Debate Musings

Tonight, I watched the debate. Lots of fireworks. No one held anything back. Lots of punches thrown, many of them parried, many of them ignored, many of them not given an opportunity to respond because of the way the moderators managed the debate. First of all, any of these candidates are better than trump. Second, I don't like some of the low blows these folks are throwing at each other. Don't treat Pete like a 12 year old genius. He deserves to be on the debate stage. When I listen to his logic and what he's trying to do, I still find him persuasive. Is he ready? Who's ever ready to be President? I continue to like Klobuchar, though I could do without some of her remarks about Pete. I'd love to have a beer with Bernie (actually, maybe not, he's too grumpy for me), but I'm afraid I agree with Pete and Bloomberg that the country isn't ready for a self-avowed socialist, not to mention that he has no clue what Medicare for All will mean to the country. The union folks in Nevada have great private health insurance. Trust me, they won't be happier with Medicare for All. Bernie lost me when he said that they'd be better off. He does that. He's got his own benevolent dictator streak. Warren is tough and smart, and there are times that I like her, and times that I can't stand her when she gets a little too nasty. She also goes too deep in some of her attacks, examples being her attacks on Buttigieg and Klobuchar's health plans. She's wrong. Biden had one of his best debate performances, but hanging on to the ACA like it's the best thing since sliced bread just eats at me. It was an important change in our healthcare system, but not nearly as great as he thinks it was/is. I also don't like the fact that he tends to go to the fact that he met with lots of foreign leaders, etc., rather than focusing on actual policy. I'm ok with his policies, but I'm worried about his health more than anyone else on the debate stage. That leaves Bloomberg. I think he held his own. I also think that he'd be an effective President. I worry that he could think of himself as a benevolent dictator, but compared to Trump, I'll take him in a heartbeat. I'm sure he'll release his tax returns in the coming weeks, that should not be an issue unless he hasn't by April or May. I'm relatively satisfied with the answers to stop and frisk, though I'm not happy with his answer to releasing women from their NDA's. My initial ranking: 1) Buttigieg, 2) Klobuchar, 3) Bloomberg, 4) Biden, 5) Warren, 6) Sanders.