It was exactly what we expected:  A relatively subdued  debate–the reverse of the Republicans’.

It was more about policy than personality, and it was revealing.

Tonight’s big winner:   Bernie Sanders.  He sounds like he’s still in Brooklyn, but what he says could take him to the White House.

His policy is equality; he’s authentic and passionate.  And he also had the line of the night.

The biggest loser was Hillary Clinton.  The first question to her was “would you say anything to be elected?” which instantly put her on the defensive.

She tried to fight back–and had some good moments–but she didn’t have enough time to erase all the questions about her emails and flip-flops, so they’re still out there.

President Obama also lost tonight.

None of the Democrats on stage were very supportive of his record on the economy, or his foreign policy, or Obamacare.

If the president were listening, I’ll bet he didn’t listen for long.

Voters will have a while to think about what they heard tonight, because the next Democratic debate is more than a month away.

Until then, my guess is poll numbers for Hillary Clinton will stay about where they are;  they’ll go up for Bernie Sanders; just as pressure will go up on Joe Biden to get into the race.

(Copyright (c) 2015 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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