Who Really Lost the Debate?

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

16 October 15

he three debate losers of Tuesday’s first Democratic debate were Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee. The problem for them is there was no game-changing moment, and they were all desperate for there to be one. Martin O’Malley performed well in the debate and may get a bump, but his support will probably come out of the guy who was not there, Joe Biden. Biden was also a loser on Tuesday night – if he wants to get in the race, nothing happened to provide him an opening.

So who won? I think a case can be made for both Hillary and Bernie. I also think the first debate will have little effect on the race at the top. Perhaps Hillary Clinton will stop her bleed and get some of that Biden vote back. So you think that means she won? Well, the problem for her is that nothing happened Tuesday night that will slow down Bernie Sanders.

So we head out of the first debate without much having changed. I may be wrong and maybe the spinners were right. I’m not just talking about the campaigns’ surrogates either. I watched some of CNN and MSNBC’s post debate analysis and while there was occasionally a Bernie surrogate, more often than not the panels were full of Clinton supporters telling us how she took the night.

No doubt the line of the night was when Bernie gifted Hillary and said we are tired of hearing about her “damned emails.” That’s Bernie – he says what he thinks even if it is not politically smart. While the statement will help Clinton, in the long run it may help Sanders too. I think he gained a lot of respect from people on the fence.

Bernie’s top adviser, Tad Devine, told RSN before the debate that Bernie would not be in attack mode and would be focusing on introducing himself to the American people. Devine said that while he would debate their differences on the issues, it just isn’t Bernie’s style to go negative. Devine expected that the Clinton policy changes on trade and the Keystone XL pipeline would be issues discussed, and they were.

One of the spinners in the spin room was former MSNBC host Ed Schultz, who was there to represent Bernie Sanders. Schultz was impressed that, despite several openings, Sanders took the high road. There were plenty of openings that Bernie could have used to tear Clinton apart, but he instead he stayed above the fray and focused on his agenda. Schultz thought Bernie was the clear winner and did the best job of presenting his vision for America. Schultz also pointed out that Bernie’s priorities are America’s priorities.

Moving Day

All five candidates are scheduled to participate at a dinner in Iowa next week. It would not surprise me if Lincoln Chaffee and/or Jim Webb suspended their campaigns before that date. I think O’Malley held his own and looked like he belonged on the stage, so he will be around for a while. I just don’t think that Webb or Chafee looked like they were ready for prime time. It’s time for them both to stop wasting money and spend some time at home with their families. Maybe Webb will make a good Secretary of Defense some day and I’m sure Chafee would be a great ambassador to somewhere, but they are wasting everyone’s time with their campaigns. Neither has demonstrated that they can win in four years or further down the road.

Two Winners?

Nobody did any damage to Hillary or Sanders, and for front-runners that’s a win. When looking through their well-trained eyes, the pundits thought Hillary won. The focus groups and the polls say Bernie won. Both are important. I think that Bernie’s win will mean more in the long run, while Hillary will benefit short-term from the “experts” saying she won. Obama’s campaign manager called it deja vu: “Clinton had a great night, but Sanders winning the focus group and online polls, but losing the pundits, is reminiscent of Obama in 07-08.”

One again we have a case of the pundits filtering their view with expectations based on past measurements of what works and what doesn’t. The voters this time around are not looking for the “perfect presidential candidate.” If they were, Bernie and Trump would be at 1% in the polls and O’Malley would be the one challenging Clinton at the top. Americans are not looking for the perfect package. They want someone to go in and shake things up. That’s why Bernie won the debate, and his momentum will continue to lead him forward.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

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