Hillary won the first Debate, but Bernie delivered too

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Hillary Clinton won the first Democratic debate on Tuesday in Las Vegas, but Senator Bernie

Sanders also performed well and delivered what he intended. In many ways, this debate was even more anticipated than the Republican ones, and it certainly gave us a lot of answers.

Emails. Joe Biden. Benghazi. Outsider Politicians. Wall Street. Guns.

Hillary Clinton had the most to loose last night, and Bernie had the most to win. And they both delivered to an extent. But the former Secretary of State came away from the CNN debate as the candidate who had the best night.

Clinton is clearly very smart and knowledgeable, she gives clear and contextual answers and is a highly skilled debater. She performed very well. But it was together with Bernie that they controlled the stage. They had the most time to talk, and everyone payed attention to them. Poor O'Malley.

While Clinton performed the best overall, Sanders received the biggest cheers from the audience, and that says a lot about him and his campaign. People are excited about him, but after months (years if you count 2008 too) of preparation and 'spontaneity', Clinton is getting there too. Perhaps the biggest win for her last night was that she seemed human. She showed glimpses of her personal side, and did not seem to be scripted at all times. She connected with the moderators and the candidates, and engaged with the audience. She even made some jokes. 

Maybe SNL thought her something after all.

However, the overall best part of the night was when Bernie showed that he is a nice human being, and won't destroy others. Not that this was that big of a revelation for most people. When asked about Hillary's email scandal, Bernie didn't take advantage of. he could have destroyed her right up there, but he didn't. He said that everyone is sick of this topic and people should move. Hillary was so happy to hear this, and thanked him. It was a nice and genuine moment. Although we could have gone without her laugh. It sounds evil. 

Sanders is now seen as an even nicer guys (grandpa), which will increase his favorability numbers, but its unclear if they will translate into higher polling numbers.

If you are surprised that this whole article is about Sanders and Clinton, that is only because the whole debate was too. Where was Chafee? We didn't see him either. Webb was just pathetic. He whined and complained too much. It was just sad. If you complain about time, at least do it like Carson. Make a joke. Not like this. O'Malley had some nice moments, and he was visible, but he failed to breakthrough, which could break his campaign. He needs to communicate more clearer and to get to the point. He seems knowledgable, but he can't really get it across.

Biden? Biden who? The Vice President wasn't mentioned once during the debate. He skipped the debate, and we now expect his poll numbers to plummet. We like Joe. We think he should have run, but it is too late now. Last night's debate was our cut off. It was a nice idea, but people should now choose between real the real candidates. Accordingly, both Sanders and Clinton should go up in the polls after the debate. 

They should be happy with the results, as they both achieved what they wanted to! And now back to them, because there is nothing else to talk about.

Hillary's secret weakness is Russia, and the reset button. It has been overshadowed by the emails. But when one thinks about it, it is a major foreign policy failure for both her and Obama, and people could really attack her more on this. Benghazi is old.

Sanders didn't hit her with this, but he did come away gloriously from the Wall Street and money discussion. Sanders aligned himself with Warren on this issue of banks, regulation and corporate greed, and will probably get more of the progressive votes. He was also successful in attacking Hillary on being part of the problem, the 1%, and highlighted the fact that he doesn't have a super PAC and regular Americans support him, and not the millionaires.

Hillary didn't have a proper answer to it. But she did get back on Bernie on the gun issue.

Bernie's viewpoint, while understandable based on Vermont, is outdated. He can't make it sound right in front of a national audience, and this could hurt him very badly in the future. Hillary very brightly navigated this, and made the score 1-1.

So on policy matters they drew, but Clinton came away as the main victor. But Bernie did well as well. However, the underlying problems with Hillary still remain, and they are not about to go away. More scandalous emails will be released, the FBI investigation will proceed and Clinton will have to testify in front of Congress. So there is still a lot that can go horribly wrong for her!

But it is going to be an exciting race!

This is an original material of Finchley 1959.