When CNN hosted the Republican primary candidates, the candidates got 3 hours in which to make (or sink) their case for the White House. It was a long affair, but some good came from it—Marco Rubio distinguished himself on foreign policy (whether you agree with his approach is a different story entirely,) Carly Fiorina shifted from “dark horse” to budding household name, and Ted Cruz was afforded more of an opportunity to get in on the conversation.
The Democrats won’t be afforded that same luxury.
Next week’s CNN debate—this time, hosting the Democratic primary contenders—will afford the Dems’ 5* candidates just two hours to make their initial splash in the primetime media pond.
*Will Joe Biden debate? We’re still not sure:
As of this writing, the number of Democrats who will be on that stage is still somewhat up in the air. Will there be five candidates? Six? Seven? We’ll just have to wait and see, folks. The biggest unanswered question is whether Vice President Joe Biden will decide to throw his hat in the ring or not. Washington pundits have been obsessing over this question ever since Maureen Dowd wrote a column about it a few months ago (with a heart-wrenching personal story from the deathbed of Beau Biden, Joe’s son). Biden himself has been teasing the possibility of a run, but so far has failed to commit. He may even (if some reports are to be believed) wait until after the first debate is held to make up his mind. This would be an incredibly late entry, to state the obvious.
Biden is in an interesting position, because even without announcing his bid, the polling companies have all put his name into their lists of questions, which has resulted in Biden already garnering enough support to be in a comfortable third place, in a seven-way race. That’s not bad, for a man not even running.
With only two hours allotted for the debate, we could see additional angst directed at DNC Chairman Debbie Wassermann Schultz, who has been inundated with criticism over her decision to limit the field to just 6 officially sanctioned debates. Charges over the DNC’s “rigged” debate schedule have gained traction, and activists and prominent Democrats from presidential candidate Martin O’Malley to congressional leader Nancy Pelosi have taken to national media outlets to question DWS’s decision to limit the number of official debates her candidates are allowed to participate in.
Even the MSM has turned on her, saying that the DNC’s iron grip on its field of candidates is meant to boost Hillary Clinton:
Look for fireworks; the Dems’ slate may be chock full of the same old “politics as usual,” but there’s more than enough drama hidden below the surface to make things interesting by the time next week rolls around.
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Comments
3 hours is too long. The Republicans ought to shorten their debates too.
I don’t think it is that big of a deal to chop off an hour from their first debate. There are only five people showing up. Talking for three hours might be a little too much right now. (Republicans had eleven on stage, three hours seemed to be about the right amount.)
The real thing to look for are the quality of the questions. If they softball questions to Hillary, then we know that everyone is in the bag for her to become the next President. When Hillary gets pushed on questions she doesn’t want to answer, she gets flustered and annoyed.
My guess? Hillary won’t be pushed. She’ll give careful (and vague) answers, stray from the question, hit a popular talking point, and will be “applauded” by a very biased audience. In the Situation Room after the debate, they’ll declare her the outright winner, regardless of how the debate actually went. The GOP will be bashed and lied about. Trump will be at the forefront of the attacks, and we’ll hear nothing but anti-GOP, anti-Trump soundbites for a week.
The relationship Hillary has with the media might be prickly, but they want her (a woman, a Democrat, a Clinton) to win more than anything. Just like voters, they’ll hold their nose and support her. Being untrustworthy, a known liar, and a possible criminal doesn’t matter to these people. Look at how far we’ve fallen as a nation.
“Nobody puts baby in the corner.”
Agree, except I predict they will ask pretty general questions about the scandal, allow Hillary to evade, and not follow up. The others won’t pick up the attack.
That way CNN can claim they asked “the tough questions” even though they never push for answers.
You say that as if they’re not fully aware and completely in agreement to the reduction.
They don’t consider it a reduction/bad thing. Except of exposure to the piercing eyes and ears of the electorate.
“ewww yick. We don’t want the lower class to know what we’re up to. Get them to go away, Jeeves.”
The Republicans have more participants than the democrats. And why is Biden allowed to sit out? He’s just waiting for Hillary to sink lower in the polls, while protecting himself from gaffes.
Also, 3 hours would reveal how very very old both Hillary and Bernie are. Why, Hillary might even have another stroke on stage.
It would definitely be past her bedtime.
Her bedtime, my ass – she’ll be late for cocktail hour and be shaking like Obama when Putin looks at him hard.
Making fun of geriatric overactive bladders isn’t funny. Ageism is real and it’s raging across the Democratic party!
I don’t blame them for truncating the yawn-fest of two old Collectivist pukes trying to convince people there’s a bit of difference between them.
Or a pulse between them…
Do we have a math problem? 10 GOP candidates dividing 3 hrs averages to 18 minutes per. 5 Dem candidates dividing 2 hours averages to 24 minutes per.
The CNN configuration for the Democrat debate will give those candidates approximately 33% more time on average than were given the GOP candidates, assuming the same proportion of time is spent by moderators asking questions, and assuming clowns and squirrels are not part of the CNN presentation.
Math certainly isn’t the strong suit of those who think 45 people should be able to dictate to a group of 247.
Besides: the less time, the better for Hillary. The longer she goes on with her answers, the more votes she loses. CNN already has her back, there wasn’t much more they could do for her.
You and the GOPe just go ahead and keep whining about what ‘should’ be while the rest of us marvel at what is.
This post is misleading. The debate was shortened because Bernie and Hillary are both too old to stand on a stage for three hours.
Just more proof of the stupidity of the clowns hogging the leadership positions of the GOP to let themselves be led by the nose by the likes of CNN.
Their one saving grace: they are one big Trump vote machine, particularly our lowlife Squeaker, John Boehner.
Wacka Flocka Flame for President!!!!!!
Boring, they will be turned off in favor of the shopping channel, 3 hours of lies, please shoot me.