The Democratic Debates Aren’t Pleasing Anyone
Just as the final question was being asked at the most recent Democratic debate, a 2020 campaign manager walked through the spin room, full of reporters trying to figure out what smart analysis to summon, and worked up all the fake excitement of a parent en route to a children’s birthday party: “Just 35 days until the next debate!”
That was one week ago. But for all the news coverage, the debate has more or less already been forgotten—even by those who were paying the closest attention in the first place. The campaigns and the press have moved on. And any voters who actually watched all three hours don’t have much more than a few one-liners and minor clashes to point to as significant moments.
The debates haven’t been used “to educate the public and illuminate contrasts between the candidates. And they’ve been too superficial in their construct as to not allow the candidates to delve into differences of opinions that they may have,” Faiz Shakir, Senator Bernie Sanders’s
