Dahleen Glanton: Democratic candidates can debate issues, but only one question matters: Can you beat Donald Trump?

For two nights, Democratic presidential candidates served up a smorgasbord of ideas that will most likely define the party's mission in the years to come.

Democratic core issues of climate change, gun control, abortion rights and immigration were front and center. But the agenda of the party's progressive wing - government-run single-payer health care and tuition-free public colleges - got an airing, too.

It was nice to hear a lively ideological debate on the values that could steer the Democratic Party four to eight years down the road. The smart and thought-provoking debates reminded us of what we