The Outcomes of the Democratic Debate

Last Tuesday marked the first Democratic debate. Unlike the past two Republican debates, this one included thoughtful discussion surrounding policy rather than cheap personal attacks and desperate antics for attention. The questions were heavy-hitting from the start, with Hillary Clinton questioned over her history of “flip-flopping” on issues, asking if she just said and says what is necessary to be elected, and Bernie Sanders questioned on his electability. Clinton didn’t respond satisfyingly to the more damaging questions, but she got the upper hand on Sanders—her main rival—and looked polished and presidential, coming out on top at the end of the debate. Sanders, on the other hand, had some good moments and was quite likeable, but was overshadowed by Clinton. The other three candidates only stuck out for the wrong reasons.

Clinton’s victory in this debate was not an easy one. When asked about her history of votes that was phrased to include evidence of that sort of behaviour, rather than addressing the question she simply ignored her changes in opinion regarding same sex marriage, the TPP and the Keystone pipeline. She answered that question and many of the others, however, in a confident, poised manner. Next to the other candidates she looked calm, certainly more “presidential” than the rumpled Sanders. Claims that Clinton was bought out by Wall Street were substantiated in her response to a question on how to regulate banks, during which she said that she would not break up big banks like Sanders intends to, but instead charge them more and monitor them. This answer made her look weak on wall street and the wealthy and backed-up those who claim that Clinton was controlled by big finance, especially next to Sanders who is calling for an economic revolution. Nevertheless, that point proved inconsequential at the end of the day.

Clinton’s greatest advantage lies in her experience as a debater and in her tenure as Secretary of State, both of which showed during this debate. Clinton’s largest objective in this debate was to come off as likeable and trustworthy. Throughout the night she was friendly and making jokes while still hitting hard against her adversaries and answering questions confidently and intelligently, accomplishing both. She slammed her biggest rival, Sanders, on gun control and hit him back in a friendly way when he said that the United States could learn from the Scandivavian countires. Many of her strongest moments from the night such as her “I’m a progressive, but a progressive who gets things done” line came in response to attacks. Regarding her everlasting email controversy, Sanders helped her greatly when he shut down the question, but she held her own ground when Chaffee attempted to revive that line of attack.

Out of the other four candidates, the only one who gained anything was Sanders. While he was unpolished and seemed unpracticed, that is part of his rugged appeal. He struck hard against Wall Street and defended his attacks on capitalism and his self-identification as a Democratic Socialist. While he may not have had the strongest performance of the night, he certainly did a good job. O’Malley, on the other hand, did nothing particularly memorable and was overshadowed, as always, by the other candidates. Webb appeared belligerent as he was constantly complaining about his lack of speaking time. He had some notable moments, such as when he asserted that he had killed a man in the Vietnam War, but none that made him likeable or recognizable to the American public. Chaffee had the biggest gaffe of the night in response to a question about his voting to repeal the Glass-Steagall act, defending his vote by saying his father had just died and that he didn’t know for what he was voting.

While both Sanders and Clinton came out on top in this debate, Clinton was the ultimate winner of this showdown. She emerged relatively unscathed, and came off as confident and likeable. She shook-off many of the demons that had been haunting her campaign, such as her email scandal, her reliance on banks to finance her campaign, her shaky voting her record and her low favorability ratings. Her experience as a debater and in foreign policy shone throughout the night. The long term effects of this debate remain to be seen, but Clinton has shown that she can fight off any adversaries while remaining dignified with her head held high.