This was a whole lot easier to analyze than the GOP ones. There were fewer candidates, of course, but the winner was also a lot easier to spot.

  • Hillary Clinton was poised, comfortable,confident and not afraid to throw a punch when needed (she chided Bernie Sanders on guns, for example). It helped, of course, that her opponents only made the most passive attempts at challenging her. And, she wasn't facing the A-Team either. However, this doesn't mean her performance was perfect. Her "everybody has changed a position or two" and "I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone" are two phrases certain to end up in GOP attack ads next fall. Even so, this was the best day that the Clinton campaign has had in a long, long time. Many Democrats have attacked the DNC for limiting debates in order to help Hillary's cause. After tonight, the Clinton campaign should probably reach out to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz and demand more debates.
  • Bernie Sanders wants to run on issues, not on electability,

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