Democratic Debate

After two republican debates that resembled a food fight, many were interested to see what the Democrats had to offer in their first debate on Wednesday. The first Democratic debate had a very different tone than the Republican debates. There were far less arguments and more of a discussion on issues concerning the American people. Not surprisingly, there were also about ten million less viewers than the Republican debate. Although it sounds horrible, people do not want to hear the news or issues going on around them. Ordinary citizens would much rather watch Donald Trump scream at Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish in his home (around his Spanish-speaking wife and son) than they would listen to candidates discuss fiscally-responsible ways to address the issue of mass pollution or how to fix Social Security without taking away benefits from retirees.

The night of the debate was full of fake smiles and phrases that candidate’s staffs have most likely tested with poll groups weeks before the debate. First off, watching the debate one wonders why candidates such as Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee are doing on stage, as they couldn’t even be president of a club at ALHS, let alone the country. The 2016 election cycle has changed around politics. Establishment politicians and experience are out, and being able to separate Siamese twins is now an ample qualification to be president (I’m looking at you Ben Carson).  Although there are general trends in the new age of politics, the Republican and Democratic debates couldn’t have been more different. The Democratic debate was much more issue-driven and soft-spoken than the Republican debate.

Hillary Clinton clearly won the debate, and not because she had the most energy, or the best lines of the night, but because she didn’t lose. In order to “win” the debate all Hillary had to do was not crumble under the pressure of her scandals and be able to relate herself to the public. Hillary’s hardest challenge going forward will be to get the American people to trust her and the easiest way she can do that is by being herself.

Although Bernie Sanders is incredibly idealistic, he has a foolproof way to campaign. He is genuine and doesn’t filter his words in a way that many politicians do. He received a standing ovation with the phrase “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.” He isn’t afraid of identifying as a socialist and makes a good case for progressive policies to be incorporated into the system. Bernie seems to attract many young voters with his ideas. His biggest issue is focusing on income inequality and equal opportunity for Americans, whether you’re born as one as one of Donald Trump’s children or in the areas of the country that have been hit hardest by the recession. The idea of rising from the bottom of the economic latter to the top is something uniquely American. Bernie has been able to attract huge crowds for his events with the idea that we should all have an equal opportunity to succeed. Bernie is the left’s best shot at having a president who fights for it’s values in a similar manner that FDR did.

After years of Europeans critiquing our political system as dominated by rich boring old white men, we have made a change. After watching the first three debates I think everyone can agree that our rich old white men have stepped up in the entertainment category. We did it America! Our politicians may still be white, rich and usually male, but at least we’re not boring. Take that Europe.