Presidential candidate Governor Jay Inslee has a mannerism that I have become familiar with after watching him speak, and he used it tonight. He extended his right arm with the index finger out to the moderators again and again.
When they did call on him, Jay paused and smiled. The moderator confirmed that yes, they were asking him a question, and the audience laughed. Nonetheless, Governor Inslee was able to get his message out, speaking forthrightly and forcefully albeit at break neck speed. The audience reacted strongly to his remarks about unionizing and also that America’s biggest threat was Donald Trump.
Before the debate, Governor Inslee had estimated that he would have eight minutes. He got the least time of any candidate—less than two minutes, according to the MiamiHerald. (See below)
Our climate emergency was also given scant time.
Inslee had called for a climate-only debate, but the notion was rejected by Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez as unfair to other candidates. The candidates spent 10 minutes of Wednesday’s two-hour debate on the issue, even though Perez predicted before the debate it would be “the most robust and in-depth conversation” of the evening.
UPDATE: Governor Jay Inslee had 4.29 minutes according to this video of Everything Jay Inslee Said During Night 1 of the Democratic Debate in Miami. (Cannot embed)