I thought it was a weird debate, with mediocre performances all around (except for John Dickerson and the other CBSers, who were sharp). It’s not clear to me that O’Malley has any real strategy for how to defeat Clinton. It’s not clear that Sanders has any strategy for how to improve his appeal beyond his base. Clinton was playing prevent defense for the first 30 minutes of the debate, and while her tone/demeanor was forceful for the final two-thirds, there were a couple of awkward answers — like on Wall Street and 9/11 — that could later become fodder for commercials.
