Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:54 pm
Here are the winners and losers from the PBS Newshour Democratic debate.
Winners and Losers:
Winners:
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1).Bernie Sanders – Sen. Sanders is taking his message national. He is still in the getting to know him phase of introducing himself to voters. The debate was really two different discussions. The first half of the debate was Sanders’ strongest. When the discussion turned to foreign policy, Sanders was weaker, but there are not many people walking around who could be stronger on foreign policy than Hillary Clinton. Sanders hit Clinton for not be on board with a plan to raise the Social Security income cap on the top one and a half percent of earners.
Sen. Sanders had a really strong debate. After six debates, it’s clear that Sanders isn’t going to make a mistake in these debates that will cost him with voters.
2). Hillary Clinton- Clinton ditched the negativity that she tried before Iowa and New Hampshire. Her more issue-focused approach made for a better debate. As expected former Sec. Clinton excelled during the foreign policy debate.
Her tactic of getting specific with Sen. Sanders and pressing him on how his programs will be paid for painted the contrast that she wanted. Time after time, Sen. Sanders avoided specifics. Bernie Sanders is selling a vision. Hillary Clinton is selling specifics and experience. Which candidate a voter supports depends on their preferences, but neither Democrat was a loser on this night.
3). PBS- PBS showed the other networks how a debate is supposed to be done. Moderators Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill let the candidates be the stars of the show. The focus was on the issues. The candidates were allowed to talk in depth. The PBS debate was the best debate of the entire election cycle.
There were no attempts to manufacture conflict between Clinton and Sanders. There were no mandated partisan panelists as the RNC as forced the networks to do for the Republican debates. There were no social media gimmicks. The PBS debate was about two great journalists allowing two great candidates to debate the important issues.
4). Democratic Voters – Democratic voters had to feel good while watching this debate. Both Clinton and Sanders sounded extremely knowledgeable, and while supporters of each candidate try to make it sound like the end of the world if their candidate loses, the reality is that Democrats have two good candidates. Sanders and Clinton made a discussion of the issues entertaining.
Democrats don’t need a reality television star spewing insults and profanity to get people interested. The Democratic Party will rally behind their nominee. There will be none of the division that is destroying the Republican Party. Democrats look united, strong, and ready to win.
Losers:
1).Republicans – It was a bad night for Republicans. Their candidates look childish and unprepared after the show that Clinton and Sanders put on. If the question before voters in November is who do you trust to run the country, Democrats will win hands down. There is clearly only one adult political party that has their act together, and it isn’t the gang being led by Donald Trump.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
