Four takeaways from the debate

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Which Democratic candidate won the CNN debate?

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Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, looks on as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont speaks during the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday in Las Vegas. AP PHOTO / JOHN LOCHER

Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, looks on as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont speaks during the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday in Las Vegas. AP PHOTO / JOHN LOCHER

Hillary Clinton dominated the show Tuesday in the first Democratic presidential debate, receiving an assist from her main rival in fending off questions about her email use and tackling a range of other issues head-on after a rough summer that raised serious doubts about her strength as a candidate.

Despite Clinton’s recent struggles, the event demonstrated that she has little competition for the nomination other than liberal Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with the three other Democrats in the contest failing to make much of an impression.

Presenting a major contrast with the Republican debates both in style and the issues discussed, the Democratic showdown was much tamer than the rough GOP primary fight but still featured some pointed exchanges on a number of issues.

Here are four takeaways from the event:

Clinton steps up

Clinton’s campaign stumbled in recent months as questions swirled about her credibility after it was revealed she used a private email server to conduct official business as secretary of state, but on Tuesday the email question receded to the background. It didn’t come up until the second hour of the debate, and when it did, even Sanders, Clinton’s closest primary competitor, called it a non-issue.

Meanwhile, Clinton asserted herself on a range of policy questions, from gun control, to foreign affairs and financial reform. Clinton showed why she is the front-runner in this contest, commanding the stage and easily fending off questions about her decision to authorize force in Iraq and changing positions on issues such as trade and gay marriage. Clinton’s strong performance won’t erase questions about her credibility, but it is likely to fire up Democrats whose enthusiasm for her had been flagging.

Bernie was Bernie

The big question facing Sanders heading into the debate was whether he could appeal beyond the liberal base and convince Democrats he is a viable general-election candidate. Sanders did nothing to temper his stridently liberal views, doubling down in his critique of capitalism, defending NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, calling for a carbon tax and questioning American involvement in the Syrian civil war.

Sanders was forceful on his signature issues — income inequality and the “big money interests” — and charismatic as a speaker. But compared to Clinton he still seemed like somewhat of a fringe candidate. Clinton is still vulnerable on the left, but it’s not clear that Sanders can amass enough support to give her a real challenge.

Sharp contrasts

Tuesday’s debate was never going to generate the same amount of drama as the two highly antagonistic Republican matchups, which featured sharp exchanges between the candidates and Donald Trump as the instigator-in-chief. But predictions that it would be boring and lack fireworks were off base.

The candidates did not avoid confrontation, although unlike Trump they stuck to the issues and avoided personal attacks. Clinton took most of the fire, as expected, with the other candidates attacking her credibility and her record on financial reform and the Iraq invasion. More surprising, Clinton went after Sanders on his moderate gun control views and critique of capitalism, showing that she views his campaign as a real threat.

No new stars

Few people knew who Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chafee or Jim Webb were heading into the debate, and none of them did much to make the case that they should be receiving more attention. The matchup was clearly between Sanders and Clinton, who were the most eloquent on the issues and the strongest in their delivery. Chafee, a former senator and governor from Rhode Island, was a non-factor, while Webb, a former Navy secretary and senator from Virginia, seemed out of touch with the Democratic Party. O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland, had a few strong moments talking about gun control and criticizing Clinton over the Iraq invasion but did not have the breakout moment needed to lift his campaign into real contention. Don’t expect to hear much about these candidates going forward.

Last modified: October 14, 2015
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