What Went Down On Night One Of The First Democratic Debates

It’s noteworthy that the candidates did not get the opportunity to make opening remarks. That’s probably the biggest loss for lesser-known candidates like Bill DeBlasio, Tulsi Gabbard and John Delany. So they basically took the opportunity to try to introduce themselves instead of really answering the questions in a detailed way.

On the plus side, these questions have been very focused on policy substance. But I’m also experiencing a little whiplash—we’re going through so many policies so quickly, it’s hard to keep track.

In response to Nate’s point about the “battle” and lack of substantive disagreement so far — American parties are as ideologically unified as they have ever been, and yet things like this 20-person field happen.