The First Debates

The first debates are over, and while I didn't see them. I picked up on what happened.  Highlights:

• Joe Biden should have explained his stand on busing and his dealings with Southern segregationists in the Senate better before he got into the debate, because, as Kamala Harris proved by going after his comments, he couldn't explain them during the debate.  He didn't even foresee that Harris was going to be an attack so because she's already been in that tole as a prosecutor and as a senator and was ready to have her way with him.  Never mind the racial difference, or even the gender difference, between them - the generational difference made Biden look like the know-it-all patriarch who couldn't accept a young'un as an equal.  Fortunately, that wouldn't be an issue if he is the Democratic nominee and opposes Donald Trump.  But if he can't withstand the withering attacks of a fellow Democrat, how is he going to withstand such attacks from Republicans?   
• Elizabeth Warren is a knowledgeable matriarch.  She was the best-prepared candidate among the top tier who had detailed plans of what to do and how to pay for it all.  Bernie Sanders is losing ground against her in the polls.  Once again, his ego is bruised after losing out to a woman.  At least they weren't on the same stage at the same time.
• Marianne Williamson loves you.  Republicans love her too.  Her performance was so comical, Republicans are giving money to her campaign to keep her in the debates going forward.
• Using Spanish on stage when your first language is English is only permissible if you are a dance-pop singer.  Beto O'Rourke and Cory Booker found that out too late. So did Julián Castro, who apparently didn't get a pass for being Mexican-American.
• As for Beto, it's easy to see why Martin O'Malley hasn't posted anything on Twitter about his candidate in over two weeks.  Besides, he has a new book to promote.
• Apart from Warren, did I like any of the candidates' debate highlights that I picked up on?  Well, I liked Michael Bennet's command of the issues and his ability to criticize Biden for putting too much faith in bipartisanship without making him feel small. Tim Ryan was impressive in pushing his manufacturing agenda, something he's bound to do in the more appropriate Detroit setting for the next debate round.  But guys like Bennet and Ryan had trouble making themselves heard among the emotional, heated discussions about race and immigration, and issues like education and the economy weren't given much attention . . . like Bennet and Ryan.  And John Delaney, after having rejected Medicare for all, found that Democrats and the media, in turn, have rejected him.

If I were a Democrat - I'm an independent - and I wanted to get behind one candidate, I'd probably back Bennet, or maybe even Ryan or Castro, but after what happened to O'Malley in 2016, I'd be wary of doing so, given how long shots rarely become favorites.  Warren is still a possibility, but it's too early to tell whether the traction she's deservedly gained can last, especially with Harris now being talked about.  And what prevents me from accepting Biden as the "inevitable" nominee is things like his response to the question of what he would do first as President.

He said his first presidential act would be to defeat Donald Trump.

Ponder that for a moment.

Once again, Unn D. Sided is the pre-election favorite. 

(P.S. Andrew Yang deserves my applause for going on stage without a necktie.  I don't wear them because I don't know how to tie one.  Neither, I assume, does he.)