Moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats are weighing in on tonight's debate, and I have to say I'm completely shocked that they and their media outlets are concluding that the two most moderate candidates on stage tonight not named Biden had great nights
It's *very* credible
It's *very* credible
1/ Amy and Pete both did well enough tonight, but the "break-out debate" narrative we're hearing now seems to be a really underdeveloped attempt to craft a simple narrative out of what was an incredibly complex series of interactions in U.S. history's largest ever primary debate
2/ You won't find many progressives who agree with Pete that America can (and knows how to) ban anything it wants *except* AR-15s; you won't find many progressives who agree with Pete that Medicare For All is a violent assault on high-quality healthcare or a tax-raising scheme...
3/ ...and I've heard 0 progressives say that they want Pete to be meaner, to score cheap points against debate opponents and say (as he just did on CNN) that he's "not sure" that any/all of the Top 12 Democratic candidates could beat Trump. But moderates are OK with much of that.
4/ CNN asked Pete about his contrived "courage" line (with Beto), and all Pete would say was he's trying to "move the conversation forward"—which no one who heard the line thought. I like Pete; could see him as a VP; but in shooting for POTUS he may lose a lot of us who like him.
