Debate Musings: Winners and Losers

Big winner: America. You clearly learned that you have a functioning, NOT INSANE party that is working for you.

Winners: Hillary and Bernie.

I have to give the edge to Hillary. Bernie did great and did nothing to stop his momentum, but Clinton actually managed to REVERSE her momentum. If she came across stale, unprepped or entitled, Bernie could have built on his mojo to, dare I say, frontrunner status. Yet, now we have an energized frontrunner in Clinton who will, as we are already seeing, be getting a bounce from her performance. Nonetheless, Bernie proved to everyone watching that he wasn't the "crazy old man" the media has tried hard to paint him as. He was intelligent, frisky, and magnanimous. Both did well enough that there is honest debate as to which one "won" the debate. I am just happy and proud we have two good candidates that are clearly ready to be PRESIDENT> Well played, you guys.

No change: O' Malley. There was a time he was supposed to be the "anti-Hillary" before anyone thought of Bernie. Yet his uninspiring campaign continues with an uninspiring performance at the debate. He had a few good applause lines, and he was smart to contrast the tone of the GOP and Democratic debate. However, he was a longshot candidate going in and this debate did absolutely nothing to change that. At this point, I don't even think he'll be considered for veep.

Loser: Joe Biden. Sorry Joe, I love ya, but it's over. It appears we have what we need in our two frontrunners. Your services are no longer required.

Big Losers: Webb and Chafee. They needed to hit it out the park, and instead practically threw the game for the other side. Webb showed he is a horrible republican and an even worse democrat. His whining became an internet meme, and his awkward joke may go down as a low point in primary debate history. Frankly, he was just plain unlikable. On the other hand, Chafee was just one unprepared goofball. You know it was bad when he had to do damage control on CNN, and even Wolf Blitzer had to ask what the heck he was doing. At least O'Malley won't tarnish his legacy when he inevitably drops out, but these two worked hard seemingly to make themselves look worse. Good riddance to both of them.

Biggest loser: GOP. While one debate featured assaults on women (both figurative and personal), utter hatred for foreigners and immigrants, and discussions on how ugly several people's faces are; this one had real questions about foreign and domestic policy as well as a vigorous, substantive exchange of ideas concerning actual issues facing everyday Americans. In OUR debate, we could point to our frontrunner candidates as people we want to show off instead of being embarrassed by. OUR candidates were intellectual, inspiring, and mature. All of this reminds America to take heart--we really do have grown-ups ready to lead.