MSNBC hosted a one-on-one Democratic presidential debate last night that I doubt many people watched. It was added to the debate schedule at the last minute, no thanks to Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
With Martin O’Malley having withdrawn from the race only a few days before, we finally got the match-up we had hoped for: Clinton v. Sanders … mano-a-mano … may the best man (woman) win.
The DNC originally refused to sanction the debate but later relented when both candidates agreed to attend the debate moderated by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd. The debate was held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire.
If you did watch the debate, you were treated to what a presidential debate should look like. Substantive issues were discussed without any acrimony or name-calling. The evening was more like Masterpiece Theater than the Jerry Springer show offered by Republicans.
The question after any debate is always “Who won?” In last night’s debate both candidates won. They each showed a deep understanding of the issues and communicated their answers effectively. Some pundits thought Clinton needed a knock-out punch because of her poor poll numbers heading into the New Hampshire primary this coming Tuesday, February 9. Time will tell.
Each candidate got rousing rounds of applause during the debate but the loudest came towards the end of the evening when Bernie said of himself, and Hillary, “On our worst days, I think it is fair to say we are 100 times better than any Republican candidate.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Democrats are blessed with two candidates who are both presidential material. Some progressives have stated they will only vote if Bernie gets the nomination. I say to those ardent Sanders supporters, listen to Bernie. If you’re a Democrat, the bottom line needs to be this: vote for your party’s nominee whoever that may be.
For those who are going through Republican-reality-show-withdrawal, their next debate is this Saturday, February, 6, at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire.
Jerry Springer is more fun to watch!
For some.
According to metered market Nielsen data, MSNBC ‘s Democratic debate last night clocked about 4.5 million viewers, which would be the smallest debate of the political election cycle to date.