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1 winner and 3 losers from the Democratic debate
Vox:Winner: Hillary Clinton
To some degree, Clinton wins by not losing. She's twenty-four points ahead in Iowa. Sanders has pulled ahead in New Hampshire, but he's from a neighboring state; he's likely to lose ground after a major Clinton victory in Iowa, just as Clinton herself won New Hampshire in 2008 by a smaller margin than she was polling at before President Obama won the Iowa caucuses. Barring major momentum to Sanders, or a major blow to her that causes her base to collapse, she's set to win.
...snip...
Loser: Bernie Sanders
To be somewhat tautological about it, Sanders lost by not winning. The one, narrow path he has to the nomination comes through a surprise win or close loss in Iowa, followed by a big win in New Hampshire — trusting that the momentum from winning early will carry him, much as it did for John Kerry in 2004. Given that Sanders is losing Iowa quite badly at the moment, and he has less than three months to go before the caucuses, he needed something big to happen to get his Iowa numbers rising again.
...snip...
Loser: Martin O'Malley
Martin O'Malley was in a difficult position going into tonight's debate. He's polling a distant third behind Sanders and Clinton, which means that the debate stage is the only time the Democratic primary is treated as a three-person race rather than a two-person one. On the other hand, he is, frankly, not a very good debater — especially on issues where he's not clearly distinguished from both Sanders and Clinton, which is most of them.
...snip...
Loser: The Viewers
Fundamentally, the debate was boring because the stakes were low. Hillary Clinton has enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout the campaign. If she doesn't make any big mistakes, she's going to be the Democratic nominee. So Clinton carefully avoided saying anything controversial. That was good for her presidential prospects but no fun for the viewing public.
To some degree, Clinton wins by not losing. She's twenty-four points ahead in Iowa. Sanders has pulled ahead in New Hampshire, but he's from a neighboring state; he's likely to lose ground after a major Clinton victory in Iowa, just as Clinton herself won New Hampshire in 2008 by a smaller margin than she was polling at before President Obama won the Iowa caucuses. Barring major momentum to Sanders, or a major blow to her that causes her base to collapse, she's set to win.
...snip...
Loser: Bernie Sanders
To be somewhat tautological about it, Sanders lost by not winning. The one, narrow path he has to the nomination comes through a surprise win or close loss in Iowa, followed by a big win in New Hampshire — trusting that the momentum from winning early will carry him, much as it did for John Kerry in 2004. Given that Sanders is losing Iowa quite badly at the moment, and he has less than three months to go before the caucuses, he needed something big to happen to get his Iowa numbers rising again.
...snip...
Loser: Martin O'Malley
Martin O'Malley was in a difficult position going into tonight's debate. He's polling a distant third behind Sanders and Clinton, which means that the debate stage is the only time the Democratic primary is treated as a three-person race rather than a two-person one. On the other hand, he is, frankly, not a very good debater — especially on issues where he's not clearly distinguished from both Sanders and Clinton, which is most of them.
...snip...
Loser: The Viewers
Fundamentally, the debate was boring because the stakes were low. Hillary Clinton has enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout the campaign. If she doesn't make any big mistakes, she's going to be the Democratic nominee. So Clinton carefully avoided saying anything controversial. That was good for her presidential prospects but no fun for the viewing public.
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