The Democratic debate revealed Sanders’ true strength

[leftcoastmountains]

-snip-
Bernie Sanders was the clear winner in the first debate among candidates for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. And it wasn’t because he is more “likable” than the front-runner, Hillary Clinton. He won because he is more honest.

Hillary Clinton's “likeability” has received a lot of attention over the years. Does she come across as warm and caring? Does she have a sense of humor? Is her laugh convincing? In the 2008 primaries, President Barack Obama famously offered his rival a backhanded compliment, calling her “likable enough.”

For some voters, or at least some Beltway pundits, likability is a compelling factor in deciding who to vote for. But for many of us, it is not. Some voters actually watch debates to discern the candidates’ beliefs on the issues of the day — and last night’s debate revealed far more about the candidates’ beliefs and priorities than it did about their temperaments.

The debate was promoted on CNN as a kind of cage fight for political nerds: “Democratic candidates in one another's face for the first time” read the text at the bottom of the screen. It lived up to the hype: Anderson Cooper, the moderator, was dogged in asking challenging questions and extracting clear and unambiguous answers from reluctant candidates. The tone of those answers was less aggressive; unlike in the Republican debates, the candidates voiced coherent and often reasonable opinions that revealed substantive differences in their views on policy. Only one candidate, Jim Webb, bragged about killing a man, and none spoke hatefully about women or Mexicans (though the fact that this makes the Democrats looks good speaks to the soft bigotry of low expectations!).

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/10/how-the-democratic-debate-revealed-sanders-true-strength.html

[Warpy]

1. Yes, he came off as spontaneous rather than rehearsed

which made for a few bobbles, like referring to himself in the third person. He needs to work on that one, most people find it jarring.

The others were polished enough that you knew they'd been rehearsed for all the cockamamie questions a soft-right MSM reporter was likely to ask.

[cantbeserious]

2. A Well Written Critique

eom

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Al Jazeera obviously didn't get the memo.

Media was supposed to declare Hillary the winner, come on you guys, you're breaking ranks!