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Debate Thread

2020 Democratic presidential candidates Tom Steyer (Pete Davidson), Amy Klobuchar (Rachel Dratch), Elizabeth Warren (Kate McKinnon), Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis), Bernie Sanders (Larry David), Pete Buttigieg (Colin Jost) and Andrew Yang (Bowen Yang) face off in a debate. New Hampshire Democratic Debate Cold Open - SNL (9 mins)

When the Democratic debate started Tuesday night, I was young, carefree, merry. Two hours later, when it ended, I was praying to the Almighty for a swift end to my suffering. I felt like I was 103 years old — or even older, like one of the early patriarchs in the Bible. All the life had been sucked out of my body. This, the seventh debate in seven months, was the dullest major political event in years. And there is no excuse for that, since there were only six candidates on stage and, therefore, a real possibility that the Democrats...

“Preseason is over,” Kauffmann said. “The Democratic race got real tonight, and these candidates started to realize that only one of them is leaving Iowa with a W.” Having only six candidates on stage means: “They have the time to make their points in a way that they haven’t before.” The debate “definitely was more combative than it has been” and part of that was “the moderators really trying to go out of their way to draw confrontation.”

CNN live feed of Democratic presidential debate goes to black in Beijing. Candidates were asked about China’s human rights record & the mass detention of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

Former Vice President Joe Biden demurred when asked if he would only commit to serving one term in office if he’s elected president. “No I won’t commit one way or another,” Biden said. “Let’s win this election then see where we are. Let’s see what happens.” Biden’s age has become an issue in the Democratic primary, and some Democrats have whispered about whether he should commit to only serving one term in an effort to putting questions about his age behind him. At Thursday night’s debate, Politico reporter Tim Alberta read a quote from former President Obama, who said this...

Some viewers of Thursday night’s Democratic debate took to social media to comment on the moving background behind the seven presidential candidates who faced off in Los Angeles, calling it "distracting." The seven candidates — former Vice President Joe Biden; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D); Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); entrepreneur Andrew Yang; and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer — debated issues ranging from President Trump’s impeachment this week to climate change and trade. As they talked, the names and logos of debate's hosts PBS NewsHour and Politico streamed behind the candidates....

PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff mistakenly referred to Andrew Yang at the beginning of Thursday night's Democratic debate when she was seeking to ask a question to rival candidate Tom Steyer. The confusing moment came as Woodruff was asking the candidates how they'd convince more people to back the impeachment of President Trump. “Mr. Yang, what more,” Woodruff began her question about President Trump’s impeachment while looking at Steyer. “I’m over here,” Yang responded. He then began clapping and appeared to ask “Judy?” before Woodruff corrected herself and directed the question to Steyer. SNIP

On the eve of Wednesday’s Democratic debate on MSNBC, four presidential contenders called for an independent investigation into sister network NBC in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse. The candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., demanded the inquiry in a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez dated Monday. “We, the undersigned candidates, are very concerned about the message it would send to sexual assault survivors if our next debate is sponsored by MSNBC without clear commitments from Comcast, the parent company of NBC and MSNBC,...

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) appeared to struggle to keep his teeth securely in his mouth during the third Democrat debate in Houston, Texas, Thursday evening. ABC’s David Muir asked the Democrat frontrunner about a measure that aimed to expand background checks failing on the Senate floor following the Sandy Hook massacre. “If you couldn’t get it done after Sandy Hook, why should voters give you another chance?” Muir asked. Biden initially struggled to answer the question, slurring his response while adjusting his teeth in his mouth. “Because I got it done before,” Biden sputtered.

DETROIT, MI—Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson reported Tuesday that she was not sure what she was doing up on stage with "all these crazy people" after CNN's first Democratic debate. Williamson pointed out that between a guy who praised the Soviet Union, a woman who pretended to be Native American to get ahead in life, and a woman who beats her staffers with a wooden spoon, she was clearly the adult during the debate. "I mean, these guys are really far out there," Williamson said with a concerned look on her face as she smelled a crystal to calm her down....

CNN's Democratic debate live drawing finished third in the cable news ratings race last night, attracting 1.03 million viewers according to early Nielsen Media Research. In the 8 p.m. EDT hour, "Tucker Carlson Tonight" finished first among the three major cable news channels with more than 3.2 million viewers and 497,000 in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic prized by advertisers. MSNBC's "All In with Chris Hayes" took second with 1.66 million viewers, followed by CNN for the debate drawing special. In the younger demographic, MSNBC delivered 239,000 viewers while CNN took in 223,000 in the category. The debates will take...

I don’t give a damn where you were 60 years ago on civil rights. I don’t care if your great grand-pappy owned slaves or you grew up in rural Louisiana and used the “N” word as often as a contemporary rapper. I can’t get vexed about 2000 children at the border not getting enough facial tissue and diapers when tens of thousands of American children are sleeping on the streets and in shelters of our cities. What I want is a president who is going to work for America, whose reputation is grounded by the present, and whose concerns are...

I can think of nothing that captures the essence of last week’s Democratic debate participants better than the NPC meme:  a stage full of preprogrammed “non-player characters” in a video game who are only allowed to interact through a limited number of responses and catchphrases.  Still, a handful of the NPCs managed to make themselves stand out in the crowd. Che de Blasio and Perpetually-Peeved-Pocahontas on Wednesday night:And on Thursday, Rainbow (“did I mention I was gay?) Pete,  Joey, Forever Angry Bernie and  Kamala “I’m-Black-Like-Obama” Harris brought their game faces.Everyone else served as interchangeable automatons programmed to move the game...

Section 1325! Section 1325! For a few crucial minutes in the middle of the first Democratic presidential debate, Julián Castro (polling average: 0.8 percent) took over the proceedings by challenging his fellow candidates to endorse the repeal of Section 1325 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. What’s it about? Don’t ask. He yelled at Beto O’Rourke about it and expressed his deep disappointment that O’Rourke wasn’t joining him in supporting the repeal of Section 1325. O’Rourke is at 3.3 percent in the Real Clear Politics polling average, so you can see why Castro thought it was so important to nail...

How. Dare. You. Dear Democratic debate moderators, You may not be aware of this, but Hillary Clinton is infallible. She enjoys a level of perfection - both morally and factually - that rivals the most pious members of the world’s great religions. Her honesty, integrity, and honor are unassailable. She’s a bit like Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Buddha, and Abraham Lincoln all rolled into one. Special: Blake Shelton Finally Confesses How He Dropped All of the Weight The fact that one of you would have the temerity to impugn her fine character is simply disgusting. How. Dare. You....

Former Senator Jim Webb was something of a wallflower during last week’s Democratic debate, though not because he didn’t want to get out on the floor and dance. He said afterward that he believes the debate was rigged to favor Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, leaving the lesser known candidates—himself, Martin O’Malley, and Lincoln Chafee—confined to the sidelines. When the floor was his he seemed perturbed and complained that he wasn’t getting as much time as the leading candidates. “In that kind of environment, it was either going to be Mr. Angry or a potted plant,” said Webb after the...

Jeremiah Wright on estrogen Posted: April 18, 20081:00 am Eastern © 2008  Last Friday in this column I reported on a brewing scandal that would be front-page news on the New York Times if the developments had concerned anyone other than their hero:Barack Hussein Obama.Instead, the new media was left to pick up and disseminate how one of Barack Obama's presidential campaign bundlers is Jodie Evans – a political ally to Venezuelan dictator, Hugo Chavez, and an advocate for Islamic militants.The story was also a yawner for ABC News "journalist" George Stephanopolous, because he didn't see fit to ask a single...

PHILADELPHIA – At the gleaming new National Constitution Center here in Philadelphia, I attended Wednesday night’s presidential debate. It was the 21st Democratic debate of the cycle – held in the same building where Barack Obama delivered his famous “race” speech last month. The actual debate was held in a tiny, tiny room where I once saw a very affecting presentation about the Declaration of Independence. On posts and press passes alike, the event is billed as “Clinton vs. Obama,” as though it were a prize fight or something. And as though the campaign hadn’t been trivialized enough, the story...

Who Won The Democratic Debate?