 Finally, we got a debate that was not a complete train wreck now. That's not to say that there weren't issues I did take issue with a moderation I think that a lot of the questions were framed in a very right-wing way But this was a good debate for me primarily because I think that Bernie Sanders performance was exceptional In fact, I would argue that this is his best debate performance And I think that that is objectively so because you can see the reaction already Reverberating around the country. So the first thing that we're going to do before we talk about the debate is getting to some general takeaways The first is talk time now part of the reason why I think Bernie Sanders had such a strong impression tonight Was because finally he got the most speaking time with 20 minutes and 30 seconds And you know, he really only overtook Amy Klobuchar Towards the end who clocked in 19 minutes and 53 seconds Which I think is absolutely absurd seeing that she is polling around I want to say 3.3% nationally. So it's absolutely unfair But for whatever reason moderators seem to love her at each of these debates and they call on her Disproportionately in comparison, you know with the other candidates who are polling better than her You have Elizabeth Warren clocking in 19 minutes and 36 seconds Pete Buttigieg with 19 minutes and 33 seconds Joe Biden with 15 minutes and 28 seconds and then Tom Steyer with 11 minutes 50 seconds Andrew Yang with 10 minutes 56 seconds now overall the candidates had more time to speak I believe than the last debate on the average, but that's because there are less Participants now. I think that if I'm an Andrew Yang supporter I'm going to be angered by the fact that Andrew Yang got the least amount of time once again He got more time to speak over all this time But he's called on rarely and Amy Klobuchar is given more time Tom Steyer is seemingly called on more than him. Although, you know, their talk time was comparable. It's just it's it's clearly unfair Now while we're on the subject of moderation I do want to take the time to note the right-wing framing of questions for them. So pretty much Half the questions I want to say and I'm probably being extra charitable were framed in a very right-wing way They asked about free college and use the talking point. Well, should rich kids be able to go to college? I'm paraphrasing of course, you know when it comes to the issue of the economy, they framed it in a very pro-trump way They brought up Obama's question about old men not being able to adequately represent people and they use that to you know Get Bernie Sanders essentially one of the moderators tried to get Bernie Sanders He wanted to you know add to the conversation about climate change when they had moved on to race She tried to get him wouldn't allow him to go back, but he answered that flawlessly He brought up how climate change is a racial justice issue and the political moderator who I think was the worst by far He basically tried to get Bernie Sanders to commit to compromising. Take a look Senator Sanders, you've spent plenty of time discussing and defending the merits of your Medicare for all plan But the reality is that if Republicans retain control of the US Senate or even if Democrats win back a narrow Senate majority Your plan is constituted probably would not have the votes to pass Congress So the question senator is if Congress rejects your plan and the American people are looking to you for leadership on this issue Are there smaller specific measures that you would take immediately to expand coverage and decrease costs as president? Now on top of that, you know on top of the right-wing framing Some of these questions were downright bizarre and in fact this question that I'm about to show you was probably the weirdest question I've ever seen asked at a debate before in the spirit of the season. I'd like to ask each one of you Is there someone else among these candidates that you would I have you have two options one a candidate from whom you would ask forgiveness for Something maybe that was said tonight or a candidate to whom you would like to give a gift And I'm gonna start with you, mr. Yang I Don't even know how to process that question and when Andrew Yang was given that question You can tell that he was caught off guard and he had to take a few seconds to think about it because I mean How do you answer that type of question? Andrew Yang was ignored for a large part of this debate and then he gets that question after a while I'm not being called on. I mean, it's just it's awful and the reason why I'm more excited about this debate Isn't necessarily because I approve of the moderation. I think they were bad and on top of that I think the format was bad as well, you know, we had seven people in a three hour debate And we could have actually dived really deep into some of these issues like health care Spencer a half an hour on health care a half an hour on foreign policy really allow them to hash out the differences and We just essentially saw the moderators try to throw in as many questions as many topics as possible And that does not really allow you to be nuanced. It doesn't allow you to dive into these intricate policy details I mean, why haven't we expanded the conversation about health care? You know, it's always about, you know, the centrists versus Medicare for all Elizabeth Warren bungled that portion by the way But why are we not asking Andrew Yang who just released a health care proposal? That is to the right of Biden and Buddha judges plans. He doesn't even support a public option So why aren't we bringing him into this conversation bring everyone in? It's just it's incredibly irritating However, I liked this debate because the performance here was great. I got everything I wanted now Before we get into my rankings before we get into some clips that I want to play for you I want to show you the reaction from one focus group that was conducted by the LA Times This is who they believe won this debate 2 4 6 8 9 and how many thought Bernie Sanders won the debate 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Now this is significant because only six of you walked in here Supporting Sanders those people who are not voting for Sanders, but you thought he won the debate explain to me why? Yes, I thought his personality came through quite a lot and for me that immediate reaction I always imagine somebody going up against Trump and that to me sparks like why he went tonight going a bit Tell me why because I think he had Passion with his answers. He's for the people and he comes through I thought I liked Amy and by and Biden and who do you like? Um, definitely Bernie Sanders. He won you over also. Tell me why he's on fire Did you say fire? Yeah, he's on Explain that I mean he's just he's just feverishly hungry to change the world the America So they agree on top of that you have individuals in media such as David Axelrod admitting Bernie Sanders kind of had a pretty good performance We never talk about Bernie Sanders. He is actually doing pretty well in this polling He's actually picked up and the fact is Bernie Sanders is as consistent Consistent can be you know what he's gonna say. I always say it's like a Billy Joel concert You know you hear the hits from the 80s the 90s the 2000 Everybody knows the words and they sing along, but they love it and they come he's got a very devoted Now a large part as to why I think Bernie had a fantastic performance Again is because he demonstrated strength. He was aggressive and really, you know He had this burn it all down approach that I think will work for him now Bernie Sanders you can tell that he doesn't feel comfortable being overly aggressive because he's just a genuinely nice person But you have to demonstrate strength Because people want to see that you are capable of taking in Donald Trump even someone in that focus group that I just played For you they said it seemed like you know, this can be someone who goes up against Trump I'm paraphrasing but it's really important that Bernie Sanders is strong And not only call out your opponents, but call out moderation and he did just that he called out Tim Alberta for a question about climate change that was not good Your question misses the mark It is not an issue of relocating People in towns the issue now is whether we save the planet for our children and our grandchildren That's great Don't be afraid to reject the premise of the question if it's asked to you in a biased way you're framed Inappropriately this is what makes you seem like a leader because that's what Donald Trump would do and people who are watching are Asking themselves whether or not one of these candidates has the correct temperament to face off against Donald Trump in a debate stage And Bernie Sanders was great now while we're still on the subject of moderation moving on to a different subject There was a really weird and kind of funny moment where Judy was calling on Andrew Yang But looking at Tom Steyer and it led to Andrew Yang basically being confused and then ultimately clapping at Judy And then being ignored. Mr. Yang what more Mr. Yang what more I'm sorry mr. Steyer. I'm sorry That was weird, but before we kind of move on to the you know the rankings who I think won and lost even though I kind of spoiled my winner. I want to get to some highlights I think that one of the main highlights was this moment from Elizabeth Warren where she was absolutely charming You would be the oldest president ever inaugurated like you to weigh in as well I'd also be the youngest woman ever inaugurated On top of that there was a moment from Bernie Sanders and he's replicated this before he said this before But he called out Joe Biden voting for the Iraq war and every time he does this I commend him for it Joe you're also the guy who helped lead us into the disastrous war in Iraq and While we're talking about highlights I think it would be appropriate to include low lights such as this really weird moment where Joe Biden was describing what a kid who couldn't talk properly said to him Okay, we get the point that was a little bit weird but moving on to my rankings So usually I have four categories the good the meh kind of in the middle and then we have the losers and the winners I'm going to consolidate two categories the middle one since we are you know We're seeing less people perform at these debates each time and I will not have three categories the losers the ok's to goods and The winners now we're gonna work backwards and get to the winner. So when it comes to my losers, I have Let's see three people ultimately who I believe are losers Tom Steyer Pete Buddha judge and Amy Clobuchar now when it comes to Tom Steyer, you can tell that he is overly rehearsed He is out of his element. He doesn't understand that the things that he says Don't help his case. So for example, he boasted about being in favor of a wealth tax for a year now Not really something to brag about, you know If you said I've been in favor of the wealth tax for ten years Then you know you get a little bit of credit But that tells us that you took that position for purposes of political expediency On top of that, he doesn't really say anything specific when they were talking about corruption He shifted that conversation to Donald Trump randomly when no we were having a really substantive conversation We don't need you to tell us that orange man is bad. We know that let's debate the issue So we see who's the best candidate all around I absolutely cannot stand Tom Steyer one because he's a billionaire who bought his way onto that debate stage But two because I think objectively speaking He is not showing any qualities that demonstrate that he's a leader and is capable of beating Donald Trump His only asset that he believes will help him win is that he's also a you know a businessman He has created jobs and you know if we want to compete with Donald Trump Who's a businessman who thinks that the country should be ran like a business then you should you know Support me a billionaire except in 2012 Democrats were trying to argue against that notion that a businessman should run the country against Mitt Romney that you know The country should be run like a business it should and it's not a business So I don't know what you're getting at but whatever you're trying to put down Nobody's picking up and we don't like you take a hint In fact, there are ads in New Hampshire that he's running so much that there was a political article Or no, excuse me It was from the hill from I want to say two weeks ago Where detailed how people are literally getting irritated by Tom Starr because his ads are playing so much that they've become memes in the state of New Hampshire people have them memorized so he's an absolute loser He was hanging on for dear life to qualify for that next debate He did nothing to help his chances now when it comes to Pete would a judge he Really is a phenomenal talker. He knows how to speak very well and be articulate But he says nothing he moves his mouth There's a lot of noise that comes out of his mouth, but he never says anything meaningful He dodges questions easily. He's able to kind of finesse his way out of corners So for example, he was asked the question about reparations. He said he'd support HR 40 Which is a great step in the right direction But when I saw the video title that PBS had posted it said would a judge commits to supporting reparations Actually, no, he didn't really commit to that if you listen to his answer carefully. He's not giving you a direct answer He's not giving you direct answers to a lot of these questions not to mention I believe he was a loser because this was the beat-up Buddha judge night And I thought that that would be the case last time at that last debate when going into that He was basically the frontrunner But now is the time when everyone shows to beat up Buddha judge We had Bernie Sanders Amy Klobe charles, but Warren all call him out take shots at him And I believe in even Andrew Yang threw in a shot once. I'm not sure. I believe so So it was it was a great sight to see he deserves this Grooney And I think he lost now when it comes to Amy Klobuchar She has benefited from the moderators giving her a boost at each and every single debate and yet that has not Translated into a boost in the polls at all and I think it's because she doesn't know how to read a room properly She is basically an old-school politician She's like the Lisa Simpson of the Democratic Party And I don't mean that as a compliment where everything she says is overly rehearsed She likes to you know talk about platitudes diversity or not diversity. She said Decency values and patriotism. That's what she brought up On top of that she kept interrupting people and it's not like she was interrupting to make a good point Because I think that Strategically you can benefit if you kind of elbow your way into these discussions if you are not being heard and you're being ignored I would recommend Andrew Yang do that, but she would interrupt and Then she starts talking and it's clear that she interjected for absolutely no reason whatsoever Why did you need to say what you needed to say? Like Somebody is talking and making a point and she'll just randomly chime in and say can I respond to that? No, you're polling at 3.3% And she's a little bit smug as well because anytime she finishes a sentence She just see this confidence interface like she fucking just crushed it and that's not the case You're not saying anything meaningful. You're not convincing anyone Okay, and she uses the same platitudes every single time She did not have a good performance and if I had to make a prediction, which I don't usually like to do I would say that the moderators propping her up once again is not going to help her She thinks that she's the strongest to beat Donald Trump But she's not we just ran a moderate in 2016 and that moderate lost to Donald Trump So for you to make that case, um, you don't have a strong argument. I'm sorry. Stop interrupting You're already getting called on disproportionately When you're not polling as well as people like Andrew Yang Stop like she's getting on my skin But not even like remotely close to his Irritated I am with people to judge. He is ultimately the most insufferable out of everyone Now for this next category the okay to good these people kind of just They didn't do terrible But they didn't necessarily help themselves and for the first time I'm putting joe biden In you know, not the loser category or actually, you know what that's not true I did put him in the meh category before when I had that I put him in this category on top of that I debated with myself, but ultimately I'm putting Elizabeth Warren in this category And this one I'm going to put this individual in two categories Andrew yang goes in this category and I'll start with him Andrew yang isn't in this category because I think he had a poor performance He's in this category in terms of who did okay Because I think that his performance was suppressed by the moderators. They essentially prevented him From spreading his wings and I think that that's unfair. I don't support Andrew yang I think that the health care policy he released this week is absolutely embarrassing It shows that he's not serious about real health care reform. It just kind of nibbles around the edges However, I think that his performance at these debates is usually pretty solid He has moved away from just being the ubi candidate He's demonstrating knowledge on other policy areas And he's a really smart intelligent personable guy So he always performs well at these debates But the reason why it's difficult for me to declare him a winner Even though I think you could argue that he is one of the winners Is because the moderators just largely ignored him So you can argue that he's in the winner category. In fact, I'm going to put him in that category too Because I think he performed well, but because the moderators kind of Stopped him from excelling and spreading his wings. As I said He kind of goes in this middle category in terms of how this will help him when it comes to joe biden I mean He had A better performance. I don't think that he lost I think that this was probably one of his more solid performances He seemed like he was able to collect his thoughts a little bit better. He was more articulate He kind of also dunked on the political moderator at one point in time when he was uh joking Um And he he did a little bit better With that being said, I did not like that he was condescending to bernie sanders He was talking about healthcare and his response was put your hand down bernie. No, go fuck yourself He's sitting here using health industry talking points about choice, right public versus private insurance When wendell potter who's a former industry insider turned whistleblower just this last week Revealed to us that he helped craft that talking point. So joe biden isn't saying anything insightful You're using the same health insurance industry talking points. So you don't need to be condescending to bernie sanders I hated that However, even though I hate that putting my feelings aside I think that that helped joe biden a little bit because Whenever you're aggressive and you demonstrate strength That communicates to voters that you are Capable of taking on donald trump now I think that joe biden would face plant in a debate against donald trump But he needed to demonstrate strength, right? Um, and I think that kind of going after bernie in that way it kind of helped him demonstrate strength Although when it comes to policies, he really didn't bring much I think his answer on the economy overall and how to respond to donald trump's quote unquote good economy Was adequate. Um, overall, it just wasn't a horrible performance. So he's in this okay category When it comes to elizabeth warren. So for the first half of this debate She seemed like she didn't want to be there. She wasn't necessarily Giving answers that were up to par with what she usually gives at these debates And on top of that, you know, I just felt like her heart really wasn't in it And maybe this is because her standing in the polls have drastically decreased She is now in third place bernie has surpassed her Although I will say in that second half We saw the old elizabeth warren That we were used to at these debates and when she started to take on Mayor pete for the wine cave fundraiser that was an absolutely brilliant moment She once again brought the charm as she usually does by saying she'd be the youngest woman ever inaugurated I think overall she had a good performance not her best But a good solid performance. Um, although even though she challenged pete, I think he kind of He held his own She did not completely dominate him in the way that I believe, you know, uh kamala dominated biden or tulsi dominated kamala. So It was a great start, but she kind of uh fell off Now moving on to the winner categories as I stated I think that andrew yang Definitely is a winner. He's kind of in two categories here. Um overall I think I would lean towards putting him in the winner category because his performance was great But by and large, I believe that the winner objectively speaking Is bernie sanders. I shouldn't say objectively because you can't necessarily reach and reach an objective truth about someone's performance That's really difficult But trying to like remove myself from my own pro bernie bias and just judge this based on performance as a casual observer I do believe that bernie sanders had the best performance of the night Now that's not to say that his performance was perfect But it was better than usual when he called out pete buddha judge and joe biden's billionaire donors I think that was his strongest moment of the night when it came to health care You know defending medicare for all calling out the greed of the insurance industry. I think he absolutely Crushed it. He made a promise of day one immigration reform and week one health care reform things to get people excited about I think that's incredibly important when it comes to israel palestine once again He reiterated that we can't just be pro israel. We have to be pro palestine as well I think that when a moderator tried to back him into a corner And make it seem as if he didn't want to talk about race issues when he wanted to touch back on climate change I think he did a great job at saving himself from that potential, you know pitfall However, there were a couple of areas where he needed to do better and come prepared because he should have expected these questions The first was When they asked bernie sanders about obama's statement about old men basically needing to get out of the way bernie should have anticipated that this question would be asked because they always ask a question That will hurt bernie sanders based on something that someone said recently usually a democratic party insider So his answer on this Wasn't great. I think that elizabeth warren and p not people to judge joe biden had better responses to that question elizabeth warren in particular had the best response because i mean she had that moment that basically Was a showstopper for a lot of people But his biggest weakness of the night by far was his response to the trans issue and violence against trans women I think that bernie sanders has the best platform when it comes to lgbtq issues But he doesn't know how to properly communicate why his platform is so robust and so good And he needs people in his ear to help him with this because bernie sanders is sympathetic towards the cause of trans people But he needs to be able to communicate their issues and demonstrate understanding and I think that he didn't do this adequately So when they asked him what to do to stop violence against trans women He basically said something to the effect of we need moral leadership But what you have to do bernie is you have to communicate That you know about the root causes that ultimately lead to violence against trans women So what I would have said if I were in that position is look, we need to decriminalize sex work Let's legalize sex work as a matter of fact because a lot of times Trans women are impoverished and they are pushed into this field And if we bring this industry to light, then we can protect trans women, right? This would be something that would be a lifesaver um on top of that if he talked about Economic issues that disproportionately impact the lgbtq community namely trans women trans women of color talked about poverty and homelessness Which makes trans women susceptible to violence. This would have been something that helped him now He brought up health care and how that helps trans women But he didn't mention that medicare for all would cover gender affirming surgeries This is one of the main selling points to me for medicare for all because I have trans Friends who have to resort to go fund me for gender for affirming surgeries This would literally change the lives of every single trans person in america Bragg about that bernie. Like you have a phenomenal policy. Nobody else has that Nobody else is proposing medicare for all aside from elizabeth warrens Promise to pursue it in year three. Okay, not gonna happen. So bernie sanders. He really he has the policy Proposals that he needs. He just needs to do a better job at boasting about it in this area But the great thing about bernie sanders is he tends to listen to constructive criticism so I hope that somebody will see this video and Have bernie, you know get in contact with one of his trans supporters There are many people who are trans who support bernie sanders. I know them So he needs to do a better job in that area So it wasn't a perfect performance But overall even those weaknesses aside Still the best performance from him and I say this because He went above and beyond his usual performance and you can see The effect that he had based on the response on the internet and in mainstream media When you do such a good job at a debate that even the mainstream media pundits have to give you credit You know, you crushed it and bernie absolutely Crushed it. So this is a great debate if you are a bernie supporter because we were already, you know starting to surge And this only adds to that momentum or will hopefully add to his momentum as we get closer and closer to iowa So this is look when this debate ended I was absolutely ecstatic Because I knew bernie sanders did what he needed to do Again, there were a couple of areas where there's opportunity for improvement But by and large this performance is a performance that he needed to have especially at this time When people are already starting to realize He could pull this off. So great performance overall much better, you know, um Debate no thanks to moderation largely due to bernie sanders having a pretty solid night And as a bernie sanders supporter that feels really great to see so I will leave that there I'll have additional video segments where I talk about individual, uh video clips more in depth. Look out for those