Debatable Thoughts

I wasn't especially impressed by the debate last night, the first of two in Detroit.  As one analyst put it, “You don’t going to convince voters that you should be president by debating the fine points of how you’ll pass a bill.  You convince them by showing you’re a leader.”  There was SO much policy debate.  That's great on the Senate floor, not so much on a debate stage for the presidency with two dozen candidates.
 
I follow politics pretty closely.  And honestly I can’t tell you all the differences between Medicare for All, Single-Payer, and the ACA with public option.  Last week, I even asked a friend who knows such things to explain it to me, and he started to – but even admitted he didn’t even know all the differences.  So, I suspect most viewers don’t have a clue, and the candidates are wasting time on the nuances.  I completely understand that they want to differentiate themselves from one another, but it’s foolish.  What I remarked before the debate to a friend I watched with is that someone on the debate stage (or all of them…) should say, “The point here is not which plan is better.  ALL of these plans are MUCH better than anything Trump and the Republicans are offering – because they’re offering nothing.  They want to end the Affordable Care Act.  And all of you watching know this.  So, whichever Democrat candidate gets the nomination, you know there will be a better plan offered, much better.  What matters is that we beat Trump.”
 
As for the debate itself, I’ve grown weary of the number of people on the stage at one time, let alone for two nights.  What's at stake is profoundly serious, nominating a candidate who can defeat Trump. I recorded it last night, fast-forwarded through the opening and breaks...and fast-forward through the last 20 minutes, stopping only on candidates who I think stand a chance of getting the nomination.  The rest is distraction, and a waste of time.  I probably will do that tonight for the entire debate, scrolling past most of it.  It was a pleasure to see former Sen. Claire McCaskill on MSNBC, now one of their analysts, say afterwards how even she got exhausted by the debate.  And there's still another one to go.

Happily, there will be more of a winnowing process for the next debate after these two in Detroit.. I understand why they all want to get on the stage -- there are candidates I like very much who likely won't make the cut next time.  I'm sorry for that.  But in the larger picture, I wholeheartedly support it.  The debate stage isn't the foundation -- that comes from the campaign you're running to build the backing you need.  Yes, it's very difficult, but then so is the job you're trying to get.