10 candidates, 60 second answers and reluctance to engage one-on-one, the first Democratic debate was underwhelming. But there were a few standout performers.
With 10 candidates onstage, the democratic debate was a confusing affair for the audience.
With the large playing field, was tough to identify with the contenders at an individual level or get a sense of their actual beliefs and suitability.
Without any clear dialectics and engagements, and a rushed affair marred by technical difficulties, these democrats were the standouts and emerge clear winners from a staggered and unstructured debate.
Standout Performers
Julián Castro
Arguably the biggest winner of the debate was the former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Castro has been an outsider till now, flying under the radar in popularity ratings. But his indulging performance where he was able to assert claim to more talking time on stage than candidates with a much higher chance, gives him the biggest boost from the event.
Julian Castro’s indulging performance where he was able to assert claim to more talking time on stage than candidates will boost his ratings.
Castro spoke as much as Elizabeth Warren, who is much higher in the pecking order in the top 3 candidates presently. The biggest positive for Castro was his destruction of Beto O’Rourke for his stand on immigration.
Elizabeth Warren
One of the top three contenders in popularity ratings, Warren was asked more questions than anyone other candidate on stage. Warren was the focal point during the early phase of the debate – when it had the biggest audience watching. Warren shined basking in her most vocal stand on economic inequality.
Warren shined during the debate, basking in her most vocal stand on economic inequality.
The biggest positive for the Senator came when she raised her hand, along with Bill de Blasio, on the question if the candidates supported abolishing private insurance. Her fearless and unfazed stand will resonate with the liberals, and make her position on economic equality all the more concrete. The performance has further solidified her position as one of the top candidates for the democrat ticket.
Cory Booker
Booker had a great debate where he might not be the biggest gainer, but the New Jersey senator has surely helped his cause with an active participation. He made himself a part of most of the conversations and even indulged in topics where questions were not aimed at him.
Cory Booker won the contest in the minutes of talking in all the ten candidates on stage. This will definitely help his star rise from the perimeter position he has in the race to democrat nomination.
Cory Booker won the contest in the minutes of talking among all the ten candidates on stage.
Not so much
Beto O’Rourke
O’Rourke was unquestionably the biggest loser on the day. He appeared short of knowledge on policy questions and most of his talking looked rehearsed and practiced. His worst moment of sorts is answering the first question in Spanish.
Beto O’Rourke appeared short of knowledge on policy questions and most of his talking looked rehearsed and practiced.
Talking in Spanish might have seemed a good idea during preparation but it fell flat in the moment, and had an effect opposite to the spontaneity audience expects from such debates.
Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar was expected to be a firebrand speaker in yesterday’s debate, just like she had come to the fore during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. But somehow Klobuchar was unable to rise to the occasion.
She tried to make some recollect and gather moment with catchy phrases like “Uncle Dick in the deer blind,” and “All foam, no beer”, but they did not serve the intended purpose.
Bill de Blasio
Apart from being the only other person except Elizabeth Warren to stand up for the abolishing of private insurance, the New York mayor was the worst performing candidate on the day.
He chose to make himself heard more by rude interruptions of other candidates’ answers all through the evening.
Bill de Blasio chose to make himself heard more by rude interruptions of other candidates’ answers all through the evening.
Biggest winner: Socialism
The ten candidates on stage were unanimous in agreeing and acknowledging that there needs to be a change in the dynamics of American capitalism, which they admitted, as the economic system, has mostly helped the rich.
There have been calls from liberals and many democratic candidates like Warren and Sanders to re-structure capitalism and lessen the economic divide.
