1st DEM Debate Thread: June 26 & 27, Miami, MSNBC & NBC & Telemundo (9-11pm)

[Possiblymaybe]

Random thoughts for both nights:

-Donald Trump won here with how some of the immigration questions were posed. And I say that as someone who would vote for any of the 20 over him. There has to be some middle on this issue.

-I'm not sure if either debate changed the narrative of the race too much, mostly due to the format.

-Biden looks frail compared to just a few years ago. It sort of looked like he didn't want to be there. How many times did he say "oh my times up." And it didn't come off as doing it out of respect, it came off as he was rambling, didn't know where he was going so it was an easy excuse to stop talking. That's the last thing I want to see in someone going against Trump.

-Sanders says the same thing over and over which I think is going to hurt him in the end. His speech feels like old news by now and if he couldn't get it last time by being the one alternative to the frontrunner, I'm not sure how he'll even come close this time.

-Harris is the overall winner of both nights. I was always so-so on her but she has my interest now. It's just not clear who she takes support from to reach a top tier status at this point.

-Warren did what she needed to do on her night, which was to not have a bad moment to kill her current momentum. I'm a big believer that debates generally can hurt you way more than they can help you.

-Castro won the first night.

-As a younger person myself, I thought Swalwell came off as a dick with his "pass the torch" thing. I thought it was the most cringe worthy line of both nights and way worse than anyone speaking in Spanish.

-Tim Ryan trying to appeal to the midwest felt oddly inauthentic.

-Does Beto even want to be in this anymore? I was initially on board months ago, but what was that? He's lucky the field was so crowded and that it's early.

-I liked Marianne's answer on healthcare, but other than that she feels like a hallucination you have at a music festival or something. At least she was the most entertaining.

-I'm still just as undecided as ever after watching. I don't think anyone has really emerged yet as being the best knockout against Trump.

-Half of these people should really just drop out in the next few months.

[Possiblymaybe]

In terms of the debates' impact on the various candidates...

Up: Harris, Booker, Buttigieg, Gabbard

Down: Biden, O'Rourke

No change: Warren, Sanders

Everyone else was forgettable.

Castro is definitely on the up.

[Possiblymaybe]

People saying Harris performed poorly are very out of touch.

I have to disagree. I have no intention in supporting Harris in the primary (unless somehow it ended up just her vs Biden I guess, ugh) but I am capable of seeing when a candidate is making a strong impression. And she did. She also is perhaps due now for someone to hit her (next debate? One after?) about her own shoddy record which didn't happen this time. If Biden doesn't tired old man the next debate or two again, he might get to that. Some of the also rans might give it a try. But her weaknesses were not put on display during this debate, which did her a big favor and let her focus fire on threat to her nomination #1, Joey B.

All their records should be scrutinised but the idea that the guy who wrote the crime bill has the moral high ground to attack prosecutors who worked within the flawed system he and men of his generation implemented is really flawed.
Look, Cory Booker was just talking about how we need to discuss Bidens role in the bill the jetspeeded mass incarceration this morning.Castro and Booker will try to do the same as Kamala as soon as they get on a stage with him.