Update: What a depressing debate, there was not a star or original idea among them.
Biden is such a flip-flopper. On immigration, they were all asked who agreed that undocumented presence should be a civil violation rather than a crime. Biden raised his hand with the others as if he were agreeing that undocumented presence should not be a crime -- although he went back and forth between raising his hand and pointing with his index finger as if he had a question. When the moderator from Telemundo called him out on his response, he refused to give a direct answer.
The moderator asked him very specifically, first whether undocumented presence, in the absence of any other crime, should be a civil or criminal violation. He answered that commission of a serious crime should warrant deportation.
But the question excluded people who had committed other crimes. When that was pointed out to him, he waffled further and said unlawful presence "should not be the focus" of deportation -- in other words, he refused to endorse a policy that undocumented presence should be only a civil violation or that undocumented persons who have not committed a crime should not face deporation. (What does that even mean, that they "should not be the focus of" deportation. That it's okay if they are incidentally deported?)
I thought Sen. Michael Bennet from Colorado did very well. (Unfortuately, one hour in, Hickenlooper has all but disappeared. Maybe he is on the verge of dropping out of the race and the moderators know it. The camera has not even shown his face in ages. Next song in my Democrats Debate playlist: Disappeared for Hickenlooper and Andrew Yang).
The same people seem to be getting the questions tonight -- it seems much less balanced than last night. How did Marianne Williamson, the motivational speaker, and Andrew Yang, the wealthy tech guy, even make the cut?
Kamala Harris showed her true colors: A prosecutor and a voice for crime victims rather than a voice for all of us. She is a good orator, but most successful trial lawyers are. She did nothing tonight to change my impression of her as a career prosecutor. She really does not have the credentials to govern a nation. Her closing statement: "She will be a prosecutor." Cased Closed. She is definitely not the one.
Now to Climate Change. The most important issue ever to the moderators. And finally, the moderators remember John Hickenlooper is there and asked him a question.
Bernie did well, as usual, pontificating about what is wrong. He's not so good with solutions. He's just going to be Superman, battling and conquering Wall St, the insurance companies, the military industrial complex and every other power that be on day One.
Mariane Williamson? Again, why is this motivational speaker on the stage? Couldn't she just write another book? Or perform a karaoeke of "All You Need is Love"?
Does Joe Biden have a hearing problem or a comprehension problem? It seems like one or the other and I think both are age-related. The moderators ask all the candidates if they only get one shot to effect change during their presidency, what topic ould it be on?
Biden answers "Beating Donald Trump." Hello? If Biden is serving his term as president, by definition, Trump would already have been defeated. This is the second time he either intentionally or unintentionally missed the question (the first being when the Telemundo anchor asked him whether unlawful presence should be a crime or a civil violation, assuming the person had committed no other offense, and Biden answered if the undocumented person had committed a serious crime, he should be deported.
The topic is now gun control. Memo to Kamala Harris: you are no different than Donald Trump when you say if Congress doesn't act on gun control, you will take executive action to bypass Congrass and make it a crime to export guns to the U.S. Not your job. Bye-Bye.
Biden gets worse and worse every time he tries to defend his indefensible record. "I'm the guy who got the Brady bill passed. I got the assault weapons ban passed" (that was later repealed). He wants guns to have biometric capabilities to identify who pulled the trigger. Seriously? He doesn't see a privacy issue with that? All his protestations aside, civil liberties have never been his strong suit,
All in all, there was a lot of pontificating tonight and very few fresh ideas or concrete solutions. There were too many one-trick ponies: Gillebrand on women's rights (Memo to Gillebrand: Unless you demonstrate some knowledge and interest in other issues, you will have lost 50% of the voters. Men are Americans too.) Sanders on the bullies of Wall St and private insurance companies, promotor in chief of Medicare for All. And of course the congressman who changes diapers and lives and breathes gun control.
Who failed to register to me? Pete Buttigieg ( a likeable guy, but certainly in over his head) and Andrew Yang (he seems smarter than Marianne Williamson but still, why is he even there? Because he can afford to be? Can we have the second chorus now of "You're so Vain"?)
Biden ends with: May G-d protect our troops. Hello? We are not at war. Where did that come from? There was no discussion of war all night. Come to think of it, how strange that there were no questions about ISIS, as if it no longer exists just because it no longer controls any physical territory.
I'll be suprised if Biden doesn't fall to the back of the pack after tonight. He is definitely showing his age and inability to adapt to new ideas and change.
Joe Biden's chances of defeating Donald Trump: Less than Zero.