The third Democratic debate is in the bag. Here’s what we learned.
- The debate was a spirited but polite exchange, with a mix of camaraderie and some sharper jabs when the candidates wanted to draw a contrast. They fielded questions on foreign policy, taxes, Wall Street, healthcare, gun control and war.
- Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders turned in strong performances, sticking to the issues and drawing some clear distinctions between them.
- Martin O’Malley struggled to make a mark, alternately attacking his rivals, especially Clinton, and sprinkling self-praise with anecdotes from his time as Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor.
- Sanders apologized for a campaign staffer who breached data of Clinton’s campaign, and the strange political spat that briefly caused Democrats to suspend Sanders from a vital database was quickly resolved.
- Clinton and Sanders argued at length about military intervention abroad. Sanders said the US cannot be “the world’s policeman” and should make Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries lead the fight against jihadi militants. Clinton said the US needs to walk the “rough road” of both promoting democracy while working with the autocrats of the Middle East. All agreed the US should not send ground troops en masse back to the region.
- O’Malley and Clinton badgered Sanders over his guns voting record, noting that he had voted for measures supported by the gun lobby in the past. Sanders acknowledged that he had moved away from those positions in light of recent shootings, and scolded O’Malley: “Do not tell me that I have not shown courage to the gun people.”
- Sanders and O’Malley promised to break up the banks, and Clinton said she thinks “everybody”, including the middle class, corporations and Wall Street, should love her. “They ain’t gonna like me,” Sanders said of the latter two, even though he granted some decent companies do exist. Everybody wanted to increase wages and ensure fair pay for women.
- All three candidates got into heated disputes over taxes and how the US would pay for lower education and healthcare costs, with Clinton ruling out any tax hikes on the middle class. Sanders refused to do so, arguing that a marginal increase would be offset by savings. He also proposed a tax on speculative finance.
- Clinton said US tech companies should cooperate with law enforcers who want greater access to their data. O’Malley said the US shouldn’t sacrifice civil liberties but maybe those tech companies should volunteer the data anyway.
- Republican frontrunner Donald Trump came up repeatedly, as did his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US. Clinton said Isis militants are showing videos of Donald Trump to recruit fighters, Sanders said Trump played on hate and fear to distract Americans from the divisions in the US, and O’Malley talked about “the fascist pleas of billionaires with big mouths”.
- The candidates managed to get a few laughs. Sanders shouted “my name was invoked”, alluding to the debate rules, and teased his rivals’ self-promotion tactics: “I’ll advertise my website as well.” Clinton went topical, closing her remarks with: “May the Force be with you.”
