Marianne Williamson summed up the first debate night well when she called out all the corporate Democrats.
"I almost wonder why you're Democrats," she mused. "You think there's something wrong about using the instruments of government to help people."
"That is what government should do! It should --- all policies should help people thrive. That is how we'll have peace and prosperity," she concluded.
Well, a-damn-men, Marianne. Throughout the night, several candidates (Hickenlooper, Bullock, DELANEY, Ryan) proved they didn't have much in the way of policy, but they were super great at telling everyone watching what couldn't be done. John Delaney was the expert at that, leaving Elizabeth Warren to finally smack him down with an exasperated lament about his 'Can't do' attitude.
The other issue was the moderators, especially Jake Tapper, who insisted on using Republican frames and talking points for the debate questions. That, too, generated complaints from Warren and Sanders. Bernie in particular went after Tapper for continually framing questions in GOP terms.
Pete Buttigieg had some good moments during the debate, and certainly earned the right to come back in September.
In the end, the top three for me were Elizabeth Warren (winner), Pete Buttigieg (solid performance) and Bernie Sanders, who did not stumble.
John Delaney got lots of screen time because the horrible CNN moderators used him to bait Warren and Sanders. Amy Klobuchar seemed to have problems saying anything solid about racism, and spent most of her time bragging that she won Trump districts. No.
Beto O'Rourke didn't step on his neck and he didn't tangle with anyone either. Neutral, I suppose.
In the end, these folks need to step down now and allow the field to consolidate: Tim Ryan, John Hickenlooper (run for Senate!), John Delaney, Steve Bullock (run for Senate too!), Marianne Williamson and Amy Klobuchar.
Elizabeth Warren, Bernie, Beto O'Rourke and Pete Buttigieg are the ones who should return.
By the way, the corporations are already running anti-Medicare for All ads on the post-debate show. It's going to get ugly out there.
