Here's how I rank the Democratic candidates' debate performances from debate 1, night 1:
10) John Delaney: Some commentators thought he did a good job at making the most of his time and getting his name out there. I completely disagree. All night long, Delaney reminded me of a whack-a-mole game. No matter who was called on to answer a question, Delaney popped his head up, made a shrieking sound, and moderators attempted to quash him time and time again. Whenever I heard the guy speak, all I heard was, "Hey, hey! What about me?!? What about me?!? I'm over here! Call on me! Me! Me! Me!"
9) Beto O'Rourke: Okay, so debating is not the Texas Congressman's strong suit and once again, as I had been saying all along, I'm wondering what all the hype's about concerning this guy. He appeared nervous. There were times it looked as though he was unprepared to answer a particular question. He got shown up by Julian Castro during the discussion on immigration. It was a bad night for Beto, and after this subpar performance (to be kind), I'd be incredibly surprised to not see his support numbers continue to spiral.
8) Jay Inslee: The Washington Governor had a couple of good one-liners, but that was really about it. It also didn't look good when he interrupted a woman to brag about his support for women's reproductive rights.
7) Amy Klobuchar: It was an odd night for Ms. Klobuchar. I don't think she did anything to hurt her cause, but can't remember any standout moments either. She needed a breakthrough, and unfortunately for her, I don't think that happened. She was just kind of there, in the middle of the pack, not doing much to help distinguish herself from the other candidates.
6) Cory Booker: A lot of analysts are praising Booker's performance. For starters, I like Cory Booker. I've always liked the guy. How can you not? He's Mr. Positive. The guy is known for saving people from burning buildings. No matter how awful your day might have been, the chances are good Cory Booker will be able to make you think you're about to win the lottery. He just has that aura about him, much like Barack Obama. However, I wasn't as impressed with his performance as some were. Booker had some good moments, but he often times danced around the questions he was asked, and left me wondering just how prepared he was for the debate.
5) Bill de Blasio: The New York Mayor put on probably the most divisive performance of the night. Roughly half of the viewers thought he made some excellent points. The other half viewed him as more obnoxious than John Delaney. I'm probably more in the former camp. The NYC mayor made a progressive push to place his name besides the likes of Warren and Sanders. He interrupted people a lot, but unlike Delaney, he actually had interesting, even personal stories to share when doing so. I still don't think de Blasio has a rat's chance in hell of winning the party's nomination, but I do think he did enough to warrant a second debate showing.
4) Tim Ryan: The Ohio Congressman received much flak for how he ended his debate performance, and while I agree he stumbled in the final 15-20 minutes, he was strong in the first 100+ minutes. Of all ten candidates on stage, he made the strongest push for the Democratic Party to reach out, rebrand, and once again become the party of the working class. Ryan struggled in his foreign policy debate with Ms. Gabbard and stumbled in his answer to the question, "What's the biggest threat facing America?," but when standing back and looking at his entire performance, I actually think he was solid and is deserving of a second showing.
3) Elizabeth Warren: Warren was the only candidate on last night's stage polling at above 5%. She has the most momentum of any Democratic candidate in the race right now. So all she really needed to do was not stop said momentum. Mission accomplished.
2) Tulsi Gabbard: Tulsi Gabbard came in as a relative unknown to a lot of voters. Last night's strong performance was exactly what she needed to help jump-start her campaign. She spoke with strength, authority, calmness, and common sense. Her back-and-forth with Congressman Ryan was arguably her best moment (and his worst). I'd be surprised if she didn't see an uptick in her support numbers following this solid showing.
1) Julian Castro: I've always liked Julian Castro, but it had kind of felt like he'd hit the snooze button on his campaign for the past several weeks. I don't know what in the world got into him last night, but it appeared as though he finally woke up, and in my mind, put on the best showing of the night. While I struggle to see him compete for the party's nomination, if the nominee is a woman, as I see the final ticket consisting of one man and one woman, I think Julian Castro would be an excellent choice as a running mate. Regardless, he definitely did his part to warrant an uptick in support and a shot to again debate in a month.
Who should stay in?
1) Elizabeth Warren
2) Cory Booker
3) Julian Castro
4) Amy Klobuchar
5) Tulsi Gabbard
6) Tim Ryan
7) Bill de Blasio
Who should get out?
1) John Delaney
2) Jay Inslee
3) Beto O'Rourke
10) John Delaney: Some commentators thought he did a good job at making the most of his time and getting his name out there. I completely disagree. All night long, Delaney reminded me of a whack-a-mole game. No matter who was called on to answer a question, Delaney popped his head up, made a shrieking sound, and moderators attempted to quash him time and time again. Whenever I heard the guy speak, all I heard was, "Hey, hey! What about me?!? What about me?!? I'm over here! Call on me! Me! Me! Me!"
9) Beto O'Rourke: Okay, so debating is not the Texas Congressman's strong suit and once again, as I had been saying all along, I'm wondering what all the hype's about concerning this guy. He appeared nervous. There were times it looked as though he was unprepared to answer a particular question. He got shown up by Julian Castro during the discussion on immigration. It was a bad night for Beto, and after this subpar performance (to be kind), I'd be incredibly surprised to not see his support numbers continue to spiral.
8) Jay Inslee: The Washington Governor had a couple of good one-liners, but that was really about it. It also didn't look good when he interrupted a woman to brag about his support for women's reproductive rights.
7) Amy Klobuchar: It was an odd night for Ms. Klobuchar. I don't think she did anything to hurt her cause, but can't remember any standout moments either. She needed a breakthrough, and unfortunately for her, I don't think that happened. She was just kind of there, in the middle of the pack, not doing much to help distinguish herself from the other candidates.
6) Cory Booker: A lot of analysts are praising Booker's performance. For starters, I like Cory Booker. I've always liked the guy. How can you not? He's Mr. Positive. The guy is known for saving people from burning buildings. No matter how awful your day might have been, the chances are good Cory Booker will be able to make you think you're about to win the lottery. He just has that aura about him, much like Barack Obama. However, I wasn't as impressed with his performance as some were. Booker had some good moments, but he often times danced around the questions he was asked, and left me wondering just how prepared he was for the debate.
5) Bill de Blasio: The New York Mayor put on probably the most divisive performance of the night. Roughly half of the viewers thought he made some excellent points. The other half viewed him as more obnoxious than John Delaney. I'm probably more in the former camp. The NYC mayor made a progressive push to place his name besides the likes of Warren and Sanders. He interrupted people a lot, but unlike Delaney, he actually had interesting, even personal stories to share when doing so. I still don't think de Blasio has a rat's chance in hell of winning the party's nomination, but I do think he did enough to warrant a second debate showing.
4) Tim Ryan: The Ohio Congressman received much flak for how he ended his debate performance, and while I agree he stumbled in the final 15-20 minutes, he was strong in the first 100+ minutes. Of all ten candidates on stage, he made the strongest push for the Democratic Party to reach out, rebrand, and once again become the party of the working class. Ryan struggled in his foreign policy debate with Ms. Gabbard and stumbled in his answer to the question, "What's the biggest threat facing America?," but when standing back and looking at his entire performance, I actually think he was solid and is deserving of a second showing.
3) Elizabeth Warren: Warren was the only candidate on last night's stage polling at above 5%. She has the most momentum of any Democratic candidate in the race right now. So all she really needed to do was not stop said momentum. Mission accomplished.
2) Tulsi Gabbard: Tulsi Gabbard came in as a relative unknown to a lot of voters. Last night's strong performance was exactly what she needed to help jump-start her campaign. She spoke with strength, authority, calmness, and common sense. Her back-and-forth with Congressman Ryan was arguably her best moment (and his worst). I'd be surprised if she didn't see an uptick in her support numbers following this solid showing.
1) Julian Castro: I've always liked Julian Castro, but it had kind of felt like he'd hit the snooze button on his campaign for the past several weeks. I don't know what in the world got into him last night, but it appeared as though he finally woke up, and in my mind, put on the best showing of the night. While I struggle to see him compete for the party's nomination, if the nominee is a woman, as I see the final ticket consisting of one man and one woman, I think Julian Castro would be an excellent choice as a running mate. Regardless, he definitely did his part to warrant an uptick in support and a shot to again debate in a month.
Who should stay in?
1) Elizabeth Warren
2) Cory Booker
3) Julian Castro
4) Amy Klobuchar
5) Tulsi Gabbard
6) Tim Ryan
7) Bill de Blasio
Who should get out?
1) John Delaney
2) Jay Inslee
3) Beto O'Rourke
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