The first Democratic presidential debate is here, and it's even on a weeknight! (Don't get used to that.) Obviously the bulk of the attention and speculation is on how the Hillary Clinton - Bernie Sanders face-off will play out, with an asterisk going to former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in the "can he break out" vein.
CNN's "six things to watch" are ... about what you'd expect from CNN: "Can Clinton flip-flop gracefully?" The New York Times points out, though, that Clinton is not the only one whose positions on key issues have shifted:
Mr. O’Malley has discarded the tough-on-crime ethos that largely defined his tenure as Baltimore’s mayor, as he seeks support from Black Lives Matter activists focused on police misconduct and mass incarceration. And Mr. Sanders, who for years was unapologetic about stances on firearms that he thought were well suited to his rural Vermont constituency, has shifted toward a harder line on gun control.
CNN's number two thing to watch for: "The emails: Will anyone go there?" It's a safe bet the moderators will go there, and will try to bait Clinton's opponents into going there as well. Clinton, of course, will be well equipped with a response in the form of directly quoting House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. CNN's number three: "Donald Trump: Democrats' favorite punching bag?" Again, I think CNN should look to its own moderators on that one. The Democratic candidates will no doubt have things to say about Trump, but should also be at pains to point out that he's not out of step with the Republican Party. Number four: "Feel the Bern." Uh ... I think that translates to "we had to say something about Bernie Sanders and had nothing more specific than 'will he perform well?'" Number five: "Which Clinton shows up?." Translation: "Will our moderators bait her into defensiveness, or will she turn in the kind of solid debate performance she regularly turned in through the 2008 campaign?" And number six: "Is this Martin O'Malley's only chance?" Probably.
Another theme of pre-debate coverage is summed up in the ThinkProgress headline Major Media Outlets Warn The Democratic Debate Will Probably Be Super Boring, Focus On Policy."
The Washington Post reports that the Republican debates have been “appointment television” featuring lots of personal insults and attacks. Meanwhile, the Democratic debate will focus on “substantive” issues like “how each would pay for his or her higher-education overhauls.” It’s possible, the Post warns, you will be “bored senseless.”
This is because the Democratic candidates have avoided “direct, personal attacks that have been so prominent in the Republican race.” This leaves them, according to the Post, “downright predictable.”
Howard Kurtz, a reporter for Fox News, agrees. Kurtz wrote that he can “hardly wait” for the first Democratic debate. He was being sarcastic.
Doesn't it just make you ashamed to be a Democrat? I mean, ugh, having candidates who think you care about policy?
The Democratic debate will be aired live on CNN and streaming on CNNGo, beginning at 8:30 PM ET Tuesday. (CNN says "coverage will begin," which leads one to suspect that at 8:30 what we'll actually see is inane commentary and a clock counting down to when the debate actually begins.) Daily Kos will be covering it as it happens.