Scrub Debate Live Blog #1

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9:33 PM: Okay, first break. I’m finding this debate more refreshing, engaging than I’d expected. I’ve expressed my frustration about the number of candidates allowed into these debates. I still feel that. But this seems like a debate that is engaging questions that most Americans are actually thinking about. Not all certainly: a big chunk of the country is obsessed with anti-immigrant policies, Iran, etc. But it’s better than I expected.

9:27 PM: I’m not sure what Booker is actually saying here in policy terms about Medicare for All or private insurance.

9:23 PM: O’Rourke feels like a throwback to a different era. I don’t mean that in the sense of being on one side or another of the health insurance policy question. I just mean tonally. Seems like a different era.

9:20 PM: That’s actually news. Only De Blasio and Warren said they were for Medicare for All, i.e., a single payer plan which would eliminate all but supplemental private insurance.

9:14 PM: I don’t know why de Blasio is running. But that was a great answer.

9:10 PM: Warren’s second bite at the economy apple, the response to Booker, was much better, the kind of clarity she’ll need as nominee.

9:09 PM: I think Booker’s answer on the economy is clearer, better than Warren’s.

9:04 PM: This is a bad format. Everyone’s rusty. But it’s too rushed.

9:02 PM: I do this for a living and I’m not totally sure who the guy over on the right is.

9:01 PM: Placeholder commentary.

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