A Messy Debate

New York Times: “The forum plunged repeatedly into an unsightly spectacle of flailing hands and raised voices, and even outright chaos, with candidates talking over one another and the moderators struggling and failing at times to direct an orderly argument.”

John Harris: “The snarling incoherence of the latest Democratic presidential debate Tuesday evening made it painfully hard to follow. But in its own way the encounter perfectly crystallized the twin strategic challenges facing the party.”

“The evening was defined by peevish exchanges, raised voices, feeble attempts at humor, complaints about fairness in being allowed to speak, and extended passages of cross-talk in which moderators utterly lost control of the debate and it was impossible even to understand what was being said. The noise was hardly conducive to a sustained or intelligible argument about whether Sanders is the strongest nominee or the one most representative of the views and temper of the party.”