- Would someone please slap Julian Castro for me?
- No debate should last more than two hours.
- This version of Beto was far more compelling, but it’s too late for him.
- Klobuchar and Mayor Pete are sensible and articulate, but they don’t stand out.
- Booker had an excellent night. To me, he is the most plausible of the Biden replacement group. I don’t think he made up much ground, however.
- Sanders did his usual thing, but he looked and sounded old and tired.
- Warren didn’t impress me. She once again conspicuously avoided the question about raising middle class taxes for Medicare-for-All, when even Bernie admits it is necessary. She used the same kind of simplistic rhetoric about the rigged system and the evils of big (fill in the blank) that Bernie always does. I didn’t hear any reason to prefer her to the real deal.
- Biden had easily his best night. Sure, he rambled at times, but he will have reassured his donors. He made the realo case quite well, particularly on the question about what happens to wages under Medicare-for-All, which needs to be discussed at some length.
On the whole, I don’t think you will see any dramatic changes in the polls, which is effectively a win for the three front-runners.