This past Tuesday, the hotly anticipated Democratic debate finally occurred. The five Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee, met on the same stage for the first time. Over the course of two and a half hours, the candidates touched upon issues such as income inequality, the conflict in Syria, and gun control. Overall, the exchanges between candidates were civil, despite Hillary Clinton’s tough criticism of Sanders’s gun control background. Sanders, O’Malley, Webb, and Chafee mostly refrained from attacking Clinton personally, as this was not considered to be of much political advantage. At one point, Sanders even exclaimed “I think America is tired of hearing about your damn emails!” This earned a hearty laugh from Clinton. Finally, the debate was refreshing in that it was issue focused, as compared to the Republican debate.
Here is an assessment of how each candidate did:
Hillary Clinton: This past summer was inarguably brutal for Clinton. She faced mounting pressure due to the email scandal, which caused her poll numbers to drop and added more pressure for her to do well in this debate. On Tuesday, she did just that. Clinton was eloquent, and elegantly answered tough questions. She was forceful in delivering ripostes to her rivals. When asked if Sanders is strong enough on gun control, she answered “Not at all”, and delivered a series of statistics on gun violence in the United States. Clinton also answered questions about whether she is too centrist, stating “I am a progressive, but a progressive who gets things done.”
Bernie Sanders: Expectations were high for Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night. His poll numbers had surged during the summer, as his unequivocal criticism of wealth inequality clearly resonated with many. Still, his base of support mostly lay with young white liberals. The debate was his chance to introduce himself to the wider public. Sanders hit all the points of his stump speech, such as emphasizing inequality and campaign finance reform. But on other issues, such as gun control, Sanders stumbled. When placed in tough situations, Sanders tried to deviate to his stump speech. As such, he veered into the territory of becoming a one-issue candidate.
Martin O’Malley: Once considered a possible front runner for the Democratic nomination, O’Malley has struggled in recent months. Polls put his base of support at approximately three percent. O’Malley’s campaign strategy was to present himself as an alternative to Hillary Clinton, but Bernie Sanders usurped that role instead. Because of this, the debate offered O’Malley the chance to put his name on the board and become a viable contender. Overall, O’Malley’s performance was good but not great. He was eloquent, and emphasized his record of passing liberal programs in Maryland. However, he sounded lethargic at times. Still, O’Malley’s support should rise after the debate.
Jim Webb: Coming into the debate, Webb was polling at a dismal one percent. When asked about his opposition to affirmative action, he stated that he supported it only for African Americans because of their “unique history”. He also clearly opposed gun control. Overall, Webb seemed out of touch with the Democratic base.
Lincoln Chafee: Like Webb, Chafee has been stuck with lackluster poll numbers, and also failed to make an impression. Chafee seemed out of his depth most of the time. Near the beginning of the debate, the moderator Anderson Cooper asked Chafee about his history of switching parties (Chafee has been a Republican, Independent, and now a Democrat). Chafee answered that he is “a block of granite”. He said that his positions had stayed the same, but that the Republican Party had left him. In another moment, Cooper asked Chafee about his support for the repeal of Glass Steagall. Chafee responded by saying that he had voted for the bill in a state of emotional crisis due to his father’s death. It was not very convincing.
Winner: Hillary Clinton