CBS Democratic Debate: Live Coverage

You know, Farai, the topic of socialism is something that would dog Sanders in the general campaign. Only 47 percent of Americans said they would be willing to vote for a socialist in the general election campaign, according to a June Gallup poll. That’s lower than any candidate characteristic that Gallup tested. Not surprisingly, Democrats were more willing (at 59 percent), but even that was lower than every other characteristic Gallup tested.

To Farai’s question from before — does Paris make Clinton’s Iraq vote more of an issue? — the answer depends on how willing Sanders is to explicitly attribute the rise of ISIS to the Iraq War and the United States’ policy toward the Middle East. Which is an argument that you’ll sometimes hear scholars and intellectuals make but that presidential candidates are usually reluctant to invoke.

First applause line — Sanders saying he’s not as much of a socialist as Eisenhower in relationship to taxation.