Nervous Breakdown

A street fight broke out at the Democratic debate last night. There was the smell of desperation which lead to chaos. Seven adults yelling, talking over each other, raising their hands as we used to in elementary school to get the teacher to call on us because we knew we had the right answer. They expanded the time for an answer to 1:15. The moderators found it impossible to get the candidates to shut up. The pack was clearly after front runner Bernie Sanders. They also turned on each other to try to show they were the only real alternative to a Social Democrat who is too far left to win a general election against the crazy “very stable genius” president. Trump has to love what he’s seeing. Frank Bruni of the New York Times wrote “… if I were Trump, I’d edit into a campaign commercial and blanket the airwaves. It’s tag line would be: “Even Democrats don’t trust Bernie Sanders. Why should you?”

We didn’t really hear anything new. Sanders kept repeating Medicare for All will solve all our health care costs. How billionaires are the cause of all our problems. Quoting the same billion and trillion dollar figures that will be saved if we spend billions and trillions. He did open himself to an attack by saying on 60 Minutes that Fidel Castro instituted a great literacy program when he took power in Cuba. Here’s a guy whose critics are accusing him of being a socialist, some say communist, and he’s praising Castro’s good idea. The other candidates really didn’t score any knockout punches. That rarely happens in these debates. Remember when Kamala Harris called out Joe Biden on school busing in an earlier debate? She had 15 minutes of fame. She’s no longer a candidate.

All of the candidates have their pluses and minuses. Mike Bloomberg has actually successfully run a big government. But Stop and Frisk and sexual harassment complaints by women at his business will haunt him. Elizabeth Warren seems very sincere in her beliefs. But she comes off as a know it all. “I have a plan for that”. She also comes off as Bernie Lite. Bernie Sanders has a strong base and is the front runner. But he comes off as a screaming old man who is upset that the supermarket didn’t accept his coupons. Joe Biden, the original front runner before anyone voted, has done nothing but lose. He guaranteed he’d win in South Carolina. If he doesn’t win big, it’s probably over. Pete Buttigieg didn’t scream at me and predicted Sanders vs. Trump would be a disaster.  He comes off as smart and analytical. But he looks like every old person’s grandson and, like it or not, people won’t vote for him because he’s gay. Remember, this is the country that elected Donald Trump. Amy Klobuchar has hung around longer than many expected and represents those solid mid-western values the Democratic candidate has to believe in. She had maybe the most important warning of the night, “If we spend the next four months tearing each other apart, we’re going to watch Donald Trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart.” And, finally Tom Steyer a millionaire who is focused on climate change. But many people may be thinking, “Who is this guy and why is he up there?”

A word about the moderators, CBS’s Gayle King and Norah O”Donnell. They were there because they are the face of CBS News. O’Donnell has been a network correspondent and covered the White House before anchoring CBS This Morning and now the CBS Evening News. King, the anchor of CBS This Morning, has been a local TV news reporter, an anchor for 18 years in Hartford, Connecticut and her biggest claim to fame, being Oprah Winfrey’s best friend. Neither one was up to the difficult task of controlling the debate. For part of the debate, CBS added three more moderators, Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett, 60 Minutes Correspondent Bill Whitaker, and Face Nation Moderator Margaret Brennan. Seven candidates and five questioners, just too many voices. Brennan was the best at controlling the candidates on time given her weekly experience on Face the Nation.

The next two week will tell us a lot about this race. The South Carolina primary this Saturday and Super Tuesday next week when 14 states will hold primaries and caucuses. Candidates will be faced with finally realizing their dream of being president is over. A couple will move on. The country is facing a generation defining election in November. Will enough people realize what’s at stake? Will the Democrats finally unite behind one candidate who can end four years of madness? A  CBS poll taken of Democratic voters who watched the debate showed 47% “nervous” about the field of candidates. Let’s hope we don’t have a nervous breakdown.