One take...

My Debate Non-Roundup

KEVIN DRUM

I don’t have even a post-debate roundup this time. As far as I’m concerned, CNN earned an F and all the candidates get an Incomplete.

I get that the cable nets have been dealt a bad hand with these huge debate stages full of people no one has ever heard of. But CNN took a bad hand and turned it into a farce with its constant and aggressive interruptions to keep everyone down to 15 seconds for anything other than an initial question. 15 seconds! Hell, the moderators couldn’t even ask their questions in 15 seconds. The whole thing felt more like a Roman spectacle than a debate among 21st century adults.

High point: Marianne Williamson talking about the “dark psychic force” of Donald Trump’s presidency. She almost won my vote with that.

Best prepared: Elizabeth Warren, who actually knew what the rules were and was prepared to provide very short, compact answers. Of course, as a frontrunner she could probably afford this more than the also-rans.