Bernie Sanders' night: Authenticity wins the Democratic debate
Bernie Sanders' night: Authenticity wins the Democratic debate
Chicago Tribune
No, what came closest to electrifying the night was a Vermont senator, a self-described democratic socialist who honeymooned in the Soviet Union, and who probably can't get elected president. Bernie Sanders demonstrated time and again Tuesday night why he's the force vector in this race. If you watched, you now know why he attracts the huge crowds, the money, the energy of rank-and-file Democrats — a party to which he doesn't even belong.
You also know why he gives Clinton conniptions. While she behaved like the front-runner — confident, competent, comfortable — Sanders was connecting with the audience. He even managed to profit from a Clinton problem while tacitly excusing her from it: "The American people," he said, "are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!" Sanders wanted to talk about issues that trouble Americans.
Sanders is the reason Democrats have a serious primary race. And he came across Tuesday night as a candidate who believes what he believes and won't waffle. He voiced positions that will give some Democrats pause; he isn't a pacifist, he said, and as commander in chief wouldn't hesitate to take America to war. Clinton, meanwhile, answered a challenge to her Senate vote for war in Iraq not with a defense or an apology, but by invoking President Barack Obama: Even after that vote, he chose her as secretary of state. Sorry, but it sounded lame.
Clinton's sturdy performance certainly didn't diminish the prospect of Biden any more than she diminished Sanders. So what happens now?
Related:
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