Wondering on Wednesday (v186)

This is the 'CNN/NY Times debate winners and losers' version of our weekly wondering.

I know lots of people are not paying attention to the debates, and I kind of get it - there's lots of candidates, it's too early, the debates are too long, and so on - but that's frustrating. Because, after watching the debate (I'm four for four now) and then reading what the experts had to say, I'm not thrilled that the experts in the media (and those not in the media) will be picking the winner for us.

And that's what's going to happen, right? Just like always, they'll spend their time on the front-runners, who are the front runners because of the media attention they have already gotten, and by the time people start voting in the big states, the herd will have been culled through a combination of misdirected media attention and potential voter apathy.

Anyway - enough of that. The experts I checked in with were CNN and the NY Times Opinion gang; Vox; the Washington Post; Fox News; and the BBC. Here's a chart showing who they chose as winners and losers - so, without further ado, let the wondering begin.

I'm not a Bernie Sanders fan. But even if I was, I'd have to wonder how simply being on the stage makes you a debate winner?

I know that sounds horrible, but Sanders himself noted that the procedure he had after his minor heart attack is done thousands and thousands of times a year; it's a common procedure, even if it's uncommon for a presidential candidate. I'm happy he bounced back from it, and that he was his usual grumpy self - pretty sure he wrote the damn bill on that -  but I just don't see how that makes him the winningest of all the candidates.

I also wonder how it's a 'wow' moment when 'The Squad'  - the most very progressive freshmen Dems in the House - goes way out on a one-inch-long limb to endorse the Democratic Socialist? There's no 'news' here;  there's no 'there' there. It would have been news if AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib had decided to endorse Joe Biden, but that they endorse Sanders? How does that make contribute to Bernie being the debate winner?

Elizabeth Warren got kudos for being the front runner and standing up to 'attacks' from her opponents without folding, which proved that she's tough and strong and a worthy candidate to go up against Trump, the experts said. I agree she stood her ground, but what she faced from her counterparts on the stage is nothing remotely like what she's going to get hit with by Trump, should she be the survivor. I wonder if there's anything that will prepare any of these candidates for that?

I'm happy to see both Buttigieg and Klobuchar ranking high on the winner's side. I find their arguments for moderation compelling, and thought each of them made the case for that. For example, here's Klobuchar on Medicare for All, but her point is true for much of the progressive agenda.

...I appreciate Elizabeth's work. But, again, the difference between a plan and a pipe dream is something that you can actually get done.

Buttigieg made a similar point, noting that the day after a Trump presidency is going to be a particular type of challenge. After pointing out his disagreement that Trump was an aberration and that we can get back to normal, he continued

But I also don't agree with Senator Warren that the only way forward is infinite partisan combat. Yes, we have to fight - absolutely, we have to fight for the big changes at hand but it's going to take more than fighting. Once again, I take you back to that day after Trump has stopped being president. Think about what the president can do to unify a new American majority for some of the boldest things we've attempted in my lifetime...

He listed several of his positions, many of which are also held by a majority of Americans, according to recent polling. So what I'm wondering is, how do Klobuchar and Buttigieg get attention from the media?

Do they have to shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue?

I also wonder how Andrew Yang can get more attention, to something other than his MATH pin, which isn't about 'math' per se - it's about Making America Think Harder. His Freedom Dividend is an outside the box proposal, but it's being tested on a small scale, most notably in California, in Stockton. And people belittle this idea without paying attention to why Yang thinks it's important. He, too, deserves more attention for his ideas of empowering Americans, and for why he believes that's so necessary.

Do I agree, at all, with the experts, you might be wondering? Yep - Joe Biden lost the debate, as I believe he has other debates. You'll remember I didn't want him to run - and that was before the Biden Issue crap hit the fan. I'm even more convinced that he's not the right one to move us forward than I was before. Yes, he was feisty during the debate - as was Sanders - but it's not enough.

Kamala Harris did not have a good night (again), nor did Julian Castro (again) or Beto O'Rourke (again), and Cory Booker was middle-of-the-pack safe (again). I don't see a future for the latter three, and I'm wondering how much longer Harris will - or should - stick around, too.

Here's a transcript of the debate, and here's the full video, all three hours of it. I encourage you to take a look at one or both.

After all, if we can binge watch Seinfeld, the show about nothing, shouldn't we be able to binge watch the a debate, the show about our future?