Last week, I was able to sit down and watch the CNN town hall where five major democratic presidential candidates (Klobuchar, Warren, Sanders, Harris, and Buttigieg) fielded questions from college students from the surrounding area. Each candidate took questions for an hour, some certainly better than others. Here, I will be breaking down notable moments and laying out my biggest winners and losers from the event.
LOSER: Kamala Harris
I had to knock this one out first because this was by far the hardest of the five to sit through. Any time Harris was asked about any kind of remotely touchy policy, the best answer she could give was “I think we should definitely start having that conversation”. Well, Kamala, that’s exactly what they are trying to do but you’re too scared to say anything one way or the other. This left essentially her whole hour to Harris mind-numbingly pointing out how especially intersectional she is. She didn’t have much of a chance when she declared, and now that chance has practically become zero.
WINNER: Elizabeth Warren
Warren stood as the lone candidate to talk about the specific policies she is putting forward. This was a fresh change of pace in a field of democrats that love to talk about a fictional utopia with no real means of getting there. If democrats want somebody who won’t be completely embarrassed by Trump, they may want to take a harder look at Warren.
LOSER: Pete Buttigieg
Mayor Pete has rapidly become the Democrat party’s sweetheart. The eloquent mayor from south bend not only checks some intersectionality boxes, but can also speak in a very Obama-like fashion. Mayor Pete’s rise to stardom means that the democrats are going to dive a little deeper and see what he is all about. In stark contrast to Warren, Buttigieg continues to gracefully spew nonsense without hardly any real policies on the table. If he wants to make any kind of serious run at the white house he needs to start talking about the nitty gritty.
WINNER: Joe Biden
Biden probably had the best night of all the democrats by simply sitting at home. With Bernie Sanders making a run, this town hall had potential to bring a definite gap between the two candidates. Unfortunately for Bernie, he just can’t stop being a crazy person. When asked about voting rights of inmates, Sanders emphatically declared that even convicted terrorists should indeed have the right to vote. This most certainly helps Biden’s case, as we know democrats are going to have to reconsider sending somebody with the policy ideas of Sanders up against Trump.
