El Estupido Debate, Parte Uno

I watched every second of the first part of the NBC Democrat Presidential Debate. The highlights were the pizza I had, which needed more sauce, and NBC's microphone difficulties. The second parts of the debate - and the pizza - are scheduled for tonight.

There were three big losers in last night's debate. The first loser was NBC. The Peacock Network couldn't get out of its own way. The technical difficulties were a minor distraction compared to the train-wreck combination of poor questions and candidates who aren't ready to be in front of a national audience.

The questions were too broad, too easy, and fed into the same, boring Democrat talking points. The occasional pointed question was ignored by candidates and those non-answers weren't challenged. And for those reasons, the debate produced no newsworthy moments.

Loser number two was Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts non-Native American has moved ahead of Bernie Sanders in recent polls and looked to use the debates to make further inroads into the hearts of Democrat-Socialist voters. Despite being allowed to answer more questions than other candidates, Warren didn't stand out.

Warren's answers were not memorable and her delivery strident. She needs a debate coach - and if there is one, then someone needs to be replaced. She confuses volume with passion and finger-pointing with forcefulness.

Warren's bid to be relevant is annoying and will hurt her in the polls. No one wants to hear that scolding voice for four years. It's far too easy to envision her scowling, pointing her finger, and raising her voice as she passionately harangues the starving masses about the virtues of socialism.

Loser number three is Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke. O'Rourke is the bubblegum pop star who believes the columns in TigerBeat and assumes he has the talent elucidated by pimply thirteen year-olds. Part of Beto's problem is that he thinks his adolescent followers are right and that he is fascinating. He's not. No one wants to see Beto at the dentist, but he doesn't know that. And no one wanted to see his clueless performance last night.

Last night was the public execution of the Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign. Even among the lackluster talent onstage last night, O'Rourke was out of place. The execrable Bill de Blasio, the immediately forgettable Tim Ryan, and the annoying John Delaney all looked more at home than O'Rourke. The only question left for Beto is, "How long will it take you to acknowledge the obvious?" It's time to take the first skateboard back to Texas.

I thought Tulsi Gabbard stood out in a good way last night. The Hawaiian Congresswoman gave clear, confident answers; wasn't afraid to mix it up with the other candidates; and was what Elizabeth Warren wants to be: forceful without being tiresome or shrill.

Gabbard comes across as a leader, but she isn't far-left crazy enough for the Democrat masses, so despite her performance last night, she's on borrowed time. Gabbard was also the most Googled candidate last night. This may or may not mean as much as some believe. Frankly, Gabbard is a very attractive woman and that could account for some of the internet searches.

The first half of the first Democrat Presidential debate is done. Tonight, we'll see how some of the better-known candidates perform. If they do well, then Elizabeth Warren's campaign is in trouble unless there are highly-negative, headline-stealing events tonight. A stage with Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and the ridiculous Eric Swalwell leaves a lot of room for gaffes, overreaches and in Joe's case: groping. It's probably good for Biden that he's not sharing a stage with Tulsi Gabbard. I'm pretty sure he Googled her last night. Someone clean up the drool.

What You Won't Hear at the Democrat Presidential Debates

There is much speculation about what will be said during the June 26th and June 27th Democrat presidential debates. Some of the speculation is serious; more is in the form of drinking games for certain empty Democrat euphemisms.
I'm not going to do that. Instead, here are five things you won't hear.

1. Responsibility
You might near about how the federal government should be responsible for handing out freebies to every demographic targeted by Democrats, but you won't hear a word about individual responsibility - unless the Democrat candidates are blaming President Trump.

2. The Trump Economy
How do you run an election when the economy is booming and you're the party not in the White House? You embark on a fantastic, drug-fueled trip to a land where logic, economics, and common sense don't exist - a land so insane that Dr. Hunter S. Thompson would appear to be a tee-totaling Southern Baptist preacher. A land where you credit the economy to the most recent Democrat President who lampooned the ideas that three percent growth could occur again and that American manufacturing would return. Listen for the phrase "Obama economy" to know just how gullible Democrats believe you to be.

3. Israel
Democrats have abandoned Israel and are actively undermining it abroad while demonizing it in public here in the United States. Remember when the Democrat leadership publicly scolded US Representative Ilhan Omar for her blatant, multiple, anti-semitic remarks? No, you didn't miss it. Democrats defended her vile remarks.

4. Energy Independence
The United States is now a net exporter of energy. You won't hear a word about this. You won't hear that our lack of reliance on oil from the Middle East is why our gasoline prices aren't skyrocketing because of Iran's attacks in the Straits of Hormuz. You will; however, hear about the Democrats' "Green New Deal" which begins, "Once upon a time . . ."

5. The Border Crisis
You'll hear a lot about "the humanitarian crisis at the border," but you won't hear a word about "the border crisis" or the "illegal immigrant crisis". Remember that just a few weeks ago, Democrats denied there was any crisis at all along our southern border. Now, they seek to frame it as a crisis for the illegal immigrants, not for the country.

So, there you have it. I don't trust NBC's panel of pundits, panderers, and progressives to ask the candidates any difficult questions, so keep in mind what was not discussed and was, in fact, vigorously avoided.