So, good debate for each of the candidates. And that’s good for Hillary Clinton since she’s already in a strong lead. Thankfully, Clinton and Sanders put the data breach nonsense to bed quickly and I think basically ended it as a story, at least as a controversy between the campaigns. The discussions on economic policy were about what we’ve seen before, with each candidate staking out their different positions – with Hillary hugging as close to Sanders’ populism as she feels she can and Sanders simply not temperamentally inclined to go after Clinton as ruthlessly as he might.
What interested me most in this debate was the discussion of foreign policy, particularly national security policy on the Middle East. It was wildly more substantive than the histrionic ranting and demands for fear from the GOP debate. But I continue to be struck by how relatively close – at least nominally – Clinton and Sanders appear to be with respect to ISIS and Syria and counter-terrorism policy generally. The hawk/dove debate we expect to play in Democratic primary races – especially what we might have suspected between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is highly, highly muted in this case.
All that said, Hillary has a big lead. And this performance will maintain that lead.
That’s all I got.
