Tuesday night a debate broke out. The first two GOP debates can be labeled in many ways, but a farce is the most definitive description. They were filled with attacks which were mostly personal, and not a single discussion of the issues occurred. The first Democratic debate was all about the issues. The most important component was that the moderators were actual newspersons. Anderson Cooper forced the candidates to answer questions instead of talking around them, or engaging in attacks.

Five presidential wannabees appeared at the ‘Wynn’ in Las Vegas, and each demonstrated that they were far more qualified than the clown car which took the crowded stage during the first two GOP debacles. The focus was on the issues, and Anderson Cooper covered all of them. If he was not happy with a response he called them out, and forced a complete answer.

The initial question always seems to be ‘who won?’ The truth in this situation is the American people. We witnessed extremely qualified candidates who had ideas. I didn’t hear a single destructive comment.

Although each of the five had slightly different opinions about issues such as gun control, regulating Wall Street and taxation, they all had answers to the questions. We’ve become accustomed to hearing such ‘answers’ as ‘we’ll make it better,’ or ‘it’s going to be huge.’ The highlight of the evening came from Bernie Sanders who defended rival Hillary Clinton. He said that everyone was ‘tired of hearing about those damn e-mails.’

But even Trump, the GOP leader, had to praise Hillary Clinton for her performance. “She got through it fine,” he said by phone this morning. “It was a very kind debate, very gentle. She came out the winner.”

Trump did have some advice for Bernie Sanders. He thought that it was a mistake, when after the Senator railed against Clinton’s e-mail attacks the two smiled and shook hands. “I think that he’s losing by quite a bit; he shouldn’t have done it.” He believes that attacking Hillary Clinton would have been a better approach.

Personally I was pleased, but not surprised. I expected a civil and intelligent debate, and I got what I hoped for.

As for who won the debate, a short poll gave Hillary Clinton the nod. Her preparation for the evening’s event was visible, and her debating skills were evident. It’s impressive when one can answer a question with a single word and impress the audience. Lincoln Chaffee discussed the e-mail situation and stated that ethics were important as well as credibility. Ms. Clinton was asked by Cooper if she would like to respond; she simply responded “no.”

The crowd was responsive to Bernie Sanders, who reiterated his central issue regarding income inequality whenever the opportunity presented itself.

To this point it is obvious that whoever wins the GOP nomination will have a great deal of difficulty during the presidential debates against either Sanders or Clinton. When forced to answer direct questions Trump, Carson, Bush, Fiorina and Rubio have all embarrassed themselves.

All five Democrats agreed on one issue; Citizens United must be repealed. It was revealed that 90 percent of the money for campaigns is donated by approximately 150 families. Bernie Sanders could only smile at this; he has no Super PAC.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey