MSNBC Democratic Debate: Live Coverage

I’m a bit more cynical, I suppose. As a Michigander, I’m really happy that presidential candidates are visiting and talking about Flint. But the timing is unusual — you don’t usually take off on the Sunday before the New Hampshire primary — and it seems like a way for Clinton to lower the media’s expectations for how well she’ll do on Tuesday.

Speaking of Flint, Michigan, Clinton is headed there on Sunday. According to Rebecca Leber at The New Republic, Clinton has chosen to make the water crisis in Flint a high priority for her campaign for two reasons: “to shore up the African-American vote, and to bolster her general-election narrative about the need for good governance.” Does that seem right?

A few moments ago I noted that economists are split on the likely impact of the TPP. But they aren’t split at all on trade: They’re for it. A survey of top economists from across the political spectrum in 2012 found that 85 percent thought free trade was good for both consumers and the overall economy. And 85 percent also believed that NAFTA, which Sanders opposed, made Americans better off on average.