Bernie Sanders Set the Tone in the South Carolina Democratic Debate (The Nation)

[Babel_17]

http://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-set-the-tone-in-the-south-carolina-democratic-debate/

Even boxing matches aren’t only scored on the basis of punches landed. There is also the question of who controlled the ring, and here Sanders was the obvious winner. Unlike all three of their previous encounters, tonight it was Sanders who set the tone, dominated the discussion, and whose campaign themes—healthcare and the economy—were the focus of the moderators’ questions.

Hillary remains a formidable candidate—and the odds-on favorite here in South Carolina. And she handled an excruciatingly awkward question about her husband’s infidelity with winning dignity—aided yet again by Sanders’s refusal to play the mainstream media game.

But there were moments—like the exchange between a visionary O’Malley and a presidential-sounding Sanders on climate change—where it was possible to forget Clinton was even on stage. For a candidate whose appeal is so tied to her inevitability, that can’t be encouraging.

[libdem4life]

1. It was a good view into the candidate's positions But I came away with my own terms for each:

O'Malley...Visionary (like in the article...it fit) Sanders...Committed Clinton...Polished Plastic

She can not win the GE, I'm convinced. She's become more stilted and "polished". I don't think that's what people are looking for this time around. They didn't buy her racism last time, and I doubt we are going to buy her perfect political vocabulary show this time. She's pulled too many hokey stunts starting with the Rosa Parks thing. She's reeking of desperation even as the MSM still has her ahead, for the most part. I think her internal polling is saying more what the non-traditional pools are saying.

In any case...on to the first test in Iowa.