Almost exactly a month ago, following the second set of Republican primary debates, I updated my rankings of those 15 candidates (http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2015/09/my-updated-gop-candidate-rankings-were.html), so I felt it was only fair to do the same for the Democratic candidates following their first debate. Luckily for me, I'll only have to rank 5 candidates instead of 15. Starting at the bottom:
5) Jim Webb: While I greatly respect and admire this man's military service, not to mention his willingness to work with the other side of the aisle and form compromises, he was still almost unbearable to watch last night. Sitting at such a low percentage amongst Democratic candidates and wanting to make a strong and favorable impression to boost said approval ratings, I can understand why he wanted more airtime to talk last night. However, in making this blatantly obvious on a number of occasions, he came across as the potential Whiner-in-Chief. No, it wasn't a good look nor sound...
4) Lincoln Chafee: Once again, like Senator Webb, I respect Chafee's willingness to work across the aisle, compromise with the other side, in order to get things done while president. However, the guy just didn't come across as very consistent nor very certain on where he stood on certain issues and what he wanted to do regarding them. It'd come as quite a surprise to me to see either Webb or Chafee stick around for the next debate.
3) Martin O'Malley: I came away pleasantly surprised by O'Malley last night. While he came across as a bit nervous at times, he also came across as quite genuine, and provided the best of the candidates' closing statements. I'd still be surprised to see him strongly compete against Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Joe Biden if he decides to run, but will be curious to see if he gets a slight boost from his performance in the polls and if the eventual Democratic nominee thinks about choosing him as a running mate.
2) Hillary Clinton: Out of all five debates I've seen to this point in primary season, Hillary Clinton came across as the most polished and presidential of all the candidates. I didn't agree with everything she said, but while I started strongly favoring Bernie Sanders over her to be the Democratic nominee, she closed the gap last night with a very strong performance. The big question now is, "What does the general public think about her performance, and was she able to successfully alter the media's seemingly never-ending negative narrative regarding her?" If she was even slightly successful on both fronts, it's quite possible die-hard Bernie Sanders' supporters and moderates/Independents will start jumping on-board the Hillary train yet again.
1) Bernie Sanders: While I think Clinton came across as more polished and presidential last night, I think Sanders did fairly well, especially for it being his first nationally-televised debate. I still favor Sanders ever so slightly over Clinton, but will be curious to see what the general public thinks post-debate. The big question for most progressives and liberals (and some moderates) is, "Realistically, is either of these two candidates unelectable?" With Sanders letting it be known loud and clear he's a Democratic socialist, that makes me especially curious. Oh, a side note: Even though I feel Hillary Clinton won the debate last night, I have to give Bernie Sanders major kudos for sticking up for Secretary of State Clinton and basically telling Anderson Cooper, "STFU about those stupid emails! The people are sick of hearing about them!" You don't see that very often from an opponent. Kudos, sir!
***I will not rank Joe Biden until he's officially announced he's running; sorry, CNN...
5) Jim Webb: While I greatly respect and admire this man's military service, not to mention his willingness to work with the other side of the aisle and form compromises, he was still almost unbearable to watch last night. Sitting at such a low percentage amongst Democratic candidates and wanting to make a strong and favorable impression to boost said approval ratings, I can understand why he wanted more airtime to talk last night. However, in making this blatantly obvious on a number of occasions, he came across as the potential Whiner-in-Chief. No, it wasn't a good look nor sound...
4) Lincoln Chafee: Once again, like Senator Webb, I respect Chafee's willingness to work across the aisle, compromise with the other side, in order to get things done while president. However, the guy just didn't come across as very consistent nor very certain on where he stood on certain issues and what he wanted to do regarding them. It'd come as quite a surprise to me to see either Webb or Chafee stick around for the next debate.
3) Martin O'Malley: I came away pleasantly surprised by O'Malley last night. While he came across as a bit nervous at times, he also came across as quite genuine, and provided the best of the candidates' closing statements. I'd still be surprised to see him strongly compete against Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Joe Biden if he decides to run, but will be curious to see if he gets a slight boost from his performance in the polls and if the eventual Democratic nominee thinks about choosing him as a running mate.
2) Hillary Clinton: Out of all five debates I've seen to this point in primary season, Hillary Clinton came across as the most polished and presidential of all the candidates. I didn't agree with everything she said, but while I started strongly favoring Bernie Sanders over her to be the Democratic nominee, she closed the gap last night with a very strong performance. The big question now is, "What does the general public think about her performance, and was she able to successfully alter the media's seemingly never-ending negative narrative regarding her?" If she was even slightly successful on both fronts, it's quite possible die-hard Bernie Sanders' supporters and moderates/Independents will start jumping on-board the Hillary train yet again.
1) Bernie Sanders: While I think Clinton came across as more polished and presidential last night, I think Sanders did fairly well, especially for it being his first nationally-televised debate. I still favor Sanders ever so slightly over Clinton, but will be curious to see what the general public thinks post-debate. The big question for most progressives and liberals (and some moderates) is, "Realistically, is either of these two candidates unelectable?" With Sanders letting it be known loud and clear he's a Democratic socialist, that makes me especially curious. Oh, a side note: Even though I feel Hillary Clinton won the debate last night, I have to give Bernie Sanders major kudos for sticking up for Secretary of State Clinton and basically telling Anderson Cooper, "STFU about those stupid emails! The people are sick of hearing about them!" You don't see that very often from an opponent. Kudos, sir!
***I will not rank Joe Biden until he's officially announced he's running; sorry, CNN...
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