The Third Democratic Presidential Debate In Houston: First Impressions

Early impressions are as follows:

Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, and Elizabeth Warren come across as the best.

Expect that Castro, Buttigieg, Booker, and O’Rourke will rise in polls, and Warren will continue to gain on Joe Biden.

Biden is not doing as well as one would expect, and neither is Bernie Sanders.

Kamala Harris has likely not gained by this debate, and the same for Andrew Yang.

Amy Klobuchar might gain, but is not shining as much as this blogger thought she would.

Overall, the ABC debate is much better than the two earlier debates sponsored by MSNBC and CNN.

The candidates are avoiding attacking each other, and clearly, any one of the group would be far better than Donald Trump!

13 comments on “The Third Democratic Presidential Debate In Houston: First Impressions

  1. D September 13, 2019 6:01 am

    I was not available to watch this third 2020 Democratic presidential debate. So, I cannot assess the candidates’ performances.

    Right now, I am sensing the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination will go to either Massachusetts’s Elizabeth Warren or Vermont’s Bernie Sanders.

    Ronald wrote blog topics, within the last few months, about the primaries.

    One fact I added is that all 50 states (plus District of Columbia)—like we see in general elections—have been participating in the two major political parties’ presidential primaries since 1976 (Democratic) and 1980 (Republican).

    I noted that every eventual major-party nominee, in this system, carried his or her home state.

    I also noted that, if you want your preferred political party to win in the general election, it is for the better that the party’s eventual nominee not win both the first two contests. Those candidates who were seeking a first term who did win both were 2000 Democratic nominee Al Gore (all 50 states) and 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry (46 states). They both lost in the general elections.

    If I turn out to be correct, that the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination goes to either Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, I would anticipate the first two contests—Iowa and New Hampshire—will carry differently. I would anticipate each candidate will carry his or her home state. And then any contests—perhaps numbering less than ten—which will not be won by Warren or Sanders will go to those who finish in, say, third or fourth or fifth place.

  2. Princess Leia September 13, 2019 4:43 pm

    I thought that Castro’s personal attack on Biden was rather ugly and I think it may hurt him in polling.

    During MSNBC post-debate discussion, Steve Kornacki showed polling in Iowa and New Hampshire. In Iowa, Biden and Bernie are very close. In New Hampshire, Elizabeth Warren leads.

    Steve Kornacki also showed who supports Biden and who supports Elizabeth Warren.
    Whites overall – just about even.
    College educated whites – Warren polls better.
    Blue collar whites – Biden polls better.
    Blacks – Biden polls better.
    Under 45 – just about even.
    Over 45 – Biden polls better.

  3. Former Republican September 13, 2019 6:42 pm

    Agreed, Leia. The ageist nature of Castro’s statement blew up on him and was a huge mistake even though his underlying claim about what Biden said was true.

  4. Rational Lefty September 13, 2019 6:50 pm

    It’s really weird to me how these Moderators don’t spend more than 5 minutes on Foreign Affairs. It seems very important to know how these candidates will deal with issues like NATO, Brexit, North Korea, Iran, Israel, etc.

    The domestic policy stuff is more interesting for TV of course but the reality is, whomever wins won’t be able to keep most of their promises unless Dems somehow win control of the Senate in 2020.

    With foreign affairs, Presidents have far more autonomy to make decisions without consulting Congress. So it seems like it should be given more time than it has been given in the three debates so far.

  5. Former Republican September 13, 2019 6:51 pm

    I agree. And with Trump destroying long-standing alliances, cozying up to dictators, inviting the Taliban to Camp David, and etc., and with everything else going on in the world, it’s not as if it would be hard to come up with timely and important questions about foreign policy.

  6. Pragmatic Progressive September 13, 2019 6:55 pm

    It’s really weird to me how these moderators spend even less time than that asking about election security, the purging of voter rolls, extreme gerrymandering, the closing of polling stations, and voting rights.

  7. Princess Leia September 13, 2019 6:57 pm

    When you get down to it there are dozens of issues that are left on the floor in a debate like this. Hopefully something missed today gets asked next time.

  8. Pragmatic Progressive September 13, 2019 7:14 pm

    I thought that Yang’s handing out money to people seemed a “cheap” publicity stunt.

  9. Rustbelt Democrat September 13, 2019 8:00 pm

    The crazier Dump gets the more they love him. What is really disturbing is that 38% approve of his job performance. 8% would still be disturbing.

  10. Former Republican September 13, 2019 8:09 pm

    The Republican party died in 2016. It’s a cult now.

  11. Princess Leia September 13, 2019 8:11 pm

    The Republican party died when the Tea Party loonies took over.

  12. Rustbelt Democrat September 13, 2019 8:18 pm

    The Maggot party is what they are now.

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