's progress!
1
Alright Sanders is now approaching 30%. Ok, Dems go ahead give him the nomination. What is guaranteed to happen in the general elections - Sanders at 78, who only recently suffered a heart attack will have to spend all his time defending his health.
He will survive that. (Longevity is in his genes).
He is a Socialist. Nothing is wrong with the principles of Socialism. (I embrace democratic socialism). America is a Socialist state - but it does not accept that label. If you are indigent - you get welfare to cover your rent and groceries as well as medicaid to cover all your health care needs. Another kid out of wedlock you get a bigger check. That's socialism. The other half of Marxism/Socialism (all land, factories, production owned and controlled by the State together with central planning) is not practiced in America.
Sanders wants to make America a more perfect Socialist State. The problem is Socialism is a bad word in America. OK to practice it - just don't use the word. Don't get branded a Socialist - or else your career in politics is done.
Trump will make mince meat of Sanders. Dems have to get Sanders off the stage. Find some excuse - and get him out.
7
@Mike Persaud agreed, big no to Sanders, don't care how he's polling or that he's honed in his talking points (lots of big promises made he won't be able to keep just for votes and a 'revolution').
2
@Mike Persaud
"America is a Socialist state": No, it isn't. The US is a capitalist state with social programs paid for by moderate taxes. Same as the Nordic states in Europe are capitalist states with extensive social programs paid for by high taxes. You don't get to make up your own definitions.
1
Bloomberg is there for Hillary Clinton to come in late at a brokered convention.
If the DNC engineers a nomination by depriving a valid Bernie Sanders, Sanders should run as an independent AND DESTROY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
6
For me, Warren is the best of the lot, Pete or Amy next. There are things I I do not like about him but I could vote for Bernie. My biggest concern with Bernie is reflected in many of the comments. Even if he ends up with the presidency, I am worried that too many voters will do what they do when they are nervous about a candidate, particularly about economic issues, and we won’t have the downdraft needed to flip the senate (a huge challenge but essential) and keep the house.
I had hopes that Bloomberg could be a possible centrist option but he blew it last night. He should start every discussion of stop and frisk with a sincere apology, not try to fudge the facts. He did not convince me that he regrets how he has treated women interpersonally and that behavior does not reflect democratic values. He has done substantial work on climate change but he regularly flies to a massive house in a tax haven and his daughter regularly flies herself and horses around the world to compete in show jumping. Walk the walk. He represents the statutes quo too much for me.
At the end of the debate, a friend texted me and said if we only knew who was going to turn out, then we’d know who to vote for. I’m done trying to handicap this election. I’m going to vote for who I like best.
Three wishes:
Vote .... like your life depended on it - it does.
Vote for Democrats all the way down the ticket no matter what
Check facts, beware disinformation. There are billions paying for it this year
9
Everyone bloodied Bloomberg last night and stayed away from Sanders, the front runner. This doesn’t make sense. You go after the guy in the top spot.
For example Warren went after Bloomberg on the issue of NDAs. But she could’ve hit Sanders on that same issue. Why didn’t she?
Could it be that the Democrats know that Sanders is about to run away with the nomination and they don’t want to give Trump any more ads?
4
I note that some folks are worried that the candidates are attacking each other. Well, it is a contest. We certainly don't want a nominee who won't be able to go toe to toe with Trump.
And there are real issues here. Is Bernie's socialist revolution likely to succeed? Is our focus attracting suburban women or white working class folks?
Biden was very focussed on the working class. We know that's what Bernie is all about.
Everyone should take a deep breath. Don't panic. This is very important, we need to get it right and it may take a while, we don't yet agree, there's no majority. There's still enough time.
Bloomberg is the only one I'm strongly opposed to.
5
I enjoyed seeing how the candidates held up under pressure. I thought the debates were great. Elizabeth Warren was the clear leader last night.
Bloomberg's "non-disclosure" agreements with countless women did him in. As it should. We have enough of that with D Trump. Rich men and the NDA's.
Bloomberg did get one jab at Sanders. When Sanders pointed out Bloomberg had billions while 500,000 homeless slept in the streets, Bloomberg brought up the fact that Sanders owns (3) houses. The hypocrisy of Sanders was quite evident. If Sanders is going to do the talk, he should do the walk, too. Of course, no one wants to give away their assets to help others, they want the government (tax payers) to do it. Sanders is no different.
Voted for Elizabeth Warren and glad I did. Team Warren.
6
One thing that struck me about the debate was the climate discussion. There seemed to be agreement that this is the most serious issue we face. If this is the case and climate is a way of life threatening issue, all of the other stuff hard hardly matters. It is hard to take any of the candidates very seriously when they pay lip service to this issue and then spend time pounding each other on NDAs, three houses, who is the President of Mexico, etc.
4
The attacks on the other candidates are dismaying-some 'calling out' of factoids of missteps taken years ago are valid but- The next president will have to be able to get the country as a whole-to the extent possible-to work for the betterment of all. The next president must understand how this democracy can operate best when the 3/three branches respect the checks and balances designed by the founders. There should be differences of opinions but the goal should/must be the health of the nation.
5
I sensed too much anger at last night's Democrat's debate and not enough policy debate. The vitriol was disheartening, begging the question, 'Can't anyone in politics be allowed to learn from their mistakes?: Amy Klobuchar waw right that Buttigieg went too far in pressing her early Senate votes and that today's policy proposals are more important.
Similarly, the attacks on Bloomberg were over-the-top instead of welcoming a newcomer with interest in debating policy differences. POLICY strengths and weaknesses need to be the center of debates, not character assassinations. The press does a good job at those. President Trump often defaults to character assassinations over policy. If this keeps up among the Democrats, the national Presidential debates will be a disaster akin to Roman Gladiator competitions, i.e., UGLY.
I'm writing each of the debaters with my concerns and also the NBC network (the questions from the panel needed to focus more on policy as well) and I urge everyone to consider doing the same.
4
Any of the Dem candidates would be leagues better than trump, and I'll support and volunteer my time & money to whoever wins the primary.
But Trump's extremism is why my 1st choice leans towards Biden. As much as I like the ideas proposed by Sanders & Warren, their revolution may have to wait. The country is too torn up for a hard left swing. We need a return to civility and unity. We need someone who has decades of experience, who has established relationships with our allies, who knows and respects the Constitution, who has experience working with Congress, and who'll appoint cabinet members not bent on destroying the agencies they're supposed to lead. Biden is not corrupt, nor is he corruptible. He may not be young and he may not generate as much "energy" as other candidates. He can get tongue tied at times. But he's steady & reliable. We can trust Biden to gently move the country in the progressive direction so many want. The country needs to take a breather & calm down. For lack of a better word, we need to be "bored" (not complacent) by what happens in Washington.
We need a fundamentally decent person in charge. Trump has no sense of decency and he's shown that he doesn't even know right from wrong. He stresses everyone out, even his own supporters. Even his so-called "great economy" has a weak foundation.
This country can't risk another 4 years of Trump's chaos, especially as it chips away at our national security. It won't be safe for any of us.
8
On reflection, seems that none of the candidates, nor any of the moderators, seems to feel that the U.S.A. is for the majority of its citizens (and resident aliens) is a great place to live, even if your pov is that the "glass is half empty, not half full."
Seems to me that if you ask any would be emigrant (person seeking to leave his country) his first choice destination, he (or she, or they) will declare for the U.S.A. and maybe Denmark as a second choice (sorry, Mayor Pete).
3
Less than 8 million political junkies watch these debates. Food fights on healthcare and who said what to whom in sealed documents aren't winning hearts and minds. i've seen enough until we have the final candidates debate just before my PA primary.
2
“I think that the will of the people should prevail, yes,” he said. “The person who has the most votes should become the nominee.”
Sorry senator Sanders but it doesn't work that way and you know it. In the first vote you must get the majority of pledged delegate votes and not the most among the candidates to win the nomination. For example if in the first vote there are 3 candidates with you receiving 40% of the 3,979 of pledged delegates and 2 other candidates, lets say Biden and Bloomberg each getting 30% (so a total of 60%) you don't win the nomination. I hope you can see why this makes sense.
As you may also know delegates are no longer pledged to a candidate after the first vote and 771 super delegates are able to vote after the first vote. Finally as with the first vote a candidate must win a majority of all delegate votes to win the nomination.
Senator Sanders you know the rules of this going into this. If ultimately you lose the nomination because pledged delegate votes shift and super delegates don't vote for you please don't cry foul.
3
@P Locke
Don't you find it interesting that the Democratic Party *still* even has superdelegates? Doesn't seem to be very democratic does it? At the top of the platform should be an agreement to do away with them and let actual voters decide the nominee.
1
We are moving in the direction of another Nixon-McGovern election - no need to remind how that ended up.
8
Ole Bernie's lips were quivering when Bloomberg brought up the fact that Bernie owned 3 houses and was a millionaire. Bernie was sputtering in his reply. But it appears the plan to demonize billionaires is working. All this brouhaha about their money is coming to a head. At least Bloomberg built his own company.
7
@BorisRoberts Bloomberg has 26.5k x as much wealth as Bernie does. Any hesitation was probably due to how specious Bloomberg’s comment was.
Not much closer to a Democratic nominee, but the GOP attack ad inventory starring each and every candidate doth overflow against each and every candidate. Well done, people.
2
According to the Chronicle of Higher Ed:
Harvard Professor salary: $226396 (2017) vs 157505 (2003), at roughly 3% increase a year.
Harvard Instructor salary: $ 65006 (2017) vs 51477 (2003), at roughly 1.7% increase a year.
Elizabeth Warren made $505,000 in 2011, of which Harvard paid her $310,000 to compensate for the extreme demands teaching one class a semester.
Of course, she came about her wealth by working hard and fully deserves it. So how does it square with her “corporate executives and billionaires” schtick?
10
@JP why do you believe that leaning progressive should condemn one to poverty?
Democratic socialism is regulated capitalism, not Marxism.
I can't foresee Cook County Democratic Organization (yes there still is one) getting too excited about Bernie if he's the nominee. The precinct captains aren't going to canvass for an independent socialist. They just won't. Actually I don't see them getting too excited about any of the candidates except for Biden. And, yes, this matters if Illinois is to remain a blue state in November. It is a sad situation that the Democrats are unable to find a rock star the whole party can unite behind to take on Trump. There's none in this field. This whole process has been mismanaged. Too many debates, too many candidates, too much fragmentation. Caucuses! A 1972 McGovern-type nominee disaster lurks. Sometimes I miss the old smoke filled rooms, and this is that sometime.
4
Regardless if you're a Democrat or a Republican, Bloomberg's pragmatism and forward thinking makes him the best choice to defeat Donald Trump in 2020. What need is there for the other Democratic candidates to weep over parts of life when according to Bernie Sanders, the whole of it calls for tears. They get weepy and furious not simply because their past plans have failed, the plans embraced by 25% of the country failed, when they expected them not too. Bloomberg being attacked is fair game - strategically using passion to exaggerate the here and now of the non disclosure agreements for bad jokes or poor choice of words go with the territory. I'm hoping Democrats reasoned intelligence gives them access to a unique intelligent perspective in which they participate in, called external totality that we can use instead of railing against the status quo, we can opt for clear eyed serenity instead.
Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made. The acceptance of this reality head on - don’t expect perfection in government with regards to politics. Don’t presume rationality will triumph. The wise does everything to assume that error and folly will try to have their way and create structures to contain them. The wise never expects that one person can be everything to them. Regardless, Mike Bloomberg is the best chance we have to Defeat Donald Trump in 2020.
8
@José Franco Lots of spluttering egos and not much wisdom evident on that stage. Bloomberg, stoic, did not attack anyone, and he made some strong points. He's being eviscerated today for Warren's panicky attack on him. It was an ugly night.
1
We need debates that are run by and for the citizens of this country. No bad-mouthing of fellow debaters; cut off microphone when the time is up, etc. If you need someone who has the courage to take the lead moderator position, hire a teacher. Debate management is the same as classroom management.
4
Last night was devastating. Did no-one prep Bloomberg? He looked like a lost kid up there and came off as defensive and petulant. Not a good look for any candidate. He should have been working on this for a year at least, to create at least a veneer of personality and finesse.
And the attacks and bickering. This is what will hand Trump the election. Middle of the road Republicans for some reason overlook his heinous environmental, social, economic and political policies, not to mention gross personal failings and deeply corrupt practices. They will basically overlook everything he is and what he does, for reasons beyond my ken, but they will.
If we have any hope of turning their eyes in another direction, we have to winnow down the field and get behind one person/one idea. The sooner we spread that message the better. This has gone on far too long.
2
And when there is a nominee, these same attackers will be telling you why to vote for this great candidate.
Five people on stage campaigning for Donald Trump, the other, the only one interested in defeating him, it seems. The odds of me watching , much less listening, to those five again--not very good.
5
My takeaway? Liz Warren won the debate. If America wants a first-rate president - with intelligence and a get-it-done attitude, she will replace Donald Trump.
The problem is, most Americans don't want this. At least they don't want it from a woman. And sadly, a not insignificant number of Democrats think like this, too. Oh, they claim they're not sexist - but can easily overlook the many obvious "flaws" of every male candidate on that stage last night. Of course it is sexism.
And regardless of motivation or "likability", Dems had better not pull the temper tantrum they pulled in 2016, or we'll lose the last chance to save our country.
At this point, I'd vote for a thumb tack if it would get Donald Trump out of the White House.
6
They just don’t get it. The “urgency of the moment” is to defeat Trump. Instead, they’re tearing the party apart and alienating voters.
8
I am really tired of getting yelled at by nearly everyone in this game. The "holier than thou" attitude by many of these candidates was depressing at first, but now I find myself being taken aback by the my-way-or-the-highway approach. Each and every one has either made serious mistakes in their careers, or hasn't had a career that amounts to much if you really look at what they have done or stand for. Yet they are at this point literally screaming at me that their "plan" will resurrect us all from the downward spiral. Frankly, I hope someone like Bloomberg or Biden can find their footing and get us back to looking at the big picture and show a positive way forward.
9
I guess I watched a different debate from everybody else. Warren did not seen strong to me; she seemed desperate and petty. Sanders screamed the usual "medicare for all" with no more details than in the past. Mayor Pete and Amy just engaged in playground taunting: I know you're not and so am I. Bloomberg looked gobsmacked by the fractious shouting, interrupting, snide pre-packaged attacks of the circular firing squad. Biden actually sounded like an adult, didn't mangle his grammar or say really bizarre stuff; but then he had a low bar to climb across. The most unprofessional of the lot were the moderators. It was not a debate. Nothing substantive was discussed. It was a shouting match, with the loudest hogging the stage. Nobody tried to force decorum on the kids in the sandbox. And the questions they asked were shallow and predictable. I learned nothing new about any of the candidates.
10
It was a dreadful spectacle to watch last night, with the Democratic candidates tearing each other apart. They did an excellent job on behalf of Trump. None of them behaved presidential. What is the purpose of these interminable debates, and when will they end finally? It was the tenth debate last night. The self-serving arguments and self praises have by now become familiar and stale. The moderators lost control of the debate and virtually disappeared. Clearly, it is not in the interest of the Democratic Party to continue with these charades as they turn most watchers away from Democratic candidates.
7
The crew of the Titanic trying to decide who gets a seat in the lifeboat.
Keep it up, folks.
3
Bloomberg's mistake was that he seemed to apologize for his politics and verbal faux pas/behavior. In fact, it's the problem with all politicians - they apologize.
The problem with Biden, Bernie, Amy, Pete and Liz was that they wasted most of their time attacking him. WHAT A WASTE.
But attacking him was easier than explaining their woefully inadequate programs to solve America's real problem.
A Billionaire president is not as big a problem as homelessness... or medical coverage.
4
Once again, the clear winner of the Democratic debate is... Donald Trump.
I am starting to despair for our country.
7
Someone in Bernie’s campaign staff must have realized early on that “Socialist” would you fly as Sanders’ party affiliation so they tacked on “Democratic” to the Socialist appellation. After watching Sanders’ performance last night it is clear to me that he has been, is now, and will continue to be, a Socialist. So, Bernie, just drop the Democratic part and fess up to your real political guiding principles.
1
I had the sound turned off and relied on CC because the debate was mostly unlisten-able and barely watchable. The NBC moderators were more interested in scoring points themselves than giving the candidates a platform for presenting their case for the presidency.
Cat calls and applause from the crowd tilted the field against Bloomberg. He appeared to lack fighting spirit -- at least compared to the rest of the group, but he was polite and that played well to a larger audience -- those at home praying for someone to emerge as a decent alternative to the current president.
However, overall the debate was anything but civil ... or informative. More like an old Jerry Springer slugfest of arch rivals.
Disappointingly, even Mayor Pete sacrificed his Midwest politeness. Nevertheless, his youth and intelligence were a relief compared with the quartet of 70 years olds three of whom (not Bloomberg) were as selfish, petty, peevish and batty as could be.
And if I was cringing, the debate was probably even more of a nightmare for the 771 super-delegates as they watched their leading candidates light each other on fire.
These "automatic delegates" will exert their influence once the first ballot at the July convention fails to produce a clear winner. (Sorry, Bernie, you'll need a majority of 1991, not a plurality.
Meanwhile, Trump is asserting he's now the chief law officer of the country. Martial law and all out dictatorship be next? Who can stop him? Not these Keystone Cops.
2
I am a deeply proud Las Vegan. Debate night takeaway: Money can't buy you love. But thanks for playing, Michael.
4
We're only waiting for the first woman to speak out about Bloomberg and from then on it will be a slow drip of more coming out with their story until November. The white knight's armor, it turns out, is covered in blood instead of shiny.
We can't have that. If women stay home in a Bloomberg-Trump contest we lose.
The only hope centrists have anymore at this point is a miracle, nothing short of convincing Michelle Obama to run in a brokered convention.
2
@Liz You're right, Liz. And all someone with deep pockets has to do is step up and declare that he or she will cover the financial hit the woman who chooses to violate the NDA would be subject to, if repaying the payoff is the sole penalty.
1
@Liz Cinsider this: if Bloomberg was a
Cosby-Weinstein-Trump type letter, some of these women would have gone public. Nothing is stopping them
And meanwhile what most people care about is wealth inequality, the trade imbalance and our broken immigration system. So the Dems are insuring four more years of trump. Good job dems.
5
I STILL do not know why they don't go on the attack and call Trump a socialist.
I don't think any president has spent taxpayer dollars more than Trump, and certainly none has enriched himself from it like Trump.
Trump is a hero when he announces Space Force, but then attacks those as socialists/communists if they suggest universal healthcare. Yet both come out of the SAME pot at the end of the day.
These bickering contests are a poor way to judge a candidate's ability to do anything except...bicker. Is this how we expect the Oval Office to be run? Unless one wants to elect another entertainer(sic), these debates are worse than useless, providing little opportunity for informative discussion of issues beyond who gets to talk most and loudest. Except for the precious tv exposure, I don't know why any self-respecting candidate would choose to participate.
1
Hmm..I could only smile in my seat as I watch Mr. Bloomberg. I always knew he is not good at this, but his debate coach could have prepared him better. I still like the guy though. He reminds me of my father who is brilliant but could not win against me in any debate we got entangled with. It is one thing to be intelligent but expressing that entelligence is quite another. Some people are just born speakers.
The best ability to debate does not mean the best ability to lead. I still believe Mr. Bloomberg will be a great president.
Ms. Warren promised to attack Mr.Bloomberg on stage and attack she did. This ballistic gesture surely fired up her base. I'm just not sure if this billigerence is the right formula for her to earn the nomination. I just wish candidates will stop attacking each other on a personal level. It is painful to watch.
After every debate, my father would say to me: " ok you win. You always think you're better ." In my heart of hearts I know I'm not better. I'm just a better talker.
3
This debate was really depressing. It was like a bunch of kids yelling in a schoolyard. There must be a better way to winnow the candidates: how about some debate rules so they can outline their actual policies rather than attacking each other. Only Sanders stuck to his policy talking points which is probably why he's winning so far. Warren was excruciating to watch as she yelled at Bloomberg. Trump will win if this fighting goes on.
2
I don't know if you noticed, but it wasn't the candidates that turned on each other, it was the cynical questions by NBC. The questions were designed to target Sanders and Bloomberg.
I agree that Bloomberg had a number of things to answer for, but to set this up like the DNC and NBC weren't the ones that created this atmosphere is just not good journalism.
To allow Chuck Todd to be a moderator, after just two weeks ago he likened Sanders supporters to the "Brown Shirts" of the third reich, is not really balanced.
That being said, I really appreciated how Warren wouldn't let Bloomberg off the hook. Anyone who has 64 sexual assault allegations against him, is clearly not a leader.
and if you paid attention to the articles early in the election cycle that were about Klobuchar, she's also unfit. Read the stories of employees that say she throws things at them when she's angry. This is not ok.
1
Bernie 2020 is Trump 2016. The dixiecrats will never admit but will have to accept that Bernie is their only hope of getting to the White House. The dixiecrats like the Republicans of 2016 are yelling and crying! But know that they will like the Republicans have to tow the line. If not four more years of bad reality TV!
What I find terribly troubling is that last night's panel of presidential hopefuls chose to attack one another like jackals, leaving a lasting impression of their desperation rather than a professional and solid grounding of their policies and abilities to be the nominee, much less the next president.
I thought the entire lot were embarrassing and the moderator, Lester Holt, did little, if anything, to reel the bunch of them in, at any time.
It's this kind of disorganized and mayhem display that turns off a lot of voters as well as feeds right into Trump's base.
Last night was NOT a good, much less encouraging example of what the Democratic Party is or stands for.
I was embarrassed and deeply ashamed.
3
So why is everyone so surprised at the veracity of the confrontations? Trump has been brutally boot stomping Democrats for years, even Hillary looked in danger during the last debate with Trump in 2016. Everyone should be reveling in the knowledge backbones have grown and are being finely tuned now in anticipation of enduring Trump's onslaught and turning his own fury against him.
3
The Democratic debates demonstrate (again) the intellectual bankruptcy of their party. Watching them sling filth at each other on national TV also lowers the (already tiny) gravatis of their relentless attacks on Trump, as it is clear that always being "outraged about something" is just another day at the office for these folks, much as throwing a tantrum at Walmart is common behavior for children whose parents won't get them all the "free stuff" they see in the store.
1
I saw a spirited debate. And how. A spirited, passionate, intelligent and yes contentious debate at a moment of high pressure.
Yet the Times insists on describing it using tired Trump/UFC/cage match language. Everything is an "attack." Even the headline, "Unleashes Onslaught of Attacks" is beyond cliche.
And tone-deaf. It's not a wrestling match. And you're resorting to click bait tactics, meanwhile demeaning and debasing the conversation.
3
The winner last night was donald trump who got plenty of fodder for whoever runs against him. The moderators didn't moderate, the candidates took their baited questions and responded by attacking each other. Where are the grown-ups, where is the substance? Extremely disappointing!
2
Look at all these 1%ers.
Is Pete the only non-Millionare/Billionaire?
2
@Russian Bot
Yes. And still paying off his student loan.
Bloomberg's insistence on buying his way into the race has turned the primary into a referendum on Bloomberg, when we should be having a referendum on Trump. He is a sideshow with more money than sense.
Remember in 2016 when he said he would run as a third party candidate if Bernie was the nominee? He's not in this for the public benefit. He is doing what he has always done: putting little Mikey first. It's how he managed to become a billionaire, and it's how he would run this country.
The American people are fed up with having a sexist, vulgar Manhattan billionaire in the White House. Nominate one to run against the other, and the incumbent will win.
1
To take on Trump you have to fight fire with fire. Only Bloomberg is going toe to toe with him. By turning on Bloomberg the rest of the Democrats look weak
1
Last night's debate was disastrous! I never want to see this from Dems again.
I can't stand Bernie's constant, repetitive, yelling drone- I will not be voting for him. And who ever suggested that women need to act like screeching harpies to convey "strength"? They don't look strong - quite the opposite. Blooomberg, (a disappointment), Klobuchar and Biden - meh.
The only candidate who looked presidential, the only one who looked like he could handle any situation with a little class was Pete Buttigieg. He won the debate last night hands down, IMO. It's partly his supremely capable personality but I'm guessing his military training helps him remain cool under fire.
Shame, shame, shame on some of those Dems for thinking that yelling and attacking their opponents was a good strategy. The entire debate was an embarrassment.
The biggest winner of yesterday’s debate was Trump.
Ask why?
By allowing Bloomberg — who confessed joking about women and treating them worse that he had them sign NDAs — on the debate stage, they sanctioned his actions.
Now how can they turn around and ridicule Trump for doing the same things and his access Hollywood tape, without looking like hypocrites?
Actually the whole thing made me sad. People dying all around the world and the so called debate became Dem Survivors which I never watch. After debate I watched the candidates wander around as if lost. Probably as bewildered as I was. How the heck did discourse die? One word: Trump. I watched Criminal Minds Finale. More hope there than on this stage.
No excuses for the brawl or Bloomberg's performance, but let's critique the NBC rules. I understand they wanted the candidates to engage with each other, but the moderators were not able to control the debate. As a result, they lost the valuable time to ask substantive questions on the rule of law, judicial appointments and foreign affairs, for example. With hope, let's trust CBS to do a much better job of question, response and then move on to the next question. I do think it would be better to conduct the event with more common debating rules.
11
With all the information available on the internet debates are for show. Cosmetic without revealing anything new about a candidate’s ability to govern or the position she may have on any issue. Fun to watch though.
7
I’m still waiting for a debate where some upstanding Democrat candidates discuss the issues and how they will make all lives better, how medical care will be funded, immigration policies etc. No more bickering and picking on each other, it’s embarrassing as a Democrat to watch that! Show us some Presidential looking behavior, not what we already experience day to day from the White House now.
13
@MF That's not what the debates are for, unfortunately. Hate to say it--these debates help narrow the field. There are too many people to choose from, and they all look good when compared to the incumbent. The Internet is flooded with campaign-to-consumer messaging from the candidates, as are the airwaves, and let's not forget the media hyper-sensationalization of every single sharp breath they take. Any American who, by now, is not absolutely bloated with information about these candidates' stance on "issues" (many of which overlap like crazy) lives under a rock or feels crushed by one. Watching them interact while under immense pressure and scrutiny is more useful at this point than polite discourse.
2
Democrats have their backs to the wall with the majority of the country, surrounded by the bulk of the most corrupt and vile president in its history.
It's come down to that, and give Bloomberg his due. He saw this coming and prepared for this moment by spending a half-billion dollars before he was even on a single state's ballot.
That was the greatest bet a politician has ever made, at least in terms of dollars, of which Bloomberg has no end.
There is now, after his first debate, only one big reason he should be the nominee--Bernie can't beat Trump.
Bernie's supporters are well-meaning I'm sure, but the idea they can push through his socialist agenda in a Senate controlled by Mitch McConnell is beyond ludicrous. Do they understand that a close victory over Trump is not enough? A historic landslide is needed to flip the senate to Democratic control.
That's the only way to bury Trump for good. With Democratic control of Congress we can pass the legislation required to put our democratic traditions, the ones all presidents before Trump have followed dutifully, up on a pedestal out of reach of a president like Trump.
Without a big win, we are stuck in Groundhog Day, with a Republican insurgency in 2022 and perhaps a Don Jr. challenge in 2024.
Yes, it looks like it has to be Bloomberg. I couldn't see it until last night. Watch the debate again. Bloomberg was the only adult in the room with a bunch of yelling and screaming children.
9
@Dennis "Bernie's supporters are well-meaning I'm sure, but the idea they can push through his socialist agenda in a Senate controlled by Mitch McConnell is beyond ludicrous"
You could say the same thing about literally any policy proposed by a centrist Democrat should they get the nomination instead. Obama spent 8 years trying to play nice with McConnell, and all we have to show for it is a watered-down ACA that failed to fix our health care system. It doesn't matter what policies the Democratic candidate puts forward, the GOP strategy is obstruction- period.
If we are going to have to fight the GOP Senate tooth and nail for literally everything, we may as well fight for what we really want instead of a compromised version. Otherwise it's just a waste of time and resources.
If you really think Bloomberg has a chance after this historically bad debate showing, I don't know what to tell you. He was completely unprepared to defend himself. He is 100% out of his depth and he will only continue to make a fool out of himself. He paid $400 million out of his own pocket just to look like an incompetent, bigoted chump on national television. Someone with such poor judgment has no place in the White House, not while we have a wealth of other choices before us.
1
An embarrassing spectacle. A waste of time, for the candidates and for those watching.
Almost every debate, the first 30-45 minutes all about health care. And, absolutely nothing new said or proposed.
I give up. The whole group of them is acting as if they have no control over the process and the questions they will answer. Not one of them knows how to deflect. Well, maybe Bernie.
In November, I will vote for the Democrat. I don't know if I can watch or listen anymore.
14
@Alexandra Brockton I, too, am becoming frustrated by the same ol' topics at every single debate. Healthcare and climate are not the ONLY things people care about. Almost every single candidate up there has something useful and informative to say about dozens of other issues that impact our lives. I hated watching Bloomberg get cut off about trade and economy, I hated watching Bernie shout his wealth disparity stump speeches (again) at every opportunity instead of "letting us in" to know *him* better and connect with his many other political virtues, I hated watching Warren doing everybody else's dirty work and have nothing to add, I hated watching Pete robotically peddle bumper sticker inclusivity (again) instead of showing us that his genuine brilliance and respectability would draw experienced leaders to his cabinet, and I hated watching Biden's impressive amount of relevant experience having no relevance whatsoever beyond context of making sure everyone knows he 'invented it first dagnabbit'. Klobuchar was Klobuchar.
1
I listened to some of the debate and it saddened me. Such animosity. There’s no contrast with Trump in this behavior. No optimism, no policy ideas, just bitterness and personal attacks. No leadership. Sad.
9
Mr. Bloomberg was abysmal in both form and substance. He will try to buy his way out with attack ads against front runner Sanders.
Warren, slipping in the polls and unchallenged by her opponents, had the freedom to attack at will and did! It remains unclear how she might do as a front runner and under attack herself.
Meanwhile Sanders lead in the polls grows. He is strong in Nevada and S.C. and across most of the Super Tuesday states. He leads Trump in critical states like Michigan too. So much for electability.
While the MSM will continue to up their attacks on Bernie, the working class of the country seems to sense he is their last best chance.
11
I think Bloomberg was the winner last night.
A lot happened last night, it felt like a family fight, but my takeaway was Bloomberg was the most self contained adult in the room, who's sole purpose and only focus is to take down Trump!
And that is what we need.
Desperately.
At the end of the day, none of the others, no matter how qualified and prepared they are, can do it.
Bloomberg has the smarts and the necessary machine to do it.
He's a tough New Yorker, who knows exactly how to fight the bully tearing down our democracy and the rule of law.
Screaming about Health Care policy's and income inequality just isn't going to do it. Don't get me wrong, this is important stuff that I am concerned about, but given the circumstances, it's not going to get Trump out of office.
13
This is ridiculous. Instead of focusing on issues of broad significance to the American public, the candidates engaged in name-calling and finger-pointing. They are playing into Trump's hands. Every single one of them needs to talk about health care, jobs, education--things that Americans care about. I would never vote for Bloomberg, but subjecting him to an onslaught of attacks is not going to make him go away.
The candidates should learn a lesson from Kamala Harris. She was a rising candidate until she attacked Biden over his position on busing forty years ago. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, because our country, and the world, depend on it.
5
Unbelievable! These folks, with all their money, behave like children yet want to lead this country. Take any group of high schoolers that's about to graduate, and I bet they'll do a better job.
5
Warren took a page out of the old GOP playbook that was used against war hero John Kerry, when she swift-boated Bloomberg over the NDA issue. Given the legal complexities of NDAs, she knew that Bloomberg couldn't respond in 25 words or less. Undoing an NDA requires agreement from both agressor and the victim, which could take years. Score 1 point for Warren for turning Bloomberg into the number 2 sexual harasser in politics. Sanders effortlessly did his best crazy Bernie impersonation. Score -1 for Larry David who has to keep appearing on SNL for at least another few months and maybe longer. The Nation casted it's lonely eyes to Joe Biden who avoided gaffes and sounded coherent. Score 1 for Joe who is just biding his time. Klobuchar and Mayor Pete looked like two kids listening at the bedroom door who just discovered that their parents have sex. They sat all night at the kids table throwing mashed potatoes at each other. For that, score 1 for Steyer and Gabbard for being smart enough to not qualify for the debate. Score -1 for Yang for proving that he was as boring as a CNN taking head as he was as a debater. As with the previous debate, the only winner was Trump.
3
Everyone says ‘meh’ about Biden but he is the one who had many moments of applause.
4
So, the guy who oversaw a massive program of state-sanctioned violence against minorities is the moderate, but the guy trying to get everyone access to healthcare is the radical. Okay.
10
@Michael Andoscia exactly. Well said.
1
The NDAs could become Bloomberg's version of Hilary's email server problem.
He could have said he has learned from his boorish lapses, as evidenced by the current gender parity in his businesses and as Mayor. The case would be somewhat closed, instead, he he appeared evasive, defensive, and unrepentent.
Unfortunately, despite a much more elevated level discussion, the sparring feeds Trump's campaign to show the Dems as bumblers.
2
After all the Democratic presidential candidates got finished looking harried and desperate and trying to knock each other off the stage and from consideration as president, they saved the Republicans the effort.
The Republicans are pitting us against each other, and the Democrats play right into the narrative. Last night the Dems spent too much time charging each other with you're not the candidate for: women, blacks, Hispanics, young people; you didn't do enough for __________; you made a huger mistake decades ago.
Meanwhile, we have Trump, McConnell, Barr who do nothin' for nobody but the 1% and big corporations, and turn us against each other, or turn whites, men, the religious against everyone else.
At least I learned that my notion that Bloomberg could take down Trump was way off base.
Thoughts after watching the debate and reading through some of these comments:
- The moderators were horrible! Questions were designed for in-fighting without time for actual policy debate. And not one question about what the criminal in the WH is up to and how to counter the decimation of our rule of law. Shame on NBC!
- Commenters complaining about the women on the stage being "bossy " or "whiney", then go on to praise Bloomberg. Oh please!
Nothing Elizabeth or Amy said would be considered bossy if they were men.
- Bloomberg supporters popping up in droves online. He's bought his way into the race and appears to be buying supporters (at least online warriors) as well. Don't trust it (or him).
- Every candidate, with exception to Bloomberg, is a stark contrast to the criminal-in-chief. Too bad the moderators didn't have the sense to allow those contrasts to be discussed.
- I will happily vote for any candidate on that stage, except Bloomberg. As a lifelong Dem, I'm insulted the DNC bent the rules to allow this Republican oligarch into this debate.
7
This comment is on a pair of Charlie Warzel opinions, I'm putting it here because there have been zero questions in 9 debates on privacy and only questions on billionaires and not the companies they run.
Mr. Warzel wrote a piece, "Twitter is Real", decrying those of us who think Twitter is not the real world and is not a credible information medium. He believes it's all about "elites".
I refer Mr. Warzel to his previous piece, "All This Dystopia, for What?" The online technology space is never what it looks like, and especially what it looks like when being advertised.
Society being injured by the press people and politicians letting their Anger Games on Twitter spill out into the real world. I'm not on social media not because I'm elite, I'm not on it because I have genuine privacy issues by happenstance.
Nine debates. Nothing about reining in social media.
Mr. Warzel and the lawyers in the Privacy Project are power users, not technology creators. You don't understand why face recognition should not be banned? Because recognition is key to creating computing worlds that can effect the reforms these lawyers and others seek. Humans are adaptable, computers are not, the Human Computer Interface is mostly humans adapting to apps. If the computers don't come our way, the dystopia will be chaos, rigid thinking, hollowing of social institutions and loss of nuance.
Banning research because of shallow thinking is truly dystopian. It's the burning of the books.
1
Sorry Warren fans, but debating skills, if you call constant shrill attacks, skills, will not be relevant, because the donald will not debate. And, he’s just as good at calling names as Warren. Her attacks on Bloomberg are all out there now, so everyone knows he’s not an angel and the issues won’t do any further damage. He knew what to expect coming into these “debates”. What will continue to be true is that Bloomberg Philanthropies due real good and that his money will be needed to balance the donalds super-pac money. As much as I like Bernie and will willingly support him if he wins the nomination, I can’t see him winning over moderate republicans, and that’s not a problem for Bloomberg.
10
Explain how Bloomberg will be able and will to stem the damages done by his administration to black, brown and poor folks, during his THREE terms as mayor of NYC.
2
I said the same thing to my husband as we watched: “Warren just comes across as shrill—obnoxiously hard to listen to. “
@Darrel Lauren, yes, as a matter of fact, Bloomberg should have no trouble winning over the most conservative of Republicans. That isn't his problem, his problem is winning over moderate and other Democrats.
Jason Johnson correctly remarked that if the contest goes to Bernie vs. Bloomberg, it will represent a total hijacking of the Democratic Party as two non-Democrats duke it out for the nomination to a party that will at that point be only a vessel, and not stand for anything on its own.
The problem with that is that we can see what a party that doesn't stand for anything on its own looks like. Just go back and review footage of the Republican senators during the trial.
1
Why do journalists and commenters express opinions about how any of the candidates would fare in a debate with Trump
Remember 2016 ,, points made during the debate didn't matter
Trump just made it a tv spectacle , and I guess the one thing that he did successfully in his life was hosting a TV show .
I think the Democrat who wins the nomination should refuse to debate Trump .
2
It was great entertainment last night at the Democratic party debate for presidential candidates. As Sen.Klobuchar said at the end (paraphrasing) Let's go see boxing next.
I think former Mayor Bloomberg took some heavy hits on not knowing the number of nondisclosure agreements women in his company have signed since the 1990's; it is the kind of data he seems to pride himself on being prepared for.
I am still planning on voting for Bloomberg because his management skills are the one qualification no candidate on the stage last night touched. Certainly not VP Biden's confused attack that NYC's problems weren't all solved by Bloomberg during Pres. Obama's term (despite VP Biden's help!)
Post-Trump, the USA will need a strong executive who has proven skills to get goals met in the type of organization the unique executive branch of government presents. Only Bloomberg has proven skills to take on those type of challenges. He will need a young, inspirational VP like Cory Booker or a woman with vision like Stacey Abrams to add the missing part of empathy with voters to his team. Mayor Bloomberg will need all of the candidates to unify to defeat Trump as soon as possible.
The next focus must be on retaining the House and capturing the Senate, putting McConnell out of business. Democrats have little time to waste arguing who has the most houses or whether accepting a billionaire's money to promote Democratic values and agenda is "moral" as Sen. Sanders wants.
7
The debate was most useful one so far because it helped me envision how each candidate would perform if Trump emerges from his rallies to actually debate the Democratic candidate in the general election. I really value Klobuchar but worry that if she let Buttigieg get to her, how would she handle the inanity of Trump? Sanders would not even notice Trump was on the stage but just go on with his crusade. Buttigieg would make the same mistake all victims of verbal abuse make: trying to counter craziness with logic. That doesn't work against Trump. Biden would look alternately befuddled and over-the-top. And if Bloomberg is the choice? God help us. I was left thinking maybe Warren is the best assassin for the job.
9
Predictably, the Democrats have now begun doing Trump's work for him. Why can't they remember who they are really running against?
6
Yes, every Democrat in every debate should constantly bring up Trump’s corruption, lying and favor for white collar criminals and for despots!
They must also harp on how he wants to break down the separate branches of government and their independence under the constitution.
Harp, harp, harp on Trump’s broken promises, cruelty, amorality and lawlessness.
@rs, ask the moderators. They were in charge of the subject matter, not the debaters. Shallow press makes shallow debates no matter who the candidates are.
2
We are fighting for our democracy, fighting for our country, Behaving like schoolyard bullies does not move us forward, not one iota. We should be better than this, we should have strategic, workable plans for better healthcare, better education and caring for our environment and use that during debates, during TV and radio interviews. Keep talking about your plans for our country. Behave better, do better. A lifelong progressive, I turned the television off at 10:00 p.m. So terrified for the direction of this country, I am looking for a person to get us out of the mess that trump has created, a way out of bullying and divisive behavior, lies, knee-jerk reactions and someone to care for all of us. Again, be better than this or we will fail miserably. After last night's debacle, I am very scared.
5
No one on that stage can beat Donald Trump, and with Nancy Pelosi's impeachment shenanigans, the house will be lost too. All the debate bickering reminded me of William Golding's Lord of the Flies ie, children on a deserted island divorced from sanity.
7
Bloomberg should have been less defensive about n.d.a.'s which he had adverse parties sign. He should have retorted that onus was on those who signed them, and would they be willing to give all the money back as a condition of revealing the contents of their cases? How many think that they would have been willing to do so?Little lies lead to bigger ones, and if you shade the truth in informing others, to advance your career, that you are a member of a minority, Amero Indian, when you are really not, declare falsely u were sacked from a teaching position because u were pregnant, another post-truth, that is a sign of not only duplicity,but an indication that if you were capable of telling small mistruths, you would be capable of telling bigger ones if you were elevated to the presidency.EW is fighting age, like Sanders, Biden, Stirer, Pelosi and Trump, all septuagenarians and who all want to be relevant in their crepuscular years."Je vous ai compris!"De Gaulle, who returned to power in his late sixties to solve France's Algerian problem, reached a modus vivendi with his sworn enemies in late 1960's, gunmen of the OAS who had tried numerous times to assassinate him for his duplicity in granting Algeria independence after pledging the opposite to the army and pieds noirs, remarked ruefully old age was an "epave,"a shipwreck, but those on debate stage last night proved that they all still had it,were still in possession of their faculties!
2
Tulsi Gabbard is the clear winner of tonight's debate. By not participating in this game show spectacle, she has once again proven herself to be head and shoulders above the other candidates.
72
@Ashley
Gabbard is useless, but i still would rather have seen her up on stage than Warren, who showed us why her candidacy has been a total bust despite the support of much of the elite Democratic establishment.
14
@Ashley
Perhaps Ms. Gabbard realized that she didn't deserve to be there.
If it weren't so serious, the game show spectacle is the one going on in the Whitehouse.
19
Tulsi didn’t participate because she didn’t qualify and she didn’t qualify because the polls reflect that most people actually don’t think she’s head and shoulders above the other candidates.
37
I refuse to watch these 'debates' since I felt from the beginning that they were being staged as reality shows intended to generate ratings rather than thoughtful exchanges of policy proposals. From the video clips I've seen and the stories I've read I'm sorry to say that it looks as though I was correct. There must be a better way of having the candidates exchange their ideas for the future of the country. They way last turned out, the only winner was Donald Trump.
5
@Joseph Thomas Have they ideas ?
The headline reads jabs? If those were "jabs" at Bloomberg, then the Titanic was just a boat. Those were Mike Tyson hay makers.
5
Hey I went to the fights last night and a Democrat debate broke out
7
Disgraceful. Like a bunch of 8th graders hazing the new guy and then each other. I saw very few leadership qualities emerge.
11
@JMMoore it was a media show. Leadership qualities get displayed when people do real things at some adversity, not when people participate in the Superbowling of the Elections. Gladiator sports are all about the circuses, not about learning the true character of the gladiators.
@JMMoore So, you prefer the 4th grader Trump?
And this newspaper just keeps bashing the leader — BERNIE SANDERS!!
If the NYT would wholeheartedly and truthfully report data and facts, it would be doing the world a great service. In my 70 years, I’ve always hoped for that.
8
@Paul G, the Bernie supporters are the only people who can win in a contest with the Trump supporters for irrational feelings of persecution. Isn't that how Germany evolved in the 1930s?
1
Democrats debating >>>>>> Demolition Derby
4
I am sure POTUS watched that debacle and was licking his chops.
3
Mayor Bloomberg stood calmly and stoically onstage as he watched $400,000,000 of his fortune being flushed down the toilet. Give him credit for taking a minor loss with dignity.
7
Debate summary: Time for Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.
4
@Richard Rosenthal, bring it on! I'd love a presidency of Sherrod Brown. He isn't running. Only in Plato's Republic do we draft the most reluctant to lead, not in real life.
1
Bloomberg: " . . . Maybe they didn't like the joke I told . .. "
Mayor "No Fun" Bloomberg was clearly the enemy up there, bombing-out in his debate debut, stumbling over his tongue and projecting anger that he couldn't control the tribal campfire talk.
The ghost of election 2016 was clearly the winner. Watch out!
1
Democrats focus on the Senate. It is your only option.
6
It’s amusing to see all the Bloomberg supporters in this comment section shoot the messenger vis-à-vis the moderators.
Just take the loss. There’s more dignity in it.
7
I can't watch the debates for more than 2 minutes. I tune in hoping to hear substantive policy debates, but have to turn the channel with the idiotic 'gotcha' questions from the moderators and the candidates wade into the abyss, flailing at each other, while the fraud in the White House salivates. In fact, 'debate' is a total misnomer for this bad reality show.
4
Trainwreck. I'd rather watch them all play Wheel of Fortune. I'd probably get more out of it.
4
The big winner last night: SUPERDELEGATES!
I haven’t got anything against senior citizens, but two 78-year old (white) guys? Is that what the Democratic Party wants to nominate after the all most glass-ceiling breaking woman last time? Going against the corrupt baby boomer president occupying the White House now? America seems to be a rather conservative country.
4
@Erik, actually it sounds like you do have something against old (white) guys. The people actually going out to vote (if Iowa and NH are indicators) are boomers, the lower than expected turnout was from younger voters polling that they would definitely vote and then pulling the usual no show.
America isn't a conservative country, it's a country where young progressives talk a good line on Twitter and then stay home and later on tell their friends they were "boycotting". Boomers go out to vote in both the primary and the general because they know that the primary is where you vote your heart, the general where you vote your head. And they wouldn't miss an opportunity to vote their hearts.
This boomer is supporting a woman candidate right now, first voted for an African American for president in 1988, and has supported the ERA all my aware life. We mobilized to pass and did get passed a Constitutional amendment when we were still in high school. There are so many things young reporters don't know about people my age, and they don't write about what they don't know.
I beg the DNC to never again let NBC moderate a debate. The moderators threw out one stupid question after another meant to pick fights, and then they just sat back as the candidates talked over each other, never giving anyone the opportunity to fully answer or fully respond. I've seen better debates run by middle-schoolers.
9
Good lord, this isn't a sporting event. The debate was like American Gladiators. We're talking about people's lives here. We're all losers if this continues and we don't overturn Citizens United. Ugh. Just ugh.
7
Not one leader of people in the bunch. That is the take away. A leader would have quickly answered the question asked and then take the remaining time to talk about their vision for the Country and their plans. Not one of them did that. Not one.
Do not blame the moderator or any alien from outer space for the performance of these individuals. The performances were pathetic.
5
Hmmmm. Many opportunities, but,
very little said (or ASKED! Hey, moderators!!!) about military, national defense, balancing the budget, national debt,
but a lot of smoke, mirrors, and finger pointing.
Not wonder now why I invested 2 hours in front of the tv.
2
All that money and no one coached Bloomberg on how to debate?
5
@Mira
I suggest experts with practical experience with difficult children, particularly so called "system busters".
Absolutely indispensable when it comes to Ms. Warren again and then to Mr. Trump. Such persons are not to compare with all these "difficult managers" or "problem oligarchs" he had already to deal with in his business life.
Honestly.
What was with that Telemundo questioner and her clear dislike of SenTor Klobachar?
3
The best thing that ever happened for Biden was Bloomberg, free of having to defend himself from constant attack Joe could go on the offense for once. Biden must have been thinking ” Bloomy where have you been all my life.”
3
Typical Democrat politicians -- even fought amongst themselves over "Bloomie".
And yes I was surprised that Bernie has three (3) houses -- he could have given the extra money to all those poor folks he wants to convert their failing grades to A+ Superstars and give them my paycheck.
Trump will have no problem beating anyone of them -- he'll just promise them more than the Dem Candidate.
"I did NOT say give them all $1-million dollars you fool....I said PROMISE them all $1-million dollars. That will win it!"
Just love Joe saying he’s the only one on stage who has met all kinds of Mexican presidents — whose names he clearly couldn’t remember.
10
Last night Mike Bloomberg got a little taste of what "Stop & Frisk" feels like. On second thought, it was more like a mugging. He should have used stop & frisk on Elizabeth Warren. She was definitely armed & dangerous (to his campaign).
5
The headline should be 'Democrats Fiddle While Constitution Burns'.
On a day when Donald Trump's bloodless coup was advancing dangerously on Washington, his Democratic rivals were engrossed in trivial pursuit of each other in Las Vegas. It didn't help that a terrible choice of moderators including Telemundo's Vanessa Hauc commandeered the debate with such vacuous questions as whether candidates could correctly name the latest Mexican president.
How predictable and hypercritical that the same media darlings deliberately pitting Democrats against each other on irrelevant minutiae would later fault them for ignoring the orange orangutang in the room.
America's self-anointed monarch was busy passing out 'get-out-of-jail-free' cards to the nation's worst white white-collar criminals, attacking the judicial branch of government, and purging government of conscientious objectors.
MSNBC is no doubt delighted the fire-fight it ignited between Democrats produced a blip in viewer ratings but a more credible, responsible, intelligent panel of moderators would have directed the debate to what Biden cited as the 'existential threat to America' from Trump's presidency.
Deep down, America's media is very shallow. It has learned nothing from its abysmal failure to hold Trump to account in 2016; in the run-up to November it is once again allowing Trump to distract viewers and voters with his bright shiny object.
7
Warren/Yang 2020!
or
Sanders/Warren 2020!
6
Last night was a debate, where people attack and defend themselves and their policies. I’m not sure what people were expecting- calm chats around tea? This is how it goes people, and last night was the spiciest yet. These candidates are gonna fired up because there’s a lot of them left and they all want to be the last one standing. As the process goes on things will chill out, but this isn’t a crisis of our party, as I keep reading about.
8
Perhaps I am more comfortable with conflict than the average Democrat having spent my career negotiating, but I think we needed to see the candidates in a fierce debate because we need that fierceness to go against a Trump. Democrats are often chided for not having a spine or being too soft and I for one was proud to see the spine from our some of candidates.
7
It's uncomfortable for Democrats who have their backs to the wall with the majority of the country, surrounded by the bulk of the most corrupt and vile president in its history.
It's come down to that, and give Bloomberg his due. He saw this coming and prepared for this moment by spending a half-billion dollars before he was even on a single state's ballot.
That was the greatest bet a politician has ever made, at least in terms of dollars, of which Bloomberg has no end.
There is now, after his first debate, only one big reason he should be the nominee--Bernie can't beat Trump.
Bernie's supporters are well-meaning I'm sure, but the idea they can push through his socialist agenda in a Senate controlled by Mitch McConnell is beyond ludicrous. Do they understand that a close victory over Trump is not enough? A historic landslide is needed to flip the senate to Democratic control.
That's the only way to bury Trump for good. With Democratic control of Congress we can pass the legislation required to put our democratic traditions, the ones all presidents before Trump have followed dutifully, up on a pedestal out of reach of a president like Trump.
Without a big win, we are stuck in Groundhog Day, with a Republican insurgency in 2022 and perhaps a Don Jr. challenge in 2024.
Yes, it looks like it has to be Bloomberg. I couldn't see it until last night. Watch the debate again. Bloomberg was the only adult in the room with a bunch of yelling and screaming children.
10
I seem to be among the few that seems to think that Warren performance last night was all surface level remarks and jabs at her colleagues that were just packaged to be a social media friendly. I was a Bernie Sanders supporter during the 2016 election, however, I don't believe he has what it takes to beat Trump this time around. I started this cycle leaning towards Andrew Yang, however, after he dropped out I am struggling to make a case for anyone else. I am leaning towards Buttigieg and Bloomberg as I believe they can garnish enough moderates and even some republicans to beat Trump. This election is all about beating Trump but it seems like some democratic's forgot about that.
6
The Democratic debate succeeded in one respect.
It made Trump look like a safe, calm political harbor.
8
Please remember what happened with the last presidential election where you and other papers gave t the lead in most stories and above fold coverage on most articles.
Today, the newcomer gets a lot of attention. Where you mention Warren once in a headline, he gets mentioned twice.
2
I sincerely wish people would stop talking about how they support xyz candidate because he or she would destroy Trump on stage.
1) it’s likely he won’t even appear
2) debates don’t move the needle all that much
3) delivering gotchas has little to do with winning an election and nothing to do with governing
Would an evisceration be satisfying? Yes, but fleeting. We need more.
5
@Sarah
I think it just a figure of speak - - debates will indeed happen with Trump whether it be on twitter, FOX News, etc.
The Times' coverage is depressing in the same way the debate itself was. The paper persists in covering this as though it were a horse race. There's precious little here about the key, substantive policy differences that distinguish the candidates from one another. There is no point in covering these events as though they were a sporting event. It isn't edifying and frankly, the spectacle isn't nearly interesting enough to compete with real entertainment.
Please stop trying to mimic Politico and CNN. Cover the issues and the candidates, and write about what the debate tells us about what kind of President each would be. And stop emphasizing the media's embarrassing disconnection from real human beings, by speculating endlessly about how various turns of phrase or viral moments might impact the decisions of voters you don't understand.
6
I was disgusted by what I saw last night. The "circular firing squad" cliche was on full display. They, and by extension, all
Democrats, looked foolish. We are doomed if we can't have a debate with more substance. Biden made a good point though in a post debate interview that they responded to the questions asked, which in my opinion were designed not so much to spark debate on actual ideas but to stir up controversy and spark arguing. Not helpful. No discussion on Trump's now self-proclaimed role as chief law enforcer, his undermining of DOJ and the intelligence community, and endless roll back of environmental policies necessary to respond to climate change. I could go on and on. No instead we got a pointless display of he said/she said. I don't need the candidates to play gotcha with each other and misrepresent each other positions. Talk about their own and contrast it to those of Trump. I frankly don't care if Warren or Bloomberg were once registered Republicans. I don't care if Buttigieg is gay, worked as a corporate consultant or has only served as a mayor. I don't care if Sanders is or is not a socialist. I care about beating Trump and addressing the flaws in our system that allowed him to get to that position in the first place. To all the candidates: stop it!
3
I think readers who complain that the debate was "uncivil" don't understand the concept of the "attention economy" and why Trump won in the first place. Google the term "attention economy." Being civil has nothing to do with winning an election in 2020. Then again, neither does reading the NYT. Michael Moore is right. Democrats need a "street fighter" to win this election. Being polite and talking about your ten point plan to solve the healthcare crisis is not going to do it.
3
I fear the Dems lost the general election last night. Their lack of civility was appalling and demonstrated they are dividers, not uniters.
4
we are in the interregnum. the neoliberal consensus is dying. bernie will win.
2
Either Mike Bloomberg has a team that ill-prepared him for the attacks he endured last night, or he is too stubborn to listen to them. Either way he looked like a deer caught in the headlights last night, and he did not push back hardly at all, which surprised me.
Two items: Maybe the Stop and Frisk policy went too far in NYC, but he is also apologizing for putting the police into neighborhoods where there was high crime! That is just good police work, a reflection of Bill Bratton's CompState model adapted by PDs across the nation. It works, and crime was dramatically reduced in NYC because of that policy.
Secondly, the bottom line is who can stand toe-to-toe with Trump in a political slugfest and come out on top. My vote: Bloomberg with Buttigieg a close second. But watching the Dems last night eat each other was very painful to see.
5
@Len There isn't a "maybe" when it comes to the stop and frisk policy going too far. Bloomberg's policy violated the civil rights of thousands of minorities living in NYC on
a yearly basis.
Bloomberg spent 400M to get roasted on live television. A mere pittance to check his well nourished ego.
1
@TC It was not "Bloomberg's policy." Stop and frisk was developed by Benjamin Bratton in the 1990s. Bloomberg did not end the policy, but he did not create it.
Great. A cat fight. Whatever happened to the days of stating your positions on issues and running on your own merit ? Of civility. I don't like this. If I valued the ability to insult in a leader, I'd vote for Trump.
2
Sharp exchanges reflecting the urgency of the moment?
Off color jokes that may or may not have been told by Bloomberg thirty years ago?
Whether Senator Klobuchar remembered the name of the president of Mexico?
A program designed to reduce violence which was badly designed, badly carried out, and for which Bloomberg apologized?
And the whole thing topped off by a clowning bunch of elementary school children waiving their arms vying for attention.
Those are not exchanges about the urgency of any moment. These are not even exchanges. These are useless barbs about purity tests that Democrats insist and believe are vital to character.News flash for my fellow Democrats: They are not.
The majority of the country couldn’t care less if Ms. Klobuchar knows the name of the president of Mexico or if Mr. Bloomberg was overzealous in his policies of Stop and Frisk ten years ago in New York.
The urgency of the moment is to bet rid of a president who violates the civil rights of almost all immigrants, who is shredding the constitution by his lies and deceptions, who is enriching himself at the expense of the country, who is almost illiterate, and who thinks he is the second coming of Christ. That’s the urgency; not debate skills, or purity tests.
The only adult in the room last night was Bloomberg.
3
For all the commenters out there that are saying this debate was a completely nightmare, I think you all don’t get it. I think it is absolutely BRILLIANT that there were SIX candidates on that stage who are still very actively seeking the nomination. Don’t you see that it will prevent Trump from making up fake news stuff about the eventual nominee in order to bring the person down? When Trump thought that the front-runner was going to be Biden, well you all know how that turned out. But now what is Donald going to do? He can’t possibly send his flunkies out to dig up obscure pointless dirt on ALL of them, right? So go ahead, candidates, keep up your shtick and don’t talk about the important things that a President will do to run the country, just keep shooting each other in the foot < wink wink> . But seriously, I thought Donald would squash Elizabeth Warren as an opponent, but whoa, she was on FIRE last night. She was amazing and she is smart and after last night, I think she could indeed beat Trump.
6
Being president of the United States. Ha ! :-)
The best luck that Bloomberg could have would be to not get the nomination.
But even after last night, I still think it will be him.
Poor guy. Losing to Trump would be the worst, a close second would be winning and having to listen for 4 years to those folks at Fox News.
Why not Warren ? She is almost starting to look like she deserves to pass to Level 2.
But it won’t be her. It will be Bloomberg. Watch.
1
The democrats are doomed.
In an election year when there is a sitting president who simply must be defeated, they are determined to put forward a candidate who will espouse many positions most Americans will simply not support. It is a form of blackmail: "we will save you from Trump, but only if you accept a large dose of socialism." Trump will know exactly how to respond to this, as will his supporters, and the democrats will be embarrassed and humiliated, as they deserve to be.
5
From the Telemundo reporter feigning all that angst about Amy not knowing that AMLO is Mexico's president to Joe Biden's true outrage that none of us know how instrumental he was to running the free world for all those years, last night was just a sad spectacle to watch. Elizabeth came off as petualnt and prating and Mayor Bloomberg may as well have been Donald Trump himself the way he was viciously attacked. It begs the question, how will the Monarch not get dethroned amidst all this family dysfunction?
It’s a shame Michael Bloomberg didn’t deliver a stronger performance. To press him on non disclosure agreements when Donald Trump has paid off a stripper and was caught on tape talking about his penchant for grabbing you know what, makes no real sense. That isn't what this election is about, it’s about who the American Public believes will do a better job managing this country, its resources, its wealth. People need to get their head out of the gutter and address the real issues. Lambasting him for “stop and frisk” when we have mass shootings killing our sons and daughters every other day is another lost opportunity to address our nation’s most pressing problems. This election is about hiring someone bold and intelligent enough to fix the mass shooting problem, the heartbroken family problem. Stop and frisk clearly wasn’t the answer, it was an attempt at finding one within the context of a proliferation of firearms in the wrong hands. For crying out loud, America does not care enough about who signed a non disclosure at one of the best places to work in America. Donald Trump remaining in office after a dirty laundry list of offenses to common decency is proof of that. Instead of running the Democratic opportunity to regain the White House into the ground, get off of the stage if you can’t beat Sanders because “Crazy” Bernie will not beat Trump.
5
@Jana I totally agree about the focus on the NDAs. Donald trump was elected by the American public who were fully aware of the Access Hollywood tapes, strippers, hitting on women while his wife was pregnant and in the other room. Bloomberg's misogyny will have zero impact on a race between Bloomberg and trump; anything Bloomberg may have done pales in comparison to disgusting trump. I hate that we can't have standards higher than this in our country but unfortunately, that's how it is.
The urgent matter right now is to GET RID of trump. That needs to be the focus. He is ripping apart out democracy and if he gets another 4 years, he will finish the job and most likely never leave office.
@Jana Stop and frisk is a real issue to any Black person living in America. It deserves the attention it is getting.
1
I am heartily sorry I wasted my time watching this debate. The pundits measured amount of blows felled on opponents to determine who won, an infantile yardstick indeed. When my kids acted that way, they were sent to their rooms.
We already have "mean and vicious" in the White House and look where that got us? Nowhere.
2
Regarding last night's MSNB debacle, I support and thank Mr. Bloomberg for his vision, his serenity, his eloquence, and his gentlemanly behavior. He was a little rusty last night, but so what.
His presence last night at the debate, sparked so much ugly public division among the other candidates that I had to shut it off because I was so offended, embarrassed and disgusted by some of the nasty remarks made.
This is exactly what Mr. Trump wants and is probably gloating over this-fodder for his next message.
4
Bloomberg knew what was coming. He knew he had to allow himself to be a punching bag for the first debate. Once youve taken the worst you can move on. I think he has a lot to contribute.
8
CBS News will host the debate next week of the Democratic candidates for President of the United States of America. Think about it; CBS has a great responsibility to present a forum that will assist Americans in choosing their next leader. In light of that, I hope that the persons moderating the event will ask thought provoking questions to include each candidate's plans for issues such as: health care; global warming & the environment; how to achieve greater income equality; education of our children and foreign relations, to name a few. It is my great hope that moderators will not pose questions intended to ignite another cage fight such as last night's disappointment. I think we all know by now that, like all of us, each of these people have said and done things in the past that they regret or would have done differently. But who are they now? Where do they wish to lead us? How do they intend to achieve their goals? These are the questions that I seek answers for. CBS, please help me get them.
3
While the Senior Center was having their Jello fight I thought it was more interesting listening to Amy instructing Pete on where he's supposed to put his feet on the trike pedals to get federal government to go.
I found this statement truly amusing: Klobuchar ... and ... Buttigieg ... also engaged in a bitter and lengthy colloquy about foreign policy and their qualifications for the presidency. Neither of the has a clue about how to conduct foreign policy or how to run a large organization like the US federal government. Their "qualifications" for the presidency are non-existent.
1
Hopefully, I missed something, but, this is not looking good...
Appropriate that the Las Vegas debate looked and sounded like a slot machine.
Noise, flashing lights, waiting for a big payoff, coming up empty.
The public loses with this cheap manufactured drama.
1
I guess a lot of people forgot the vitriol and mud-slinging when Trump and other Republicans were debating a few years ago. That said, I turned this debate off after 10 minutes. The candidates were shouting and talking over each other. NBC should have hired Judge Judy to be the moderator. When things got out of hand I could imagine her shouting back at them. "Stop talking!!!!!!" is what she would say.
1
It's rather pathetic how some voters seem persuaded by which candidate has the best gotcha moment or otherwise screamed the loudest at a debate. How someone debates is largely irrelevant to how that person will run the country. I'd prefer an experienced, calm, cerebral person who is centrist in their beliefs and just trying to solve problems realistically. Enough with the shouting already.
2
I thought the debate was a disaster for the Democrats. Their unrelenting nastiness made Trump look like a nice guy. People have been worn down by the last 3 years of partisanship, name-calling, and exaggerated hyperbole. Yet all of that was condensed and on display. I want to hear more talk about concrete ideas and proposals to fix America. If there were any, they were drowned out by the yelling and bickering.
2
Two wasted hours on the Dems circular firing squad. They need a miracle; someone other than the Losers we saw last night. But this fact will not change - Trump in a landslide this November.
2
When did being rich in America become a crime? I thought it's what most Americans aspire to do.
Please, Bernie & Liz, don't try to tell me Bloomberg is another Trump. It just shows you know less about it than I do. And doesn't instill much confidence you'd be able to beat Trump.
5
That explosion you heard was Michael Bloomberg's candidacy. He was like a deer in the headlights and totally unprepared for Warren nailing him over his NDAs and misogyny.
It was obvious he can't stand the heat, so he should get out of the kitchen. Trump would eat him for lunch.
4
Would someone please tell Elizabeth Warren to stop breathing into the microphone? She rushes through a sentence and then something audible happens. Maybe she's taking a breath ... whatever it is, it detracts from her message.
2
Found it scintillating that the front runner claims he wants to model the US after Denmark. last I checked Denmark is 97.2% white. Not the America I want.
4
I couldn't watch the whole cringey debate.
Better to read the gist of it here, where I can look away and take a break for a moment when it seems too, too much.
I expected Bloomberg to need to get his sea (debate) legs. I expected Warren to call the names she did. I expected Sanders to hear "communist" and erupt in disdain: all present.
I didn't expect Klobuchar to descend into junior high and essentially whine at Buttigieg, "You think you're so smart."
(I keep in mind something Eleanor Roosevelt is purported to have said, "No one can insult you without your permission." She gave herself that insult--dumb--which will be remembered.)
It was an ugly fight, nothing new was discussed, and it will be forgotten by next week.
So, onward.
3
Mr. Bloomberg:
Yes, you bought those women's silence.
But that won't cut it in the political arena.
If you aren't hiding anything...
Release those women!
4
@John Are the women ready to return the money ?
"Roarin' Warren" may make some voters ecstatic but she can't win a national election with her $30 trillion+ health care plan any more than Sanders' Medicare for All.
Bloomberg may still stay in the race but he is no Mr. Excitement. He came across as Oatmeal Man.
He proved how unprepared he was when confronted with his brutal Stop and Frisk policy and his tortured response to charges of sexism and misogyny.
Bloomberg's non-disclosure agreements which amounted to hush money cover-ups for his hostile workplace environment and sexual harassment of female employees under his management mimicked the Chosen One's lewd arrogance-and-chauvinism-on-steroids.
Intimidation and threats of revenge against anyone who criticizes Trump's racism, misogyny and lack of loyalty to the tyrant King are part and parcel of the deviancy that defines his decadent junta.
In the 21st Century Bloomberg better step up his game, polish his camera silhouette and show more enthusiasm and substance if he's serious about replacing the Abomination in the Oval Office.
Weak mea culpas for past reprehensible behavior by privileged 20th Century white men like Bloomberg won't get the job done. I'm not hopeful that he can do so.
The debate yesterday convinced fence-sitters that the thing the Democrats are best at is infighting. And the moderators were terrible.
3
The debate was disappointing, self-defeating for the Democratic Party, and just stupid, by and large. I blame at least part of that stupidity on NBC which fostered gotcha questions, instead of focusing on policy, and more importantly, on Donald Trump. I have lost all respect for Warren and Buttigieg, in light of their haridan and brat performances, respectively. Who needs that sort of pettiness, when we've already got Donald J. Petty in office? As for Bernie, he hasn't been eclipsed, yet, but it's inevitable, or we'll surely lose to Der Awful. Biden and Amy held their own, and frankly, would make a good team. Bah humbug to such a display of littleness.
2
Warren, an ex-Republican corporate lawyer, and took the sword of outdated and angry 1970s-era feminism and bashed Bloomberg (an ex GOP billionaire) who's also stuck in the 70s race and gender wars (and he deserved it). Bernie, another non-Democrat, is trying to throw off the mantle of 60s neo-Marxist activism-- good luck with that, when some supporters revel in the "socialism" term. Nothing wrong with Biden except that he's not getting anyone excited and he's teetering mentally. All four of them, along with Trump, are too old, as well as behind the times.
Klobuchar and Pete have their flaws but are very smart and bring reasonable and fresh ideas. Klobuchar forgot Mexico's POTUS name? So what, he's new, isn't in the news much, and has two last names, Lopez Obrador, to get mixed up. It was a brutal debate, and not hopeful.
3
We need adult news reporters if we expect to get back to adult presidents. Chuck Todd should resign as head of NBC politics. The "debates" on his networks have been embarrassing for all involved. Just think of Gwen Ifill (RIP) and her debate moderation and compare to the elementary school melees we've witnessed.
6
Looks like all Mike's money has been poorly spent. We need to get Hillary to jump into the race.
One step closer to kleptocracy.
Bloomberg looked like a cutout and failed. Poor ROI on all that money spent so far.
Warren looked great, just don't care for her 'free everything/giveaway' policies.
Sanders had command but not voting for a Socialist no matter what. Dems should have kept hm out; let him form his own party.
Klobuchar started to sound incoherent.
Pete (see Klobchar)
Biden (like his candidacy, nothing there)
Dialing Michelle Obama
2
The last 60 years or more (since at least the passing of the great socially responsible capitalists Democrats Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, who believed that for capitalism to work, it must be appropriately regulated with anti-trust, journalistic ethics, taking care of all Americans when they need help and getting able bodied people back to work at a livable wage and guaranteed shelter is the best system has been systematically undermined by those who's religion is greed.
Sanders needs to declare himself a socially responsible Democrat who intends to stand up to corruption and Big Money. Not a "social Democrat"
Sanders needs 3 simple bullet points on why Medicare for all saves Americans and ultimately, the entire nation a lot of money.
The US oligarchs bought-off corrupt tools in the "leadership" of both the dark sources from the biggest donors of the Federalist Society (FS) leader who has 5 male members on SCOTUS
Think of the male 5 members of the FS on SCOTUS as leaders of the "The Firm" for the very richest few , defacto oligarchs. Their agendas are fully aligned with Putins, ending the state of the US State and democracy.
DCCC and DNC is as corrupt as McConnell and his dark superpac. Google : Lobbyists and Super-delegates Corrupt DNC Unity Commission
Concentration of wealth is central problems
Capitalismwith appropriate regulation, greater employee ownership and being held to even higher standards of environmental and humane practices is what we need
2
So now the media is promoting Warren. Did you all get together and decide she deserved more support? Where do these meetings take place? You’ve taken her down for months and now she is your darling? Give me a break. The media is a huge part of our political problem. Just report the news and quit the commentary. You’d be doing us all a favor. Frankly, I’d rather have party bosses pick the candidates rather than the media.
4
We’ve just moved back to Biden.
1
At first glance, I thought the lead image caption read "Nevada circuses". After reading the article I'm convinced first glances are good 95% of the time.
2
I've tuned out and I have no interest whatsoever in the Democratic Debates for 4 reasons:
1. It doesn't matter who is the Democratic nominee, I'm voting for that person over Trump.
2. I spent my tween years in middle school. I have no desire whatsoever to relive it or be reminded of it.
3. It is embarrassing to see 6 people who are 35+ (and 5 of them 59+) act like tweens just to get into office. It shows that what their top priority isn't defeating Trump and saving America, but just winning the election. It makes you not want to vote for anyone.
4. The debate process is no longer even about eliciting policy agendas and viewpoints, but is just another form of "reality TV". Lester Holt's unprofessional and unjournalistic opening statement invited this gladiatorial thunderdome ...
"Now that the stage is narrowed to six candidates, ____we encourage each of you to directly engage with each other____ on the issues."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/full-transcript-ninth-democratic-debate-las-vegas-n1139546
"directly engage with each other"... euphemism for "entertain us with you child-like mudslinging".
It's embarrassing... and incites anger in the American electorate.
All of you!
The politicians.
The TV "news channels"
The blog sites.
The pundits.
And the complicit newspapers like this one.
In some ways, you all are auto-disenfranching the electorate better than the GOP is with their disenfranchisement tactics.
Shame on all of you!
6
Warren acts like a hectoring science teacher and Bernie acts like a bellowing, grumpy grandpa. Who wants to the spend the next four years dealing with another leader with personality issues? Folks, this is about flipping the Senate as much as it is about electing a President. Obama got blocked for most of his 8 years by McConnell. Trump has been protected for the last 4 years by McConnell. Do you seriously think a Sanders or Warren ticket will flip seats in TX, IA, AZ, NC?
6
I see from the comments section that Bloomberg’s billions are being put to good use good use here....
My favorite moment of the night was when the teacher in Warren handed out her grades on the healthcare plans of all the pretenders...
https://mobile.twitter.com/PodSaveAmerica/status/1230317667019395073
2
The questions from the "moderators" were an embarrassment to journalism. Nothing on foreign policy other than forgetting the name of the president of Mexico? Sure it was a stumble, but is that the best you've got? How about the new trade agreement? Nothing about how to deal with Putin? With China?With troops in Afghanistan and Iraq? Nothing about the disarray in the justice department? The pardons? I could go on. Or would that be too boring for TV? Would the candidates agree too much? The response times allowed on the clock were woefully inadequate so the candidates were rushed when they spoke, and some were cut off by the moderators while others just butted in. Awful.
5
Message to NBC/MSNBC:
Chuck Todd is not a serious journalist. Rachel Madow is.
Please restore your dignity and make the change.
5
I don't trust the Dems not to lose.
1
Warren wiped the floor with Mike 'Hey Ladies' Bloomberg. Maybe he and Trump can go out cruising together.
1
Bloomberg and Stacie Abrams would make a great Democratic ticket.
1
I think it's grossly unfair for Warren to call for Bloomberg to release the NDA right there and then. If she can get all American companies to do so then Bloomberg should do the same. I literally saw Warren's fangs grew once she started to attack Bloomberg. That was off putting. I became a NEVER WARREN last night.
11
As much as I respect Chuck Todd, Lester Holt and Ms. Jackson, I think the moderators and their questions spur the bickering, in-fighting and conflict among the candidates. The moderator from Telemundo and her irrelevant question (in the scppe of the problems facing our country and the limited time for Q&A in the debate) to Klobachar about the name of the president of Mexico is a perfect example. The moderators' questions should be focused on drawing out the distinctions in policy and practice between the candidates and Trump; the similarities and differences among the candidates will come out as they answer questions that are designed to contrast them with Trump. After watching the debate, I am no further along the road to making a decision than I was before it.
5
In 2016, the Republican field was so divided with so many candidates that an extreme candidate won with a small percentage of support. Now, we've been enduring Trump ever since.
The Democrats are doing the same thing...a few pragmatists are splitting the vote and Bernie off on the extreme is winning less than he is losing and he may end up being our nominee with a quarter of the party's support.
Democrats need to wake up and coalesce around a pragmatic candidate before it's too late. Candidiates -if you haven't won a contest after Saturday's, you should step aside for the good of the party and country and support the remaining pragmatic candidate.
1
I take issue with your video. Bernie didn't come up short, the nomination was stolen from him by Debbie Wasserman Schulz and handed over to Hillary in 2016, which is why we lost and now have Trump as our President.
Elizabeth Warren is exactly what we need now. A fearless leader who has a clear agenda to tackle the inequality and main economic problems which plague this country. I feel she has been unfairly tarred as a "socialist" by the elite controlled media for obvious reasons.
I never thought she would be able to take on Trump in a debate but after tonight, I've changed my mind. I think Trump would be terrified of a smart, tough woman who does her homework. Warren 2020!
6
The knock down drag out debate did no favors for most of the participants. Presidential behavior was sadly lacking. The sluggers all failed the stress test. The ability to malign your oppowants and slug it out is bar room behavior only. A president should be smarter than that and above that behavior. Bloomberg was the only one that stayed cool and did not malign any one in the room,despite being besieged from all sides.The ability to slug it out is great in a ring, but in the high stakes of diplomacy it is the brains not brawn that makes the man,or woman, and the ability to stay cool. I was disgusted at the bar room behavior. I would have expected better of them all. They need to decide at some point who has the best chance and unite behind that person and the only one in the room who was dispassionate enough to think that through was Bloomberg. He came up in my estimation with that debate.
8
Indeed, I want to hear (more) about what they’re each going to do on topics such as climate change, healthcare, education, infrastructure and wage inequality. I don’t want petty remarks that do not clearly lead to a nominee.
3
If the Democrats don’t get their act together really soon, Trump will inevitably get a second term. The only thing missing from this debate was the WWF ‘let’s get ready to rumble’ announcement. Not only was the debate horrible, so were the moderators.
5
I watched 2 hrs of a debate last night that completely turned me off. Instead of attacking Trump, they attacked each other. If the Dems think any of this got them closer to beating Trump, they are wrong. Bloomberg isn’t even on the ballot in NV, he should have stayed out of it and had his campaign staff work with him on his answers. Buttigieg and Klobuchar were the only two that looked reasonably calm throughout the entire 2 hrs. As an independent voter, I have 2 choices: Peter or Amy. If Bernie wins in November, say hello to 4 more years of Trump.
7
@Lyndsey If Bernie wins in *November* we get ... four years of Bernie?
1
@pmom
Do you think 4 years of Bernie is going to give us Medicare For All? It would take longer than 4 years so get that fully implemented. Who’s to say the next president elect will support MFA, and not go back to the status quo? If Bernie wins, he will not serve 2 terms. Besides this, Bernie is not a Democrat, neither is Bloomberg.
Regardless of how one felt about the barrage of attacks made last night, one thing is clear: Mike Bloomberg is an out-of-date politician and will be ineffectual against beating Donald Trump. If he can’t parse and deal with attacks from his fellow candidates on his record, then how is he going to go up against Trump who can and will say anything against him?
10
This wasn't a debate. It was an all-out attack on Bloomberg, together with smaller undercard bouts between and among the other candidates. Were any issues discussed that had more than bumper sticker campaign slogans for answers? If so, I didn't hear it.
For two hours, these candidates did all they could to undermine, damage, and destroy the credibility and reputations of their opponents. This was scorched-earth debating at its most vitriolic.
Don't these people realize that they are literally prepping Trump for his debate against the eventual nominee, not to mention giving him untold amounts of video and audio to use in his campaign ads?
Based on what I saw last night, there's not one of these people I could vote for with even a modicum of enthusiasm. If I were to vote for any of them, it would be merely to vote against Trump and I'd have to hold my nose to do it.
The spectacle of this debate was disheartening at best. I really hope these people get their acts together and start talking about real issues and real solutions, rather than fantasy programs that cost more than the combined wealth of every single person and government on Earth.
Unless the Democratic field is a Russian plot to get Trump reelected? Because, it's really starting to fee that way. (Of course, it's not; but the Democratic candidates are such caricatures of what candidates should be, that sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.)
5
Last night's debate format was set up to be disaster. The candidates all racing breathlessly to get out some point out, yelling "let me finish," and being goaded into turning on each other.
The whole thing was a chaotic mess and very wearing to watch. They sure didn't look like "unifers" as a party.
Irony: Democrats respect government, the Constitution, and have plans to improve society.
Meanwhile, DJT is an insulting disorganized, chaotic disaster every day in office, and is exhausting to watch. But the GOP knows its PR and is on-message--never mind it is mostly brags and lies, but it is consistent, organized and voters think they know what they are voting for. The Democrats are all over the board and bickering. Impressions matter.
Suggestion: The Democratic candidates/their teams should get together and decide how they want the debate format set up, and while they disagree, do it with grace and humor. Most of all, make sure they repeat the unifying themes and what they will do as a party for people and the environment that the Republicans won't. Next time commend the besieged federal government workers, the teachers, nurses, plumbers, who keep society going.
Don't have Democratic debates/food fights anymore; have substantive interviews with each candidate, ending with why a Democrat must be elected, regardless of which one.
4
These debates are (theoretically) intended to give the candidates an opportunity to present and clarify their positions (on policies, not each other). This was a chaotic free-for-all intended to produced meme-worthy entertainment moments for NBC. Lester Holt should be ashamed of himself. This was only a good show for the Trump and Republican Party.
4
Mr Biden won this debate i liked his views on health care and he was the first to say we need to get back into the Paris Climate accord and close down all the toxic coal plants in America. He now has my vote. Mr Bloomburg refused to let the abuse women who signed a no talk statement off the hook and be able to talk. He has a lot to hide obviously. Mr Sanders Medicare for all and free education is unsustainable. Mr Biden is my choice i hope he is on the Dems ballot or runs independent.
1
I am thoroughly disappointed in MSNBC’s choice in questions for the candidates. There was not one question about how the next President will repair the breeches of the Constitution that Trump has caused. Not one question about Trump’s current war with the Judiciary and ongoing war with the media. Not one question about foreign policy. Only a couple broad questions about climate change that the debaters were allowed to change the subject for. How about a specific question like, as President, how will you handle the flooding of the big coastal cities in California, Florida and New York? Will FEMA’s funds be able to handle dozens of catastrophic events around the country happening in quick succession?
The questions asked were designed to bait the candidates to attack one another, and they took the bait.
13
I am more than a little worried about the damage Democrats are inflicting upon themselves throughout this "reality TV" process of debates, designed for ratings, rather than for substance. They do nothing but polarize, and hand the Trumpists handy talking points too use against the eventual nominee. I will vote for whoever the nominee ends up being, but the supposed front-runner, Mr. Sanders, cannot win the general election, despite what his true believer acolytes believe. America is not ready to elect a Democratic Socialist. Mr. Buttigeig cannot win the general election. America is not ready to elect an openly gay man. VP Biden, Senator Sanders, Mr. Bloomberg, and probably Senator Warren are just too old. The best option we have is Senator Klobuchar. I don't think she's a fabulous option, but she's the best available of who we have left. That this is the best Democrats could come up with in a time of national crisis is sad, indeed.
At a time when it's critical to the future of our Democratic republic to choose a strong, unifying, inspiring candidate to oppose the current corruptor-in-chief, Democrats seem committed to throwing away any chance they have to win in November.
4
My opinion: Warren did herself the most good last night, and not just because of her feisty takedowns of Bloomberg. (This bodes well if she's on the debate stage with Trump.) If she can hang on through Super Tuesday -- and improve her results in the process -- she has positioned herself as the "compromise" candidate between far-left Bernie and all the centrists crowding the middle lane.
7
I already see how this will end. The democrats are going to battle it out in the octagon and whoever is left will crawl out, bloodied and bruised, to battle The Donald, who will crush that person like a bug.
10
Let’s hope so
I don't consider insulting one another, sometime distorting events and comments, a debate. It was a fierce combat designed to destroy the adversary. So, don't give me winners and losers, unless you are crowning the best mud-slinger of the evening.
Moreover, the shortcomings of your adversary doesn't make you any better.
14
Who was the winner of last night debate? DONALD TRUMP.
Good job, candidates. Keep destroying each other.
10
NBC moderators definitely had an agenda or they were incredibly inept. They went to Warren often and let her take over most of the airtime. It may have helped her. I doubt it.
Telemundo had it out for Klobuchar. Seemed a bit over the top. The whole thing was a mess and made it easy for Trump to take a victory lap. Especially since Bloomberg came unprepared. A great disappointment.
15
It's funny that Bloomberg has both done the most to materially benefit minorities while he was mayor, but also done the most harm. On the balance, what you can say is he was there in the thick of it engaged in racial issues the way other candidates have never had to do. He's probably the opposite of racist in his mind, but clueless of how his actions related to stop-and-frisk affected minorities. For me, I guess I'll give him a pass because being a Harvard lawyer or senator from Vermont, or a consultant at Mckinsey, is good for pretending you're woke, but not good preparation for dealing with actual racial issues.
11
Let’s not forget Bernie’s flight from New York and all its minority issues
1
Bloomberg won't win because he has no backbone. Stop and frisk cut the murder rate in NYC by half and he's apologizing for that? Once the problem is under control you scale back or discontinue to use stop and frisk back. Lowering the murder rates in high crime neighborhoods is never a bad thing regardless of who lives there and the inconvenience it may cause them while the purge is on.
10
While Democrats spent last night's debate tearing their opponents to shreds, the Republican party fueled by billionaire libertarian money from the fossil fuel Koch dynasty, the military contractor/private for profit religious school DeVos klan, casino giant Sheldon Adelson and venture capitalist Peter Thiel as well as corporate interests who are secretly plotting to destroy the current social safety net programs that keep many Americans from living on the streets. There has to be another way to capture the attention of working class Americans and warn them of the dangers of another four years of authoritarian rule under the Trump regime. I acknowledge that Elizabeth Warren needed to bring Michael Bloomberg's secrets to light although Pete Buttigieg seems to thrive on throwing mud at his opponents. I do believe that the ugliness displayed was enough to remove Amy Klobuchar's Minnesota nice smile as though she'd undergone an acid peel although next time more critiques of Trump's dangerous path towards undermining democracy and less boxing jabs for the sake of winning temporary points among the NBC TV viewers. It's unfortunate that Joe Biden appears so faded and struggles so much with his speech as he truly has the experience and knowledge of Trump's evil to win in November 2020.
2
Bernie still doesn't take responsibility for creating a den of snakes with his supporters, especially some of his hires who are known for attacking people. I was glad that his decision to vote against an immigration law, because he didn't think it was perfect, and how it kept millions from getting a path to citizenship came out.
Bloomberg took big hits, kept standing, still has his money and advertising which will be seen by more than the audience of that debate. Warren, Klobuchar, Biden and Buttigieg should be the choices, why let none Democrats in when we have so many qualified candidates of our own.
3
I am voting for Bloomberg. I am looking for someone with ethics and that knows how to manage a large and complex organization. Of course he has made some mistakes, anyone that has actually managed a big organization has, but in balance he is the right person for the job.
11
@Pam L. I agree totally,
I will vote for the DEM ticket no matter what.
But, I think our best bet is Bloomburg.
NBC obviously had an agenda. He was almost
invisible.
4
Our best bet is Elizabeth Warren!
1
Honestly it was a bit of a free-for-all and not well moderated. The Telemundo journalist was almost disgracefully unprepared and unprofessional. Warren was very good. It is a blood sport but Dems need to come together and unite against the menace in the WH and his thuggish following enabled by cowed judiciary and corrupt GOP senators. Bloomberg needs to stick to the airwaves...and disclose his tax returns...He was most formidable on climate change and I respect him for that.
3
Mr Bloomberg, at the next debate you should say why are we attacking each other? Trump is laughing all the way to the bank, while the Democrats rip each other to pieces. You said you will support whomever becomes the nominee, therefore we should all stand together & do the same, support the nominee. Division is what Trump wants, & he fears you, stand above the fray, the most important thing, maybe in the history of the United States, is that Trump not get another term. Think of the Supreme Court & the Federal Courts? They will be like Fox News!
4
This debate was painful to watch.
The Republicans are shameful destroyers, but they know how to win. Democrats need get off the high road and use the Republican playbook of unite, attack, lie and steal so the country can get rid of Trump in November. Circle the wagons around one candidate who can win. Do it asap, and make sure it's not Bernie. His candidacy will insure defeat for the Dems and disaster for the future of the world.
6
Wrong! He is the only one with the fire and any semblance of a new approach! He’s the only one in that group of misfits who can debate and damage trump. With Warren as his running mate...it’s our only hope.
No surprise the attacks on Bloomberg, the late entrant front runner, but Warren's "act" was pathetic and hard to watch.
20
As expected, the democratic field is handing trump re-election- everyone on the outside knows it, almost every democratic voter knows it. There's no one inspiring, there's no unity and trump is sitting back like jabba the hut belly laughing at how he will further subvert this country. We're doomed.
4
Holy cow!
‘We got two stents each!” Look for that in a Trump ad coming soon, next to Pelosi ripping up the SOTU speech. How can these people be so politically Un-astute (dumb)?
1
The only calm ones there were Pete and Bloomberg, and maybe Biden. Sanders is hysterical, and no one called him on his gun vote to give gun manufacturers total immunity, except an aside by Biden. Also, as far as Sanders health, I'm a physician. Look at Sanders hands as he's waving them around. They are purple. His circulation is bad. He's not in good health, he's lying. Warren is an angry yelling and screaming and attacking I don't see how that gives her a win. At some point it turns people off.
19
@Patricia
Biden was screaming. Every answer was one long scream.
Last election went Trumps way with much of the help from “deplorables”. And yet Warren is campaigning as if after three years of Trump we have fewer deplorables. As if everyone grew up and was less vicious and spiteful. Maybe she’s a good debater but I don’t buy the argument.
5
While stop and frisk and Bloomberg's sexism are bad, let's not forget he also has done much to destroy public education and greatly exacerbated the gap between the rich and everyone else in New York City
6
When is the Democratic Party going to demand an end to the childish hand-waving by candidates to get the attention of moderators to be the next speaker?
It is beyond undignified to have candidates act like elementary school children seeking urgently to use the rest room in a debate which contributes to who will be the next nominee by the Democratic party for president. There are simple technological solutions.
One easy solution is to have a candidate's podium light up (by pressing a button) in a color code telling who went first. This easy solution--among many---saves time, saves the dignity of both candidate and moderator and preserves some order for the debate.
10
As someone who is voting for Trump, I kept thinking that I should be smoking a victory cigar. It seems inevitable that the nomination will be decided at the convention. Rancor will be off the charts and the party will not be remotely unified during the general election. It's too good to be true.
14
And all those Wisconsin voters, with their crumbling rural roads...after waiting 3 years for Republicans to do something for them, were they wanting victory cigars, too? And those farmers, now with no right-to-repair their tractors...cigars all around? Republicans have no new ideas- just tax breaks for their backers, peanuts for their base. I’m the one checking out the cigar stores. Dannemann’s, anyone?!
2
Warren on stop-and-frisk: “This is about what it was designed to do, to begin with. It targeted communities of color.”
Wasn't the policy designed to reduce crime?
John Stuart Mill argued that our estimation of individual rights depends on considerations of social utility. That doesn't mean we have to agree with the policy, but I think people would not be saying the same things if crime had skyrocketed after the policy was curtailed, and Bloomberg didn't know that it wouldn't. Was it unreasonable for him to think, in the circumstances, that stop-and-frisk was causally efficacious in getting guns off the street and lowering crime, and thereby justified?
I think we should give Bloomberg credit for being able to get his mind round the idea that the policy was justified by the greater good. As I say, with the benefit of what we know now, we don't have to agree with the policy, but the attacks on him are simplistic.
13
What a dreadful performance by the Democrats. They’ve allowed Trump to drag them all down to his loud, petty level.
DNC needs to start looking to win elections, not popularity contests. To do that they need to win Independents, who are never going to vote for a young untested gay man, a shrill Harvard professor or a self avowed socialist.
Bloomberg should have said he wouldn’t even need to be a candidate if the party had put forth someone who can absolutely hands down beat Trump. His hesitation and reticence last night will seem like maturity and strength after the dust settles and RNC blasts sound bites from the Dems bombastic screeds against themselves across social media.
17
Could not agree more. Sooner or later they will all coalesce around the nominee and Trump will use their own words against them.
5
@Enough
Increasingly right leaning independent here. Never wise to speak for other folks, because I will 100% be voting for Sanders if he wins.
The reason's simple. He's not going to get anything done because of congress, but he stands a chance of triggering some amazing progress in America. One of the things that tends to precede transitions from first-past-the-post to systems of proportional representation is the emergence of multiple powerful groups.
If Sanders wins we will have officially entered into an era of a liberal DNC and an establishment DNC. And I'm expecting this fragmentation could also trigger the walking contradiction that is the GOP to start similarly splitting off into its many otherwise mutually exclusive components - how weird is it, for instance, that evangelicals and libertarians are stuck in the same party?
Effectively I view Sanders as a 'protest vote.' You might think my view is uncommon yet keep in mind that upwards of 10% of Sanders supporters in 2016 ended up voting for Trump. They're not voting because of political overlap there. I'm starting to be of the opinion that there are, in fact, quite a lot of people who share my distaste for the current state of politics - and no longer see trying to choose the 'lesser evil' as a means of actually fixing America's politics.
2
I saw a different debate than many commenting below.
I saw Bloomberg display his intelligence and focus on issues, not personality. No wonder he built a successful business. He doesn't waste his time.
24
What debate were you watching? Certainly not this one where Bloomberg seemed unprepared to answer even the most expected questions.
1
@dave levy
Exactly,,
He also gave the most logical answer to the climate
change. It is "Global" warming stupid. You have to
tackle it in all places including China, and India.
1
@dave levy
I agree, he spoke very well, in an organized manner, was calm and presidential. Who cares if Amy forgot the Mexican president's name for a minute. So what. Mayor Pete looked ridiculous yammering on about that. he is too young.
3
Maybe people are waking up to realize that the Democratic Party selling it’s soul to defeat Donald Trump with another variety of autocratic, control seeking billionaire trying to buy the nomination may not have been as great or as easy of an idea as they first thought. How about this idea instead: have some backbone, stay true to core principles and beliefs, respect the democratic process and— perhaps most frighteningly— run the risk that you could go down swinging against Donald Trump standing for something. Maybe this is precisely what the Democrats finally need to find themselves in order to win this country in the long game.
6
I suspect Bloomberg’s team didn’t prepare him properly by bringing in some strong characters to participate in hostile rehearsals to simulate the debates as realistically as possible. No doubt this will be addressed before the next one when he’ll be up to speed and able to participate fully.
It underline the importance of appropriate preparation, pulling punches does not do the participant any favours!
6
Warren tore Bloomberg apart like a mad dog there was no let up. Even his apologies if you can call them that came across as arrogant, condescending, and know it all. He was so unbelievably stiff and uncomfortable looking as though the debate and other candidates were beneath him unworthy of his presence. He needs to drop out of the race immediately he thinks he can just spend a half billion dollars in ads with him smiling with Obama and boom I'm now the frontrunner. Very disrespectful to the democratic process, candidates, and quite frankly American people. He left the debate with some serious unanswered questions surrounding stop and frisk, sexual harassment, red lining, and his positions on inequality and that not okay. This is the democratic party its seems like he should have run on the republican ticket because he clearly do not share our values. I will not vote for him even if he is the nominee and he is the only candidate I can say that about. Money can't buy you love and hopefully not an election either.
8
Picking apart Bloomberg over NDA’s may score some points but Donald Trump was not hurt despite truly abhorrent behavior. The debate seemed like the worst Survivor tribal council and I think whoever was running the debate did a terrible job.
14
Warren demonstrated why she should be our next president. She's brilliant and down-to-earth.
15
My takeaways:
What's in Bernie's medical history that he won't release it completely?
Buttigieg: Why don't we nominate a Democrat?
Bloomberg: The most well-known socialist in the country is a millionaire with three houses.
11
Last night’s debate was more like a contact sport. Brutal and revealing
I expected more from Bloomberg. He has not convinced me that while pragmatic and philanthropic, he will be able to win a debate with Trump or get the African American or Woman voters
Elizabeth Warren came out punching and showed just how strong and focused she is
While Klobuchar held her own, she did not show me why she would be a good President or be able to take on Trump.
Sanders was his consistent self.
Biden scored a few points but did not make much of an impact
Buttigieg was cool for a while but he was very condescending to most of the Candidates.
I missed Yang and Steyer being included. I guess they did not have the money to impress the DNC.
There probably will not be a debate with Trump anyway. Just has many Republican States made the decision to not have a Republican Primary race the Republican Party will make the decision that Trump will not participate in any debate with the Democratic Candidate.
3
What a terrible debate for those of us who's top priority this year is replacing the incumbent in the White House. Yes Pocahontas was impressive as she won on a TKO by punching Bloomberg senseless and speechless but the real winner was comrade Bernie as she's got no chance to be the progressives flag bearer over Sanders.
In other words there's real concern by many of us that Sanders and Warren are leading the Dems to slaughter in November as independents and moderates like myself who voted for Bloomberg yesterday in the early voting of my states primary are left with no choice but to turn
to third-party candidates.
5
Theatre at its worst. Rehearsed lines and zingers showing the negative sides of most standing there.
Not a way to select a Democratic candidate to defeat Trump and determine who has the ability to actually be a capable, knowledgeable President. Just a way to let egos fly.
Where were the moderators’ questions raising substantive issues rather than just slinging questions filled with arrows at Bloomberg as the media has been doing of late ? Jus a rehash.... beginning to remind me of the relentless call for Hillary’s emails which forced many “major” tv hosts/pundits to apologize after it was tooooooo late and that helped put Trump in office.
Have the Democrats forgotten the goal to defeat Trump?
Finally, Has Joe Biden forgotten his role in putting Clarence Thomas on the US Supreme Court for life? And has Biden forgotten his inexcusable behavior towards Anita Hill?
Biden must have had a senior moment when attacking Bloomberg.
I thought the debates were shameful.
7
I watched the debate last night and my main takeaways are this:
Bernie is an angry old man. He and Trump have a lot in common, except that Bernie gets his minions to attack other people (giving him plausible deniability) on social media while Trump does it himself.
Elizabeth Warren has a lot of sand attacking people for lack of transparency. This is the same person that willfully misrepresented her ethnicity on a job application and continues to obfuscate the truth about the entire affair. Pot call the kettle black much?
Joe Biden is barely coherent. He is way too out of it to be President.
Any one of the other three I would vote for versus Trump, and I am a Republican.
14
Little was said about Trump and a strategy to win the 2020 elections.
2
While I want to congratulate Warren on clearly having a stellar night...I must ask if I'm the only one who noticed the striking similarities between her tonight and Clinton debating Trump in 2016.
Attacks of a rich old man for sexism? Check.
Attacks of rival(s) for not having detailed policies? Check.
Attacks of racism? Check.
And how did any - ANY - of that matter to the people who went on to vote for Trump? Pointing out others' flaws isn't enough. Praising the intricacies and nuances of your own brilliant plans isn't enough (Trump had - and still has - no plan for anything, let's bear in mind). We need inspiration, a vision, a clear definable goal ("build the wall!" was among the most cynical and ridiculous ploys in modern politics, but it sure worked.)
Warren's strategy may have won last night, but let's please learn something from the last election. A repeat of this performance against Trump all but guarantees his re-election.
6
Bernie is stubborn and unflinching in his opinions which may be viewed as winning or strong by pundits but, as someone who sees how turned off so many people are by him, he and his surrogates either fail or flatly refuse to try to reach out. With all the talk of elitism with money there is their snobbery in lacking humilty to try to win a vote. I don't love our healthcare system or a lot of inequities but have real reservations about his Pied Piper-style campaign in 2016 which refused or ignored to take into account how many new and young voters he had and how important it was to use his obvious skills at influence and hammering home points to quickly guide them to unity, not the mess of booing at the convention+damage done. The way some of his followers have treated people including candidates has been ignorant and toxic and voters feeling confused or questioning his detail-free policy ideas are treated as even less worthy of his revolution than his bros. Warren doesn't feel like she is going to be the candidate so when the stakes are so high and a man accused of putting his hands on many women as well as chopping up our rights with indifference is in power, seeing her pick at NDAs and things it seems Bloomberg said years ago, which do not reflect his policies or general behavior sound like a turnoff to voters who wouldn't be considered sexist or abusive but haven't been impeccable in speech throughout their lives. Wish Buttigieg could win+ we could move forward
2
Finally a good debate! Goodbye Mayor Pet and Amy Midwest!
And -more free stuff for all Bernie- was evasive and repititious and frightening, as always. Bloomberg showed who is in all his exalted supercilious superiority-a turncoat Republican in truth. Only Biden and Warren looked good and reasonable and electable,as I always felt.
2
[[Warren Leads an Onslaught of Attacks, Zeroing In on Bloomberg]]
That means she thinks he is the strongest candidate. Note taken. Thanks, Liz!
4
Finally, a forum that showed the emotional resilience and weaknesses of the candidates. We can wish all we want for a reasoned debate about policies, but what we unequivocally need to identify is a leader with character and strength and the personal charisma to take on the currently dreadful and disintegrating political situation. Bloomberg was flat out untrustworthy and unlikeable, mentioning several times how rich he is. Disgusting. Warren was spot-on, unshakeable, but wanders in her efforts to personalize everything with an anecdote. Biden has character, but inconsistent strength. Klobuchar got very rattled early on, enough to make me question her steadiness under pressure. Only Bernie and Mayor Pete inspired, one with the passion of his convictions, the other with eloquent reasoning. Pete’s closing statement was masterful. The critical comments about the debate here are puzzling. To me, we saw exactly what we needed to see.
6
I read these comments and wonder if people have forgotten that we are all human. What do people expect candidates who are competitively running for office are going to do, get up there and have a love fest? Get over it. It's no big deal if people get tough and say mean things. It happens all the time in real life. Ever say anything mean about your spouse? Do you still love your spouse? Why is the party so afraid to get tough? Get over it.
4
None of these candidates are viable. Sanders supporters will not support anyone but Sanders, and will not turn out in sufficient numbers to defeat Trump if someone else is nominated. That is, if they don't petulantly show up and cast their votes for Trump.
Meanwhile, if Sanders becomes the Dem nominee, he will not appeal to enough Dems to win an Electoral College majority. And there is no way he is going to make up any of that lost ground with independents and wavering Republicans who, by definition, reject his policies.
So the big winner last night, beyond any doubt, was Trump. Last night may have been "spirited," but it was a circular firing squad undertaken by a motley crew of candidates who have no chance of winning an EC majority in November.
4
When the debate ended, Pete turned to shake Amy's hand first and she bolted right past him and off the stage. He was only trying to say Goodbye and Good Luck to her in her future endeavors. Her ambition to be a leader just died with her attitude. I am not a sexist by any means, but she did not display any leadership skills or do the female race any favors with her disposition. Goodbye Amy.
7
I can recall not that long ago when various candidates attacked Joe Biden viciously. Last night, he finally found he footing and did darn good, in comparison to prior debates.
Actually, all five candidates have been in many debates prior to last night, honing their answers and polishing their policy outlines.
Last night was Michael Bloomberg's maiden appearance. He did not shine nor come across as brightly and sharp as his commercials demonstrate. He actually was flatter than a pancake.
But I don't put a lot of stock in these debates. I don't think they paint a clear much less honest picture of any candidate. Last night looked like a pack of jackals attacking the newest member of the herd.
What I really think is ridiculous is a row of adults, 4 out of 6 being "senior citizens" raising their hands, waving their hands, all looking like school kids needing permission to go to the bathroom or simply gesturing, "pick me! pick me teacher!"
That aspect continues to prove to be embarrassing, if not degrading. Why not have lights on their podiums and when they want to speak, the light goes on as does their microphones.
My favorite line from the entire night was when Pete Buttigieg described himself as the only Democrat when comparing Sanders and Bloomberg.
7
The attack, attack, attack of the Dem candidates towards each other was not helpful to any of them and painful to watch. It just showed how truly desperate each one of them is. Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg and Klobuchar all got in a few licks on Bloomberg. Was Biden even there? Anyway, now Bloomberg will direct his billion$ towards opposition research of the other candidates. I hope they're ready for the avalanche. Any and all mistakes each of them has ever made in their lifetimes, and previous lives as well, will be exposed for all the world to see -- Bloomberg's billion$ will see to it.
5
President Trump is overjoyed at the prospect of running against Bernie Sanders. What a frightening thought.
10
Finally, a candidate has emerged who has the skills and experience to run the country. It is the biggest job in the world and we, the voters and owner of the country, will have to pick a leader to keep it that way. Except for his stand on gun restrictions, Blomberg says and supports most economic and social policies that are realistic. He is an arrogant little guy who is fiesty and, obviously, successful. The others on the stage are the weakest group of so-called Democrats I have ever seen. I would not want to work for Bloomberg but he would be the most capable to run the country. It is hard to imagine any of the others as President. Are any of them the best candidates for the job of CEO of the country? When Bloomberg, who is a leading Democrat donor, stated he could not believe what he was hearing from the others he stated what most Democrats feel, the liberal left is not Democrats of old.
5
Michael Bennett should resurface. He has the temperament, the experience, the intelligence, the knowledge, and the passion which are necessary to defeat Trump and to be president of the United States of America.
5
How about a little historical perspective? In 2016, Republican contenders did the same thing, belittling each other in a tawdry display of pettiness, then nominated and helped elect the worst president in history. And they knew it then, know it now, and are doing the same thing in 2020, despite daily evidence of Trump's lack of fitness to be president.
Vote Blue no matter who 2020.
3
I was so glad to see Warren come back strong last night. It was disheartening to see her be written off so quickly in the past month or so and after last night, my faith in her as our next president is renewed! I donated to her campaign before the night was over.
2
The most important qualities for a presidential candidate this time around are experience, integrity, presidential stature, and be likable. Unfortunately, Clinton was not a particularly likable candidate in 2016, unlike her husband in 1992 or Obama in 2008 who was/are likable.
Who in the field is likable? I don't think it is Sanders, nor Bloomberg. Warren is sometimes likable. So Klobuchor, Biden and Buttigieg meet the likability test. They also meet the moderate position test. All meet the integrity test. Buttigieg does not meet the experience test.
Biden and Klobuchar or the reverse seems to be the best ticket against the extremely unlikable Trump offering.
1
@Newman1979 Amy disqualified herself with her petty temper tantrum last night. She was rattled and upset by questions about her own votes or her own lack of knowledge about Mexican policy when she sits on Committee's related to US & mexico. Stunningly bad. Her behavior makes me think her employees may have a point when they said she was mean, nasty and ate a salad with a comb. Her refusal to shake hands - just poor.
2
After watching last night's Democratic circular firing squad (a.k.a. a debate), I've resigned myself to accept that America's nightmare will continue for at least four more years. The real winner was Donald Trump whose campaign walked away with a treasure chest of sound bites to use against the eventual nominee. I hope he is gracious enough to send a thank you note. The Democratic nominees fail to realize that they are the only people standing between us and the abyss. They are running against the most disgraceful person on the planet and yet are holding each other to meet a saintly standard. Someone's inappropriate remarks, or positions, from 20 or 30 years ago that they've apologized for are no longer fodder for debate when you're running against a man who breaks up families and puts their children in cages. Lincoln wasn't perfect. FDR wasn't perfect. And JFK, as we all know, was far from perfect. But each of them guided the country through perilous times. My advice to these candidates is that if you think what you're about to say can be used by Trump to his benefit, keep your mouth shut. If the prospect of Trump in 2020 doesn't keep you up at night, then consider the likelihood of Don Jr in 2024.
6
We need to think about what skills a president should have. Is a glib tongue more important than creating from scratch a multi-billion dollar business with over 20,000 employees and successfully running and improving the affairs of America's largest and most complex city for 12 years? That's what seems to be the prevailing opinion these days because Warren picked the right words and incidents from his past with which to attack Bloomberg. As you jump on the bandwagon, ask yourself whether the job at hand is a debating contest...or running the most powerful nation on Earth. We've already got a glib, often entertaining clown inches from the nuclear button? I'd rather not have another one.
7
Bloomberg deserved every hit he got last night, and more. He's a Republican plutocrat, with awful views, trying to buy his way into a party that's supposed to stand in opposition to everything he represents.
As for the remainder of the debate, I'm personally glad to see a bit of fire and passion from the candidates. I don't understand all of the pearl-clutching I'm reading in so many comments here. Who do you think we're running against in November? Were you expecting a genteel game of cribbage? The Democratic party has taken the "high road" for far too long, giving focus-tested platitudes, meekly clucking our tongues about the rules, as the Republican party steamrolls us and burns our nation and the rule of law to the ground. I'm happy for once to see some candidates with some fight in them. We'll need it.
5
Ouch.
Will Michael Bloomberg, with his vast funds, still get behind the eventual Democratic nominee if he is passed over?
2
Warren’s performance was the most adept I have ever seen, and I have been watching debates since the 70’s. She is a clutch player who would destroy Trump in a one on one. She also brought home the most salient point; the billionaire is not an electable Democrat.
And yet almost every headline is about Bloomberg. And the handwringing, the thinly veiled misogyny of so many of these comments. I loath Trump, but if Bloomberg is the nominee, I would have to be heavily sedated to pull that lever.
6
I admire Bloomberg’s poise, maturity, and thoughtfulness. He did not get down in the dirt with those around him, which exemplifies true leadership.
He was more focused on the most important task at hand—defeating Trump—as opposed to tearing down others.
I see him as a step above the rest; his accomplishments in business, philanthropy, and politics speak for themselves...he does not have to shout them out. No one is perfect and he certainly has made mistakes. But of all the candidates I feel he is the best equiped to beat Trump and lead the nation back towards a progressive, moderate center and address the great issues of the day—which he has already been doing outside of politics.
He is the antidote to Trump: an honest and self-made billionaire, not someone who conned their way to wealth wirh hand-me-downs. He is quiet and intelligent, not a shouting ignorant buffoun. And he has donated more billions to good causes then Trump has earned in his entire life.
11
We were implicitly asked by this account to assume that Sanders' online 'supporters' who went too far are actually self-styled supporters of the senator, not domestic trolls or foreign provocateurs. In either case, the object would be, as in 2016, to disrupt our election process and sew discord. Unless such people can be clearly identified as actual Sanders supporters, there is no way he is to be held accountable for their malicious behavior.
3
The last time I watched a debate was the first Sanders/HRC, just to get familiar w/Sanders. I avoid them - they aren't debates, they are TV events. Reading today, I'm reminded of the episode of "The Newsroom" on HBO where the main character wanted to put on a real debate but the GOP party leaders didn't go for it.
As long as moderators ask silly, sensationalist and divisive questions, debates will never be worth watching. The media ought to wake up to its responsibility to inform voters, not encourage their ignorance and rile their emotions.
6
I'm more convinced today that the democrats cannot win the electoral college. They had better spend a lot of time in Pennsylvania because whoever wins there will become president.
2
From North of the border it looks scary. It looks like instead of focusing on how the GOP has gripped and damaged the country, on how the GOP controlled Senate passes nothing, on how the Law is slowly but surely dismantled, on how even with an economy booming the debt level has reached well into trillions while the infrastructure is crumbling and on how with a lower than ever unemployment rate a sizeable part of the american people are struggling to make ends meet, the Dems are focused on ripping each other.
From North of the border it looks like 4 more years of Trump. And since he’s shattered every norm of decency, I won’t wonder if an argument won’t be built to have him as the first President with 4 or more mandates.
1
Any room up there for me?
Well now the true colors are showing.
No to the billionaire who just hopped in with his effort to buy our election. Bloomberg is completely unappealing.
No to Mr. Biden. No to Mayor Pete.
Both women were sturdy and strong...Klobuchar and Warren.
But I've been waiting a long, long time for a candidate who will work for all of us, not just the rich and well-connected.
Senator Sanders, you've earned it and I am thrilled to be able to support your campaign.
6
Bloomberg had four talking points: How he built the Bloomberg financial news goliath, and what he knows about tech, financial systems and international markets; how he improved New York with city government initiatives, employment successes and fiscal growth; what his vision is for tomorrow's America regarding climate change, healthcare, world tensions, and trade and policy cooperation; and what his philanthropic causes are, what they deliver, and what they have achieved. Where was his debate prep team for the last month? He had one shot to gain real momentum. He blew it. Now his ads should go from pro-Mike to anti-Trump if he is serious about saving America.
1
I could only watch the debate for a few minutes. Full of attacks and same canned responses from the candidates. The only change were the attacks on Bloomberg. I tried circling to it and it did not change. I crave civil discourse not a Trump like rally. As an independent voter in a purple state who wants Trump out what I saw last night made me worried. I do not believe Sanders will not carry moderates independents like me.
3
I felt like this was a debate stepped backwards.
With more than half the candidates out, I felt like finally the democrats can have some unity vision and goal. Yet is almost March 2020 and they go back to viable insults and attacks. Please present less insults and more plans of what you plan to do please.
We don't want a president who's great at "attacking someone's past" rather I want one that is "how do we solve today problem for future generation."
4
Blame the moderaters. They asked questions designed to promote attacks.
1
Most of my concerns about Bloomberg— including his views and record on gender harassment, stop and frisk, and people of color— were on ample view in the Las Vegas Democratic debate.
Bloomberg’s performance was at best rocky. If nominated, Republicans will have two candidates to choose from.
3
Mike Bloomberg spoke the truth last night when he said he could not think of a better way for Trump to stay in office than listening to Bernie Sanders. The same goes for Elizabeth Warren.
13
I couldn't watch this dreadful debate for more than ten minutes last night, so thanks for this good summary. Attacking Bloomberg and comparing him to Trump was very ill-advised. The man has done more than any of these candidates to push gun control legislation, flip the House to the Democrats in 2016, and push environmental and charitable causes. He has also reformed his company's gender policies, and apologized for Stop and Frisk. Unlike Trump, he is a legitimate businessman who admits to his mistakes, corrects them, and has built his business from scratch -- an incredible feat. Unlike Trump -- and any of these candidates -- he has effectively managed a large government, while also creating a philanthropic entity with his money the size of which we've never seen before. They should be grateful he is a Democrat now.
Also, in fact, Warren, Bernie, Biden, and Klobuchar have all become millionaires while in office, so I find these attacks on Bloomberg's wealth incredibly hypocritical. But whatever they think of Bloomberg personally, the Dems need to stick to issues and stop sniping at each other because they're turning off the huge number of swing voters with this behavior. Otherwise, they risking losing the Presidency and the Senate to a corrupt GOP that doesn't represent the will of the vast majority of the People.
9
Bernie only become wealthy from a book he wrote. I’m so confused by people constantly forgetting that point. Seems quite convenient- fits a false narrative that Bernie is actually a “secret bad guy”.
1
@Juliette Robinson Yes, I'm not saying that he is a "secret bad guy" but part of Bernie's wealth also comes from a golden parachute his wife got after running a for-profit school into the ground, which was actually a pretty shady deal. That aside, I'm just saying they've all become very wealthy while in office and it's not because of business acumen. They also took big donor money early on in their political careers, which would have been impossible to launch without it, so it's hypocritical in my opinion to trash it. Bloomberg's the only guy out there who hasn't taken a dime in political donation and that includes his time as mayor when he actually paid for his own expenses and transportation while in office, unlike Trump is is charging the taxpayer millions everyday illegally.
1
@Brannon Perkison Just a note: Bloomberg has 2,500 x the wealth of all four of them *combined*
Of course they are going to after Mr. Bloomberg, for two of them, Senators Warren and Sanders, he represents everything they hate about American capitalism. Thank you.
3
Uh, Bernie was not "forced onto the defensive several times." Only once, by a question about his health. Otherwise he led offensively every time he spoke. He won the debate. Bloomberg was crushed. The idea they were both on the defensive is a motivated fiction by a newspaper that can't deal with the reality of who the democratic frontrunner is: Bernie Sanders.
3
My vote is for Bloomberg. Yes he has said sexist things and stop and frisk targeted Blacks but this has been the history of our country. In many sections of our country it still is but he ha acknowledged this is wrong, employs many women in top positions. But best of all I liked his answer regarding China and India. To get a win win solution on Climate pollution we must negotiate so they win too. Using the first like Trump and others want won't work in the long run. He also recognizes the help lower and middle income need education, tax wise and other need. Will raise taxes on the wealthy. He has my vote.
8
@terri smith
I agree totally,, It is "Global" warming. Unless you
control it from places like China, and Yes India, it is
useless. Also he is the ONLY one doing anything about.
Reducing the number of Coal power plants.
6
I'm honestly *shocked* by the comments in here, in a group of people who have chosen to read the NYTimes, calling Warren "a scold," "bossy," and "shrill." Seriously shocked. It's clear we as a country are nowhere close to electing a woman as president.
I'm also surprised by the number of pro-Bloomberg comments on here, some of them describing him in almost adulatory tones. I recently read about Bloomberg's employment of people to develop memes that will help him -- and these are very sophisticated attempts, including memes that seem like they make fun of him for being out of touch, and other things you wouldn't immediately think came from his team. They're employing all sorts of subtle psychological tactics here, and you bet he can afford to spend as much as it takes to do so. I have to say, I wouldn't be shocked if he paid people to come comment on NYTimes articles, also . . .
8
This morning I saw some debate excerpts again. Mike, when challenged by Warren on issues of gender, responds with support for the MeToo movement. Still he doesn't apologize for demeaning, gender-based name-calling. Now I know most Americans have no problem with calling women names based on the fact that they are women. Still, a respectable candidate would speak against that.
I guess decency can't ever return. I mean obviously, when Rush Limbaugh gets a medal of freedom. Please don't spin this with false equivalency, media; it's the Republicans (and I'll bet Mike's Republican DNA) for whom this name-calling is an established, acceptable part of doing business. (Bernie Bros are an anomaly, and anyway, they are not in power.)
1
“Bernie Bros” isn’t real. A majority of his supporters are women. So why does this myth continue? Why are women being ignored once again?
1
I’m still with Bernie but I would vote for Elizabeth in a flash. Never Bloomberg.
6
This is discouraging. The redundant, self destructive spectacles the Democrats now refer to as debates are becoming hard to watch.
If acting like a schoolchild, constantly agitating and waggling your hand in the air as others are speaking, as if to say “Let me talk. Let me talk even more.” is considered a “debating” skill,” I guess you could consider Warren and Sanders the winners.
Ironically, Pete Buttigieg, if he could avoid getting dragged down into the fray might have a chance of being the actual adult in the room.
Final notes: If you think Bernie Sanders can capture the electoral college majority to send Trump packing (hopefully to jail, ultimately) kindly share with me the cocktails you’re enjoying. But, then, what do I know? I thought Clinton would win in a landslide.
3
Regarding Sanders' health issue. Yes, I wish he'd release his full records. However, I think that for anyone to correlate this with Bloomberg's refusal to release his tax records is foolish. Unless the health records include dementia or a severe mental health issue then they wouldn't tell us anything about what policies someone would institute as president whereas tax records could tell us a lot.
And as far as health records go, remember that if JFK had been anywhere even half way honest about his health history he wouldn't have been nominated much less won the election. How many readers believe the country would have been better off if he hadn't been elected. I don't know what health issues with Sanders may have but I don't imagine any are nearly as serious as Kennedy's Addison's Disease which required him to take corticosteroids.
1
Welcome back, Sen Warren.
Plz borrow a page from Bill Clinton elections winning book: triangulation, and make it fit into your campaign. Now is the time to pivot to the center. Don't relent to the left again.
2
Which is why I won’t ever support her. A candidate that can pivot and change their views, for the sake of a vote. I want my candidate to be honest and have integrity.
4
@Juliette Robinson
I agree, except Warren has never changed her views. So you’ll never vote for her based on what she hasn’t done?
1
The Democrats are doing all of Trump's work for him in the way they all gang up to viciously attack the candidates that pose the greatest threat to Trump. They first did this to Biden, who was accepted by most to be the one who could beat Trump when he first started out, and they so relentlessly tore into him that he is basically done with. And now they are doing the same with Bloomberg. Biden and Bloomberg are the only two candidates that Trump has taken to attacking, which shows they are the ones he fears running against them. And once they tear down Bloomberg they will gang up on the next candidate who is seen as having the best chance at beating Trump. And so by the time the general election comes around the Democratic candidate will have a worse image in the eyes of voters than Trump does, thanks to the Democrats always ganging up on the candidate who has the best chance at winning.
3
The moderators again illustrated that they are under the impression that the debates are about them, not the candidates. There was mention made of Trivia and Jeopardy. Gotcha should have been included.
At times I honestly thought that the entire script was written by SNL.
3
What is obvious to me: our party still has a ways to go to figure this out.
1
It's almost as if Bloomberg had not even bothered to prepare for this debate. He was savagely attacked by all, but the subjects of the attacks were to be expected, and Bloomberg should have had immediate responses to all adversaries. His faults were magnified and highlighted out of proportion but are insignificant compared to many past presidents and certainly nothing compared to Trump. By not having any kind of prepared defense when hit with these questions made him look arrogant and unremorseful and/or guilty for any offenses he may have committed.
Mayor Bloomberg is a very intelligent man and would most likely make an excellent president, but his money is getting in his way on this one. The other candidates were trying to make it look like being successful and having a lot of money is something to be ashamed of and automatically brands you as corrupt. No one on stage last night could even come close when compared to the level of success achieved by Bloomberg, and I personally would feel more secure knowing a President Bloomberg was in charge of cleaning up Trump's mess.
Mayor Bloomberg has the knowledge to turn this country around in the right directions again. He needs to dig himself out of this hole, put on his boxing gloves, and come up with a strategy to counteract the deceptive stigma they covered him with last night.
9
Several claim NBC lost control of the debate.
Good. That is as it should be because I suspected a rigged debate moderated with cunningly concieved questions designed to scuttle Democrats chances.
We had a debate, not a glorified staged interview.
3
The debate did not produce a winner. Senator Amy Klobacher looks like the best political talent they have on offer for the future, but too soon for this run probably. Trump would have problems attacking her, she is good in a crisis, and she is a fighter. But no one can win in this economy. They need to plan for 2024 by being seen to no longer be corrupt and focus back on working people's wages and jobs, full time jobs as their priority but they are still infected by the losing strategy of identity politics of mass migration which keeps wages flat and housing expensive. Warren is the worst identity politics extremist which is why she is fading fast. Its a proven loser.
The biggest risk for the Democrat Party is if Senator Sanders wins the most ordinary voters in the primaries and the Democrat Party establishment do back room deals at the convention to put in a Wall St supported candidate like Biden or Butteteig or self funded Billionaire Bloomberg who "knows whats good for us." No more meat, soda or guns for you plebs. This sort of result will play into the Trump populist message perfectly that is the current political culture. The Democratic Party is still rigged against ordinary, especially regional mid west workers. Many Sanders voters will stay home which is why Mrs Clinton lost.
Trump will win in a landslide in this case as he will have so much fodder to attack with on top of the economy. If Sanders does win the nomination he will lose too but not by as much.
Elizabeth Warren’s angry shots at Bloomberg seemed low-class, tawdry, cheap, and most likely defensible if only Bloomberg were allowed some time to speak without interruption.
By the way, the correct answer to the nondisclosure agreement issue is that the NDA is an agreement between the Bloomberg corporation on the one hand and some individuals, on the other hand, and Bloomberg as an officer of the company has a duty of loyalty to his shareholders that doesn’t allow him to abrogate a contract for his own personal political benefit. Maybe people didn’t learn that lesson from Trump trying to trade the country’s capital for his own personal political benefit in Ukraine.
Obviously, uncle Joe Biden did not learn the lesson. And Senator Warren, a former Harvard law professor, needs to go back to school.
12
Vigorous and engaging. Very good for popcorn sales. Democracy in action!
2
The way I see it, we have two extremes as presidential candidates - Trump and Sanders. In a million years, I wouldn't vote for Trump and Sanders platform if implemented would not only bankrupt out Treasury but would leave me and many others without comprehensive health insurance. I would be forced to vote for Sanders and hope that Congress wouldn't allow Medicare for all and free college for every yo-yo who shows up at the college Registrar's office.
4
With 329 million Americans, this is the best we can do?
8
Goodness gracious, I thought Bloomberg might need this debate as a dress rehearsal, but what we got was a catastrophically bad audition.
I was ready to call out, “Next!” the minute he rolled his eyes at Warren’s spot-on challenge.
The Bloomdenberg Disaster. Live.
4
Talking points, out of context accusations - tantrums - any adults in the room?
5
Bloomberg is a plutocrat who thought he coukd buy the Presidency. No thanks.
6
This is a ridiculous format; it isn't a debate, its a playground argument. Policies? Forget about those. International issues, like war, the climate crisis and human rights...or even new viruses and globalization? Forget about them! Let's all yell at each other about how many stents they have, how many houses they have, who rude some of their followers are on the Internet, etc. etc. Maybe one or more of them would make a fine president--but this is not how you can discover that. Go back to the rules of debate--Oxford Union style--and really have one.
4
Elizabeth Warren without question won the debate last night, it's fascinating to watch the media framing it in terms of either a tag team with Biden, (it was Elizabeth who won every point, with Biden tagging along for the ride), or how her strong performance helps Bernie win the night.
Warren has always been knowledgable and articulate, but last night I saw that she could beat Donald Trump. Warren was formidable.
10
TV debates have turned into a high school debate competition, rather than an opportunity for candidates to make themselves known to the public. I am convinced that under the current TV format Rush Limbaugh would defeat Albert Einstein in a debate over relativity. not because the former knows more, but because he is bombastic and aggressive. The only questions that count are: 1. what are the various positions on major issues; 2. what chance does one's proposals have of passing in Congress; 3. what are the relative merits of the positions among all the candidates. The debates should not be talent shows, in which the most attractive person wins. The debates should be a discussion of issues, without extra points being awarded for yelling the loudest.
10
Sorry JP the debates between the eventual Democrats nominee and Trump won’t be “won” by the wonky politics of issues, positions and the merits of policy. You’ll remember that was tried in 2016 and we all know how that turned out. The 2020 election will be won on emotion, passion and the turnout it inspires. Everything else is just frosting on the cake. I’d like it to be about the same things you do but our current reality isn’t conducive to reason. We play the field we’re on not the one we wish it were. The person facing Trump needs to be prepared to beat him like a drum, making him look like the weak and pathetic person he really is. Remember that for Trumps republicans this is war, its a weakness that the democrats have, not recognizing the game their enemies are playing. Its why they keep losing eh.
1
@John Chastain
John, While I agree with your comment, I think last night's moderators played too big a role in the process and set the stage for the "circular firing squad." If the debates were focused on issues, I think Trump would sink like a rock. I support Klobuchar, whom I think was ignored last night.
1
The notion that Sanders is too "radical" or extreme in the Democratic party and therefore can't win the national election is an amusing one as it wasn't too long ago moderate Republicans were saying the same thing about Trump during the Republican debates. Sanders appeals to the same working class populist base Trump does only Sanders is on the right side of history instead of the wrong side of it. Also, I am convinced most Democrats and all republicans don't know what socialism really is. The terms "capitalist" and "socialist" are not mutually exclusive. Ask anyone in Western Europe--Germany, France, Sweden, etc. Last I heard they have national healthcare and functioning stock markets simultaneously.
15
We needed a debate like this since the start of the primary. I fear now this heated exchange came slightly too late.
I watched numerous debates that had absolutely no impact on the race. Candidates praised each other and shared policy agreements, with little being said on how they stand out among the pack.
Now is the time to coalesce down to 2-3 candidates (hopefully Bloomberg will not be one of them), and narrow focus on who will be the best president. Heated debate is the easiest way to winnow the field, we've had our mud-slinging, let's appreciate it's value and move on.
4
Warren is not my first choice, but she won big last night.
She will not win the nomination on a first ballot, but she is the most likely consensus candidate if Bernie doesn't take the crown.
8
The focus is on Bloomberg for appropriate reasons.
However, once we look back with objectivity, the defining moment of the debate may have been Sanders answer about socialism. We can all see coming the McCarthy type attacks that Bernie is a Communist. (Even though we have a President who appears to be working more for Putin than for the US.)
Sanders provided a preview of his defense of his beliefs. He rightly pointed out that we are already a Democratic Socialist country many of our most important accomplishments.
If Socialism is when the government provides programs paid for by the people that benefit both separate groups and the general welfare of the country look at how socialist we already are.
Examples of Democratic Socialist programs: Medicare, Medicaid, the provision of free medical care to those who have no insurance of any type but are at death's door, the military that defends the country, public works projects that have provided the best infrastructure for business in the world, public education to ensure that we have a competent workforce, oversight of private industry to avoid corruption, a legal system to make sure the laws are followed and justice administered and many other programs. Not one of these could be called a capitalistic program. Just about every one has been fought by capitalism. They are all democratic socialistic programs!
The appeal of Bernie is that it is clearly time to save and improve what we have already accomplished.
8
@Common cause Agree with you 100 percent. But logic and reason don't seem to matter to the average voter. In their mind, Sanders is a communist. And Trump would crush him in the Electoral College vote in November.
@KR My experience spending much time in northern NH in 2016 was that for many, Sanders was a first choice, Trump (who made similar but unkept promises to help the segment of Americans that have missed out on progress) their second choice. The candidate of the Democratic establishment was simply not a choice. Bernie, as a lifelong independent, has more "street credibility" with a large swath of working Americans but not so much with the Democratic elite. That works to his favor. Looks like he might get the nomination. The only question is: can the Democrats unite in support of Sanders? I believe that if they embrace "Democratic Socialism" and good government, which really should be the soul of the party, they will sweep in November.
I find the debates useless. Policy positions, however outlined, are more useful than an emotion driven debate. How a candidate processes policy, and works with others is useful too, although, there seems to be no use in working with Republicans.
3
I would like the moderators of these debates to actually focus on some issues instead of leading questions for personality attacks.
How difficult is it to ask about tax reform? Wealth inequality? Climate change? Education reform? Job training programs?
Nothing against Sen. Sanders, he has ideas for the future. But the Democrats have to find a candidate who will bring out the voters in Maine, North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas and other states where a Senate seat can be flipped. Not sure Sen. Sanders can do this.
Remember: Republicans have a huge war chest and have already pledged to support the senators who backed Trump during the sham impeachment trial.
6
I was really looking forward to hearing from Bloomberg. How is it possible that he could show up so ill-prepared for the onslaught everyone knew would come? I am at loss to think why he didn't have the best coaches preparing him to counter all the attacks - and convince us he was the right person to take on Trump. Like all of us, we want to choose the candidate who's going to win it all. I still am undecided. I vote in the Illinois primary so I have a bit more time.
4
After the debate, Nicole Wallace asked Joe Biden why we never heard about the current collapse in the rule of law at the Justice Department. His answer was swift: We were never asked, and there is pressure from the moderators to answer what we are asked.
This is a constant failing with the press, and used to be quite evident at the White House press briefings back when we had a White House that could stand having the press scrutinize it in regular briefings. Reporters come with prepared questions, and are so invested in their carefully honed question, they don't ask the obvious and the public loses out.
The debates taken in total have had very little on the direct subject of Presidential misconduct, and almost never any questions about foreign policy. Every questioner generates the same subjects that poll high on the latest poll for what voters care about. And so we get a shallow view of the candidates.
I so very much miss the League of Women Voters led debates.
13
Short version: Bernie won; the others will tear each other apart, but not fast enough to keep Bernie from winning it possibly outright.
If, of course, Bernie leads but doesn't have enough delegates to win outright, everyone, including Slay Queen Warren, is more than OK letting superdelegates steal it from him.
That advertisement for Sanders alone will help a lot to ensure he gets all the delegates needed to avoid the Contested Convention.
Two things: 1. Even if the nom is stolen from him in a backroom, I'll vote for whoever it is. 2. Many won't. They should, but they won't.
So, go ahead "centrists," destroy the party and let Trump win in order to protect your own careers and other parochial, selfish interests, if it comes down to it. You'll only be helping to destroy the party, which means Trumpism regnant till well past climate failsafe, which may come any year now. Go ahead and continue to demonstrate your complete moral turpitude.
4
I did not watch the debate. It is pitiful that reports from it focus on who jabbed whom better rather than who offers a better candidate for Presidency. These are not debates but exchanges of nasty "tweets" and the media reports like it is a boxing match. Warren lost New Hampshire not because she was a poorer boxer but because her proposals have received a lot of criticism over previous 6 weeks or so. I hope (I am not completely rational) that the Democratic candidates regain their senses and that media can help them (rather then hinder them) in this process or we will have 4 more years of Trump
4
Did you watch the previous debates? They were more substantive. But in this one, they had to deal with Bloomberg who was ill prepared and failed on every count.
This was not a debate. It was a fiasco that resembled an out of control game of "Jeopardy." Thank God there weren't buzzers.
Bloomberg looked like he didn't want to play. Mayor Pete would have had an answer for everything and would have criticized opponents if they didn't know the GDP of Russia. Bernie would have been able to answer any question except the cost of his health care plan, how it would work and where the money would come from. And, no one asked him what would be an acceptable limit on how much money someone could make in this country (Bloomberg's earnings were unacceptable). No matter what Elizabeth was asked, she transformed them into criticisms of Bloomberg...the non-participating participant.
No wonder Amy was steamed when she walked off the stage. She reflected my emotions perfectly.
9
Gotta love the folks who stand behind Bloomberg, who's effectively trying to buy the nomination by spamming us with ad after ad. I was born and raised in NYC and lived through the Bloomberg years. I watched every debate he participated in. He's a terrible debater. He's only won elections because he's 1) outspent candidates and 2) the people he's run against -- for mayor, mind you -- have been weak. For those whose chief concern is getting Teump out of office, Bloomberg is not the person to do it. Trump will handily expose Bloomberg's ineptitude on a debate stage. For those rightfully thinking about ousting Trump and beyond, Bloomberg is still not the person for the job, as he's the epitome of the elitist rot eating away at our democracy.
5
Let's be clear: the problem with Bloomberg isn't that he is indebted to others, it's that so many others are indebted to him. We see what happens when the people around him aren't bought and paid for "supporters". (Though, if Buttigeig plays his cards right, he could eventually be the recipient of a fat donation by the oligarch)
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I expect Bloomberg will run $100,000,000 in ads this week stating he won the debate. Hooray for money!
3
Warren is back to her fighting self, TG. She lost me there for awhile but last night was a needed reminder of her focus and grit. One caveat: it's fine to mention harrowing personal stories of people she's met but they need to be timed well, delivered quickly and toned the same way she delivers policy: fact-based and avoiding too much Emotional Storytime. What is wanted and needed is a fighter from the position of unwavering sensibility rooted in facts, logic and vision, not plaintiveness, which doesn't suit her anyway and strikes as pandering which isn't what she's about. This election is about the fight to win for what's right and fixing what's wrong as we head into a challenging future. I deeply appreciated that she dispatched Bloomburg straight out of the gate and set the tone for the rest of the debate - thank you, next - let's GO.
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The circular firing squad that characterized last night’s debate is what we teachers call “inauthentic assessment.” Success in that debate has as much relationship to good governance as a multiple-choice test has to good writing. How do we change the process?
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The DNC leads up a horrific long process of state primaries, caucuses, and poorly designed debates.
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What I saw last night was viciousness, hatred and destruction.
Nobody is talking about national unity, on how to bring in moderate Republicans in. It's all about "me, myself and I".
The winner last night TRUMP
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@TrueNorth ... . Moderate republicans are not the base of the democratic party. That's not how we will win.
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@Jackey
Maybe but isn't it important to try to include moderate Republican? To unify the country?
To me, the democrats are no better than Trump, they're talking only to their base.
@TrueNorth Unify the country? We have a two party system. The party that wins, holds office. The strongest candidate never wins by appealing to the center. Just look at Trump. Or at Reagan. The Republicans never temper their policies to attract democrats. The idea that the democrats should do that is ridiculous.
Those of us not in New York are not familiar at all with Bloomberg. Last night was the first time I'd ever heard him speak. Not a good first impression, to say the least!
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None of this means anything. It doesn’t matter who “looks” better. Warrens “win” will be forgotten in 2 news cycles.
Warren and Bernie are not electable. Sorry. The numbers don’t work.
Only way is to put all the effort into Bloomberg, but god forbid we support anyone “successful.”
Last night sealed the deal. Trump takes it in 2020.
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@Bob the numbers don't work? In polling Sanders is mostly ahead of any other candidate in an election against Trump, ahead of Bloomberg also. You sound so sure. What numbers are you looking at? Also how, and why, did last night "seal the deal," if, as you say, "None of this means anything"? With no meaning, what deal was sealed? And in which direction? Bernie was amazing and is still in the lead, poll-wise. Bloomberg did terribly.
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These debates are formatted and run like a cheap gameshow. And, the audience’s reactions are gross and cheapen them even more. It’s turned this into a circus and the candidates into leaping performance artists (only now there are five experienced and trained performance artists and a new one that will eventually catch on to the tricks). These debates should be handled in a manner more fitting of the office that will inevitably be impacted. Get rid of the audience. Slow it down so there’s more substance. The candidates look ridiculous raising their hands to speak. It’s absurd.
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The moderators were awful and the debate deteriorated from the off. I'm not sure what the consultants are thinking other than to line their own pockets. The only winner last night was Trump. The second winner, if there was one, may have been Biden, as he didn't fumble, and his stature seemed to elevate. Buttigeg, Klobuchar and Warren have no chance, none. So why stay in the race? I understand Klobuchar, she's an obvious VP pick. But the other 2? Beating Trump will be an extraordinary tall ask, if the current economy holds. But no discussion of AG Barr, Pardons, N Korea, Iran, Ukraine, and his law suit to remove pre-existing conditions, unbelievable, on and on.......just a circular firing squad. Really sad.
7
I'm disappointed that the Democrats all attacked each other. Don't we get enough of that from Trump? I do, at least. The Democratic candidates should be about convincing voters that their party is the antidote to Trump. They should be showing that the Democrats are a party unified behind a common goal, which is parity for the middle class, tax breaks for American families, not rich people. They should be talking about how Trump is using the DOJ to go after his enemies and discussing how they will pass laws to protect our political systems from another power hungry, mad president. They should be pledging to support each other against Trump, who is the real opponent here. I am so sick of attacks, insults and attempts to degrade others. I've had a belly full of that from Trump. To see it in the Democrats is disheartening and sad.
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@Ms. Pea trump is NOT "the issue"...the issues are the issues, beginning with environmental - planet emergency, even red states today are acknowledging. 42% of americans (nearly twice either party adherents) claim independent status due to past administrations dem and rep, who have ignored healthcare, environment, economic devolution. Independents will decide; not even DNC empowered "delegates" overthrow "the people's" priorities.
Warren won last night, defining, with Sanders, issues.
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@Ms. Pea It's an unfortunate outcome of current debate set up. They can't possible talk about their ideas and goals within 30 seconds or so. The best way to get more screen time is literally attacking another candidate. Andrew Yang is a great example. He rarely attacked others, and this led him to not getting much screen time. The more you say anything dramatic, ie attacking others, the more screen time you get. The more screen time you get, the higher you score gets from newspapers.
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@Ms. Pea
This was the last debate I intend to watch. They fall into the same pattern;
1. Attack the frontrunner.
2. Dig up some disparaging statement the candidate made 15 or 20 years ago, and that's no longer relevant.
3. Squeeze in your stump speech that we've heard many times before.
I'm still undecided but Warren and Sander's promise of everything for free just seem to loony for me.
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Let’s not forget what the real issues are.
Trump has become a full-fledged corrupt dictator, and the GOP is supporting him.
Trump’s extreme naricissism presents an imminent danger to America and to the world. The GOP caters to Trump’s every whim.
Trump has betrayed our National Security by repeatedly and consistently aiding a foreign power, Russia. The GOP has become the Gang of Putin.
Trump sees enemies among immigrants, refugees, minorities, the Press, and our Allies.. The GOP has endorsed all of this.
We need to get rid of Trump and his GOP apologists.
Vote Blue, no matter who!
13
What happened in Vegas should stay in Vegas. What a unmitigated spectacle with little time for any candidate to say things of substance in their time allotted.
If anyone thinks that the Dems are going to win the election based on their debating skills is going to be sorely disappointed. Warren's 'know it all' hand raising, shrill tone and constant phrasing starting with "look" every time is beyond annoying. She may be the smartest student in the classroom and has dutifully done her homework but Americans just don't vote that way; they don't.
Was glad that Bernie was able to defend his stance on democratic socialism and articulate how we already have a socialistic society..but just for the wealthy. THAT resonated.
9
@Casual Observer -- Sanders record on legislative issues in the senate is non- existent. All talk and no action. BTW-- I agree that the US has a multitude of social programs that those who receive them like and Sanders did a good job articulating these programs.
4
A note to independent voters: I hope you watched the Democratic debate Wednesday evening. It should be an eye-opener for you, to compare the way the Democrat party operates to the way the Republican party operates. The Democrats offered a field of six candidates with widely varying backgrounds (except for their involvement in public service) and widely varying views on issues facing the country, as well as on the behavior of their fellow debaters in a number of instances. Viewpoints were expressed, challenged, modified, but admittedly without agreement in a time-limited period.
Compare this to the Republican party, where a single individual, who is generally considered to be "not the sharpest tack in the box" renders an opinion/decision which is often of dubious validity or usefulness, and the entire Republican party falls in behind him in agreement and support.
Now which of the two methods is the one you think will result in the best outcome for the people of the United States? Take this comparison into consideration when stepping into the voting booth this fall.
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For the record, it was a moderator, not Buttigieg, who asked Klobuchar about the president of Mexico, but it was Buttigieg who picked at it. It didn’t come off as substantial. It came off as petty. I had to laugh when, in response to Klobuchar’s oft-repeated record of electability, he said winning a senate race isn’t the same as winning the presidency—and winning a race for mayor of a small town in Indiana is? None of them have won a race for the presidency, Pete, but they have won in much broader electoral bases than you have!
I thought the debate was a disaster. No one looked good. Warren was in strong attack mode but misogynists will see her as even more of a scold than they do now and Trump will have a field day with it. Bloomberg called Sanders a communist—yikes—but his dogmatism does scare me. How we have a system that allows so many people to become billionaires while so many more struggle needs to be addressed, but are we saying no one will be allowed to become a billionaire in America? Even Denmark has some billionaires! When they show Sanders leading with something like 27% in polls, I always think, that means 73% of those polled don’t want him. Biden still gets off into the weeds too much—what was with that attack on Bloomberg about the ACA?? Bloomberg did not impress (wasn’t surprised by the attacks, but yes, a little by the virulence of them). Thought he would be a bit more articulate. Klobuchar was not presidential in her defensiveness. Ugh, a disaster.
6
@Kally
Oh really, it came off as petty? Not when Klobuchar called him a "cool newcomer" etc in the previous debate? Klobuchar is very good at dishing, but when her record is under the glare of scrutiny, she digs deeper in the mean.
Well at least one candidate emerged unscathed......Donald Trump.Way to go Dems. And kudos also to the press questioners.
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Is there any man from his generation who is squeaky clean? Nope. He needs to address his evolvement from his past mistakes.
3
Well, my dad was from his generation and was squeaky clean. On the other hand, my dad was not a billionaire and didn’t run a big company or city.
1
#Sanders2020 (Liz VP?) Excellent debate - Bernie and Liz ruled the night. The bottom line is - Centrism is a luxury our country and the planet can no longer afford. The clock is literally ticking according to the best scientists in the world and the proof of Climate Catastrophe has already begun. Our only hope now is to mitigate it, but even this will mean turning this ship around 180 degrees to phase out fossil fuels asap. We will al have to sacrifice a little as people did during the Depression and WW II - to allow future generations a decent life. Wake up people - before it's too late!
7
The amount of pearl-clutching in this comments section is staggering. Guess what? Some of us want a candidate who will stand up and fight for us, instead of uttering nice platitudes while maintaining the status quo. People are fed up up and the DNC needs to hear that loud and clear.
6
This debate was a winner for NOBODY, least of all the Democratic Party. Elizabeth Warren looked - and sounded - like a crazy person. Her constant heavy breathing made me want to mute the TV. Joe Biden looked old and tired. Bloomberg was disappointing but at least he was calm and collected, not unhinged like Warren.
If this was the first debate, I honestly wouldn't want to vote for any of these people. And the increasing nastiness only benefits Trump. Dems are doing his job for him......and they nearly forgot about him last night! Rather than cutting each other down, they should have laid into our corrupt president.
6
Canada here.Watched a bit.Looks like Trump will win in a cakewalk.Glad I am herewith my socialized medicine.
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But you’re stuck with hockey ;-)
A few decent [somewhat mature] discussions last night.
(Is it too late for Stacey Abrams to enter the race?)
1
If the election hinges on winning debates against Trump, then Elizabeth Warren would be the best candidate. Some of her policies, which would never pass Congress, is her downfall.
Warren, by far, would do the most damage to Donald J. Trump in any debating venue. She would make Trump look as bad as Bloomberg did last night....and maybe much worse. However, elections aren't won on debating skills.
4
How about a debate sans audience?
That would, I think, make the candidates talk in more meaningful, in depth terms instead of, well, you know.
6