The Democratic Debate

I didn't see it, but among Democrats who watched most seem to think Sanders won. Hillary has a real problem in this angry season, when nuanced centrism draws only yawns. Sanders comes across as more intense, dedicated and committed because he makes no compromises with political reality. He is not having the careful centrism of Obamacare, with its balanced public/private system carefully calculated to get 60 Senate votes; he wants a single payer system, simple, bold, pure. And absolutely unattainable.

It would not surprise me if Sanders wins Iowa and New Hampshire and maybe several other contests. I keep thinking, though, that Democratic voters will eventually realize that 1) Americans won't vote for a self-avowed socialist, and 2) even if he were elected, Sanders won't be able to pass any of his program. But maybe I am wrong about that; I mean, all of the Republican pundits thought Trump would be long gone by now, and there he still is at the top of the polls. So maybe Democratic voters will stick to Sanders and their principles rather than accept Hillary and her careful posturing. And maybe Sanders really could win against Trump or Cruz. I doubt it, but then so far this has been a very weird election in many ways.