We're So Tired Of This Already

Last night's rancorous debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Brooklyn was a far cry from the more civil ("adult"?) debates held earlier in the primary season, which had offered a sharp contrast with the puerile name calling and outrageous behavior in the Republican debates.  Ah, the good old days!

The low point, most observers seem to agree, was when CNN's "Cry" Wolf Blitzer had to admonish the two to stop "screaming at each other."  Plus, more yammer about "judgement," influence- buying and Sandy Hook.  At least Clinton mentioned women's health issues as something none of the moderators had ever brought up in this or previous debates.  Oy vey.

Even the best of us can lose sight of the "big picture" when our egos get involved in a competition.  Compounding this is that each candidate has deeply invested organizations and surrogates that are also largely ego- driven and not necessarily focused on post- convention politics (although the Clinton camp has been trying to pivot that way).  While drawing contrasts in a debate is healthy, treating your opponent like an implacable enemy is not.  At the very least, you're effectively encouraging the most unhinged of your cadres to go even further in turning fissures into chasms (not to worry -- Republicans can finish the job by November!).  For candidates who say they're looking toward the future of the Democratic Party, this performance doesn't qualify as "party building."

This has to stop.  And soon.

Truth is that Clinton and Sanders are similar in their politics, but tonight they're bludgeoning each other as if...they were Republicans!

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) April 15, 2016

Remember how Obama was criticized for his cool, professorial debate demeanor? Don't know what you got 'till it's gone, people.

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 15, 2016

Tweets Of The Day - The Democratic Debate

Here, courtesy of Michael Grunwald, are (IMHO) the best tweets summarizing last night's Democratic debate, the Republican candidates and the media:

"I don't think anyone has a magical solution to this." Sanders clearly missed the Republican debate!

— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) December 20, 2015

Hillary needs better anti-magical-thinking answers on foreign policy, because moderators & Republicans push a lot of magical thinking.

— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) December 20, 2015

The Democratic Debate

We're going to resist the urge to do what we criticize others for doing:  telling you who we think "won" or "lost" last night's Democratic debate.  There's plenty of analysis out there from the usual suspects as well as from fellow progressive bloggers, so surf away.

A few impressions, though.

It had to be obvious to anyone with a pulse and an IQ higher than their age that -- in contrast to the Republican "debates" which consisted of name- calling, chest- beating and lie- spreading -- this was an attempt by the candidates to treat the viewers as thinking adults rather than as adolescents with ADD.  They refused to be baited into personal attacks and for the most part managed to get their main points across, contrasting their positions with each other and with the dystopian Republican worldview.

Moderator Anderson Cooper was disappointing to the extent he tried to steer the debate away from serious issues to media confections like scary socialism, Benghazi!!! and the Clinton email nothing- burger (kudos to Bernie Sanders for saying he's tired of the "damn emails" taking attention away from the real issues of importance to Americans).  The reaction of the crowd when there was push back by Clinton and Sanders should, but most certainly won't, chasten the media in their dogged reliance on Republican- sponsored talking points and angles of attack.

The three other candidates polling a combined 3 percent didn't register much of an impression that made a compelling case for their candidacies.

Oh, and Joe Biden didn't show up, breaking hearts at the Republican National Committee and in newsrooms around the nation.