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FRIDAY YES OR NO: ATTACK OF THE SPOUSES EDITION

It’s March 25, 2016.

It’s Good Friday and the Easter weekend. A happy holiday to all who celebrate.

It’s also time for Friday Yes or No, my cop out way of getting one of these blog posts done. Except that, for some reason, it’s really to come up with at least 10 questions for which the answers can only be yes or no.

But here goes:

Q1: Normally speaking, should the spouses of presidential candidates be fair game during a campaign?

A1: No

Q2: This time around, there is an exception, right?

A2: Yes

Q3: And, for once a justified exception involving her, that would be Hillary Clinton’s spouse?

A3: Yes

Q4: And that would be because his past work experience includes the same job she’s seeking, and she has referenced his job tenure as part of her party’s record of success?

A4: Yes

Q4A: Although the scrutiny applies only to his work experience, right?

A4A: Yes

Q5: Would the same apply if he was just Bill Rodham, investment banker, model, ad executive or college president, the jobs of the other presidential candidate spouses?

A5: No

Q6: So that’s five questions down already, right?

A6: Yes

Q7: Does the word “idiot” adequately describe the governors of Indiana and North Carolina?

A7: No

Q8: Does it seem consistent that the Republican governor of North Carolina doesn’t want government interference in people’s lives, but is ready to monitor who goes to what bathroom?

A8: No

Q9: Does it seem consistent that the Republican governor of Indiana doesn’t want government interference in people’s lives, but is ready to force women in his state to bear children with Down syndrome?

A9: No

Q10: Will Americans be cheered by the fact that the No. 2 ISIS operative is headed for the hell he deserves?

A10: No

Q11: Is that because his miserable existence isn’t worth any one of the 30-plus people the jackals he inspired killed in the Brussels attack this week?

A11: Yes

Q12: And yet, it’s a really good thing that this pond scum died, right?

A12: Yes

Q13: Is it a good thing that the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York is getting replaced?

A13: Yes

Q14: Is it going to be worth the wait to 2026, when it might be finished?

A14: No

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TEAMMATES

1. It’s Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

2. Reacting to the Brussels bombings, Ted Cruz called for the nation’s police departments to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods” in an effort to ward off similar attacks in the United States.

That puts Cruz and ISIS on the same team. They both want American Muslims isolated and alienated.

You can understand why ISIS – a collective of sick minds that tries to cloak itself in respectability by appropriating Islam – would feel that way. Like the vampires they are, ISIS’ members want fresh blood for their nihilistic view.

I can’t for the life of me think why any sane American, concerned with the threat of terrorism, wants to create breeding grounds for ISIS.

But then you have Cruz, supposedly more respectable than Donald Trump (just ask Jeb Bush), but at least as big a horse’s ass.

Muslims serve proudly and bravely in our military and our nation’s police forces. Their hard work in businesses across America pays the taxes that pay this dope’s salary as a U.S. senator. Their contributions to our society dwarf anything Cruz has done for anyone but himself.

Turning our law enforcement into a special Gestapo for Muslims is an insult, an affront to anyone with a sense of decency. It is exactly what Cruz and his ilk call “radical Islamists” want us to do in order to give a foothold in the United States.

It’s probably a little hyperbolic to say Ted Cruz is colluding with ISIS for mutual gain. But after a stupid statement like the one he made yesterday, it’s the end result.

3. Hillary Clinton won big in Arizona. Bernie Sanders won bigger in Utah and Idaho. The end result was that Sanders got five more delegates than Clinton in yesterday’s primary and caucuses.

That’s not going to change the basic picture in the Democratic race. And even when, as expected, Sanders sweeps Saturday’s contests in Washington State, Hawaii and Alaska, he still has way too far to go to catch Clinton.

Again, that should not stop Sanders. He’s doing the American people and the Democratic Party a service by raising issues that affect them every day. There are still primaries in some major states – New York, Pennsylvania and California, among others. Those folks have a right to be heard.

In the end, Clinton is likely to be the nominee. She’ll be a better one for having faced Sanders and embraced some of the ideas that he and his supporters have advanced.

4. One of those issues is income inequality and the fact that there are people who are working a full-time job and are still in poverty.

The people in California get a chance to do something about that. A ballot initiative this fall would raise the minimum wage statewide to $15 an hour, more than twice the current federal level of $7.25.  New York’s legislature will have also something to say on this issue, voting in the next few weeks on the $15-an-hour wage advocated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and many labor groups. 

They’re getting a boost from a University of California study showing that, should New York implement the increase, it will improve living standards without costing jobs. That’s because a higher minimum wage reduces worker turnover and increases productivity, making it a net neutral for employers.

By contrast, Idaho’s legislature has approved legislation barring municipalities in the state from raising the minimum wage, the way certain cities have done elsewhere in the nation. The state’s governor let the measure become law without signing it, partly because even if he had objected, the bill passed with veto-proof margins. 

Of course, that’s Idaho, which doesn’t have as many as people as Queens alone. And, with mindsets like that of its lawmakers, for good reason.

2. Even if it was an exhibition game, I hate when the Yankees beat the Mets. Hopefully, we’ll do better when the games count in August.

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COCKROACHES

1. It’s Tuesday, March 22, 2016.

2. Once again, scum surfaces briefly – this time in Brussels – to snuff out meaningful lives in the process of ending its own miserable one.

Once again, people who should be enjoying the arrival of spring are fearing people in their midst. The ones who don’t look like them, which is an awful lot of the human race.

There is no confirmation as to who launched these horrific attacks.

But I know one thing about them. Once again, the cockroaches of the human race have made their presence felt before dying off in their ignominious way. What they’ve done has nothing to do with religion or even politics, even though that might be how they’ll shroud themselves.

They believe in death, because their lives are so goddamn miserable. And, sadly, they’ve taken people who believe in life with them.

3. Here’s a couple of things you can bet on.

You can bet on the Republican presidential candidates to say that the Brussels attack shows how weak President Obama is, especially because he refuses to say that they’re Islamist terrorists.

You can bet on them to say that this proves that the best way to protect America is to ban – temporarily or otherwise – all Muslim immigration.

Maybe Trump won’t say, again, that Islam hates us. But maybe he will. Maybe he thinks the climate created by today’s attacks will make his lemmings and would-be lemmings more receptive to that message.

4. If you read the amazing interview with President Obama in The Atlantic, you’ll have an idea about how he reacts to attacks like the one in Brussels. While he understands Americans’ need to feel secure, he thinks panic is a stupid way to respond – and that’s what he saw in the response to Paris and San Bernardino.

It’s hard not to get mad and scared when you see something like what happened today in Brussels. But your being mad and scared is the aspiration of the people who do these things. Because they can’t make an impact on your life otherwise. They’re losers. They represent nothing but loserdom.

That’s not being naïve. It’s just that we have to trust that authorities are doing everything they can to keep us safe. And then we just go about our business. Otherwise, we’re just going to crawl in a hole. Just like the cockroaches who did what they did in Brussels, so we can join them in their misery.

5. I’m sorry this is so angry. In some ways, that gives in to the terrorists, too. 

I’ve never been to Brussels. Or Istanbul, which got hit over the weekend. Or Ankara, which got hit earlier. Or Jerusalem, which get hit all the time. Or San Bernardino, although I drove through once.

I’ve been to Paris. I’ve been to London. And, of course, I was in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.

There are things about all those places that are wonderful, because otherwise, why would people live there? That they’re all now associated with blood and murder on a mass scale is sad, but not as sad as the hole left in so many hearts by a wanton act.

My heart goes to all who’ve lost loved ones and friends, and the other citizens of Brussels who now must soldier on and live their lives seeing how much hate hurts.

5. Please God No Moore is no longer running a women’s tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. This after his ridiculous comments that women are glomming off the men’s game and should go down on their knees every night in thankfulness for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The outcry against this jerk was swift and strong.

Now he can go home and get on his knees every night and pray to God for forgiveness – if She’s willing to give it.

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KNEELING

1. It’s Monday, March 21, 2016.

2. It’s spring! YES!

3. I’m looking forward to the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Because my bracket has been dead since day two this year, after my pick to win it all – Michigan State – bit the dust to something called Middle Tennessee.

Even though I didn’t pick them to go far, part of my rooting interest now is the Wisconsin Badgers. For one thing, I love rooting for teams Northwestern beat, and my Wildcats beat Wisconsin 70-65 in January. For another, the school keeps fighting the state’s morally challenged governor, who despite all his efforts to diminish one of the nation’s great public universities will try to bask in the glory of this basketball success.

My other cheering interest is Maryland, my daughter’s alma mater. The Terps held off Hawaii last night and now tackle the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Kansas. Let’s see what happens.

4. Serena Williams is one of the world’s best athletes. She might, in fact, be the world’s best athlete, if there was any objective way of measuring that.

Any idiot who attempts to diminish her deserves all the opprobrium that’s coming. And for the idiot who runs the Indian Wells tennis tournament, that’s going to be a lot.

This meatball, whose name is Raymond Moore but whose given names should be Please God No, made the following remarks about women who play professional tennis: “If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport.”

That would come as news to the millions of people who have paid good money to see Maria Sharapova in the current era, and such greats as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf in the past.

And especially to those who root for Serena Williams, who might be the best woman ever to play the sport. She has elevated the overall quality of tennis with her incredible athleticism and her ability to stay competitive for so long in a sport that burns out its stars young.

Ms. Williams is ticked off, and not just because she lost Please God No’s tournament in the finals. She referenced the interest she and her sister, Venus, bring to tournaments around the world, and the fact that they’re as big a draw as any man in tennis.

One other point. In addition to being an antediluvian cluck, Raymond (Please God No) Moore also is not especially patriotic. Federer is Swiss. Nadal is Spanish.

Serena Williams is proudly U.S.A. We should be as proud of her as she is of us.

5. Here’s a question: Where’s Ted Cruz?

Remember him? He’s supposed to be part of a hell-bent mission to stop Donald Trump from being the Republican presidential nominee.

And yet, you’re not going to find a lot of mention of Cruz in the news as this week starts. Trump’s rallies in Arizona and Utah resulted in more attention-getting punching and collar-grabbing.

But after looking around, I found that Cruz spent the weekend dropping in on an Assemblies of God congregation in Peoria, Ariz. The congregation prayed for him, which is touching.

Among the things Cruz told the church members was that each should go out and vote 10 times for him. Then he said that was a joke and that only Democrats committed that kind of voter fraud. 

Cruz’s low profile seems to be a way to lower expectations. He wants to seem like a comeback kid tomorrow when he wins Utah, as expected, and possibly wrestles Arizona from Trump, who’s ahead in the polls.

His big problem is that he only seems interested in people who go to church. The rest of us can, and will, go to hell.

 

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FRIDAY YES OR NO: THE WHATEVER-HAPPENED-TO-FRIDAY-YES-OR-NO EDITION

It’s March 18, 2016.

Since I teach a journalism class on Friday mornings, I haven’t done a Friday Yes or No in quite some time. But it’s Spring Break, and so here I am, ready to answer questions I ask myself, simply and to the point.

Q1: Am I surprised that President Obama is supposedly pushing for Bernie Sanders to drop out of the presidential race?

A1: Yes

Q2: Wouldn’t it be better for Sanders to stay in the race, if only to highlight the fact that Democrats are focused on issues and their physical characteristics?

A2: Yes

Q3: Mitch McConnell shows up at the Kentucky Derby every year. Can you imagine how much fun a day at the track with Mitch might be?

A3: No

Q4: Doesn’t Garland Merrick seem like a more logical name than Merrick Garland?

A4: Yes

Q5: Was I disappointed when President Obama nominated Judge Garland (or is it Judge Merrick?) to the Supreme Court vacancy?

A5: Yes

Q6: Two days later, do I see the logic?

A6: Yes

Q7: That logic being that if President Obama picked a liberal dream justice, he wouldn’t be able to capitalize on the idea that he’s being reasonable and his Republican opponents are being obstinate?

A7: Yes

Q8: When I think of Mitch McConnell, do I think of that line from Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do” about the guy who’s never had a day of fun in his whole life?

A8: Yes

Q9: Do you think Mitch McConnell has ever heard that song?

A9: No

Q10: Was it smart of us to try to ignore Donald Trump’s presidential campaign last summer?

A10: No

Q11: So now we should take him as a serious American politician?

A11: No

Q12: A would-be statesman?

A12: No

Q13: A military leader to inspire confidence in our friends and troops, and fear in our foes?

A13: No

Q14: An administrator of the federal government, with all the things it has to do on a daily and prolonged basis?

A14: No

Q15: Is this presidential campaign scary enough for you yet?

A15: Yes

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STICK AROUND, BERNIE!

1. It’s Thursday, March 17, 2016.

2. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not Irish and will not pretend to be. But I know lots of people who are, and I will celebrate them and their incredible accomplishments toward making this country great. I hope they have a great day.

3. Yesterday was unusual for me in that I spent the day walking through New York. It’s the city where I worked for the better part of 40 years, but that I’ve only been to eight times since I left CNN in October 2014.

There were lots of things to see, some of which I might share in the days ahead. The support for Bernie Sanders as I walked through the city stuck out. Big time.

On the day after Hillary Clinton swept him, Sanders’ supporters didn’t hide. They wore their shirts. They wore their buttons. They wore their hats. They were all over Manhattan Island.

Not to mention all the stickers and posters and graffiti I saw on my trek. From Ground Zero through Chinatown, SoHo through Chelsea and all around Midtown, you could feel the Bern.

4. Normally, you can’t gauge whether a trendy thing in politics is genuine or just people trying to be cool. But when your candidate loses five out of five, and you’re still out there plugging away, it tends to say something about the authenticity of Sanders’ support.

And I see why. I’ve always been a Sanders fan. He is closer to me politically than almost anyone else I can think of. Economic inequality is heading this country in a horrible direction and Sanders’ straight-to-the-point approach of solving America’s problems has tremendous appeal.

5. But I support Clinton for President. She’s the smartest person in this race, and I’m still of the belief that it helps when a President is smart. We are so lucky to have someone like that now.

More important, she can win. Sanders can’t. Once Trump or whatever else the Republicans pull between now and the election start the socialist drumbeat against him, Americans over a certain age are going to be too scared to support him. And, sorry kids, but they vote.

6. And yet, the fact that Clinton won those five states on Tuesday is a sign that Sanders is running a fantastic campaign.

Now that seems contradictory. He lost. In Florida and Ohio, he lost pretty big.

But think back a week. To Michigan, where he shocked her and every pollster with an algorithm. As I wrote last week, it was partly because anger plays well in Michigan, the home state of Michael Moore and Ted Nugent. But he staked out a strong anti-trade position that was a winner.

Clinton, because she’s smart, learned from this. She addressed it in Ohio with similar concerns, and won big.

Now there are some who believe Clinton won because of the violence that has erupted in Trump World – that Democrats see the need to consolidate against the serious threat posed to the nation.

But I just believe Sanders is making her run a better campaign than if she waltzed through the Democratic nomination process unfettered. And he’s conditioning her and her team for what faces them in the fall.

7. There are some Democrats who believe Sanders has had his run, and should step aside. That’s nonsense. First, and foremost, the people walking through Greenwich Village and along the High Line should have their say. That happens April 19. So should the people on Santa Monica Pier and Pier 39 when they vote in June.

Sanders deserves credit for running a solid, issues-focused campaign that appeals to the core of what makes America great – the exact opposite of the campaign waged by someone whose red hats infer that America isn’t already great. There should be a good place for the Vermont senator and his supporters at the convention in Philadelphia.

And that’s where the Sanders campaign won’t end, but join with the Clinton campaign to save this country from catastrophe.

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BEWARE!

1.  It’s Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

2. Yes, fans of Shakespeare and soothsayers, it’s the Ides of March. The 2060th anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Roman Senate. I don’t believe they sell 2060th commemorative patches on the streets of Rome, a lost source of revenue for enterprising street vendors.

3. I’ve been thinking the words “Reichstag Fire” since Friday night, when I watched the footage of the canceled Don Trump rally in Chicago.

Did Trump try to orchestrate an event that would make his detractors look bad and bolster his candidacy, much the way the Nazis orchestrate a fire in the German parliament in order to blame Hitler’s targets? An event that could not fail to draw out hundreds of protestors because it took place in their neighborhood? Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn is sort of on the same page with this

Obviously, I share the world view of the people who protested the Trump rally. It’s infuriating when a rally aimed at making you seem less than human takes place in your backyard.

But is what we all want – this miserable excuse of a human being totally, thoroughly, humiliatingly defeated – best served by disrupting his rallies? I wonder if the disruptions play into his hands. At the very least, they’re a way to further inflame these disgruntled people who have flocked to Trump the way the mice flocked to the Pied Piper.

4. I also find myself fluctuating between pity and contempt for the people supporting Trump. Pointing out statistics that the economy is growing, more people are working and the deficit is declining mean nothing when they’re told that none of the above is true. Pointing out that no one is responsible for killing more terrorists – including the mastermind of 9/11 – than Barack Obama means nothing to people brainwashed into thinking that he wants America defeated and second-rate.

Right now the arrow is pointing to contempt. There has always been a latent seething about people who are different among those who live in my mostly white, working-class area. Trump gives that anger what these people see as respectability – if this successful (?) businessman (?) can feel the same way I do, how wrong can I be?

5. People with common sense are scared, and I want this nonsense to end. On Thursday, I’ll talk about an idea that I have to combat Trumpism that might be better than disruption and playing into this schmuck’s hand, and might make his supporters see the futility of what they’re supporting.

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WOLVERINES

1. It’s Wednesday, March 9, 2016.

2. There might have been Beatles without George Martin, but we probably wouldn’t have heard of them. He fostered the creativity that made their work art that’s appreciated 50 years later. And he’s a reminder that great work is a collaboration and rarely solitary. His passing is sad.

3. I was wondering if President Obama would attend Nancy Reagan’s funeral. But he’s not – he’ll keep a commitment made to speak at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin.

It’s not as if this hasn’t happened before. Obama didn’t attend Betty Ford’s funeral, George W. Bush didn’t attend Lady Bird Johnson’s and Bill Clinton didn’t attend Pat Nixon’s. But Clinton did attend Jackie Kennedy’s funeral.

Nancy Reagan won’t be dishonored by Democratic administrations. Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton will be there. Not sure if Rosalynn Carter will, but she’s in her 90s and might find it hard to travel.

I’m sure Fox News and its friends will get into a lather about this. Maybe that will be this week’s mouth-foaming for these dopes.

4. Michigan is an angry state.

Think about it. Few states have as angry a nickname as the Wolverine State.

It’s always been angry. The first Michigander to emerge on the national scene, Lewis Cass, was a general and an implementer of Andrew Jackson’s Native-American relocation program. He had an STFU attitude on slavery, advocating to let states decide what the hell they wanted.

It’s the home state of Michael Moore and Ted Nugent. Polar political opposites. Same hostile vibe.

That’s what we got last night in the primaries.

On the Republican side, of course Donald Trump won. It’s Michigan. Angry Republicans who sit on a crappy road to work or see their taxes rise because the business base has cleared out are going to think that a guy who comes off as angry as they are will help solve their problems.

On the Democratic side, of course Bernie Sanders won. It’s Michigan. Angry Democrats who’ve watched their jobs go overseas or whose water has been poisoned are going to think that a guy who comes off as angry as they are will help solve their problems.

Trump’s victory was pretty close to what was expected. Sanders’ was a shock. Hillary Clinton was up by 20 points in some polls, and the normally dead-on fivethirtyeight.com site gave her a better than 99% chance of winning.

And yet, she lost. Because it’s just really hard – even in a nation as angry as this one – to fathom how pissed off people in Michigan can get.

That anger is a big problem for the Democrats. A Republican might be able to win the White House without Michigan. It’s much harder for a Democrat. If Clinton is the nominee – and despite last night, she’s still well on track – she absolutely has to find a way to tap into that anger. That her husband’s fingerprints are on trade deals Michiganders blame for their problems doesn’t help.

If it’s Clinton vs. Trump, she has to hit hard on the fact that his businesses benefit from shipping jobs overseas and hiring foreign workers. Relentlessly hard. She has to commit major resources  – if Sanders unites with her at the convention, Michigan is a good place for him to campaign. For God’s sake, don’t send Bill.

I spent three months of my life in Michigan on an internship in college. For my fellow elitists on the East Coast, understand that it’s a beautiful state – once you get past the rusting infrastructure –  and its people are smart and thoughtful.

And angry. Like a wolverine.

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MISSING THE POINT

1. It’s Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

2. Even if Erin Andrews was wearing a Scarlett O’Hara gown, what a creep did to her in what she thought was the privacy of her hotel room was obscene.

Her privacy was invaded. And then, to add insult – not to mention assault – it became an undeserved public shaming through the magic of the Internet.

And while these sorts of things seem gossipy in a nation where there are some real problems, the coverage of Ms. Andrews’ lawsuit and verdict is very troubling.

There seems to be an emphasis on her state of dress when, in fact, it should be on the fact that this happened in the first place.

Obviously, the fact that the video gives prurient idiots something they think they want adds to her pain and suffering. I think headlines that characterize the nature of the video add to the curiosity factor. Even The New York Times fell into this trap.

The worst offender is The New York Post. I won’t repeat the headline or link to a picture of it, because the Post doesn’t deserve even one more click. What makes it all the more stupid is that the Post and Ms. Andrews are related by boss – Rupert Murdoch owns both the parent company of the newspaper and Fox Sports, at which Ms. Andrews currently works.

I doubt that $55 million can buy back peace of mind and security. But I hope, for Ms. Andrews’ sake, it does.

3. While his ego rivals – it might even surpass – that of Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg didn’t get to be a multi-billionaire without being really smart. And despite what his sycophants who stood to rake in campaign bucks might have told him, he knew he couldn’t win a race for President of the United States.

Bloomberg also knew that running would almost ensure a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz presidency. And while, according to Forbes, he might be the eighth richest man in the world, the disaster either of those reigns of terror would inflict on the global economy would be too much for even him to endure.

If he had run, he would have drawn votes from the Democrats, most likely Hillary Clinton. His anti-gun and anti-junk food positions, combined with the fact that Wall Street is the key reason he’s as rich as he is, would have been anathema with the people who are rallying around Trump. Bloomberg stood no chance in any red state, and would have pushed swing states that Clinton might win into the Trump or Cruz column.

It probably bothers him that he won’t get to be President. Settling for trying to make sure a complete incompetent doesn’t get to the White House – and being worth about $40 billion – will have to do.

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KEEP IT GOING

1. It’s Monday, March 7, 2016.

2. Spring is two weeks away. There are Spring Training games on TV. Things are looking up.

3. I haven’t been blogging much in recent weeks. Thus I missed the Republicans bringing the crazy as only they can. The 2012 nominee bad-mouthing the 2016 front-runner whose support he sought whole-heartedly four years ago. The embarrassing crudeness of the most recent debate. The Trump pledge of allegiance in Florida. It’s hard to fathom.

What’s especially hard is the contrast with the Democratic contest.

Last night, in Flint, there were some heated moments between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. They disagreed on policy and pointed out what they believed were inconsistencies or flaws in each other’s record.

But somehow they managed to talk about the issues confronting Flint – in particular, the water crisis that has further devastated the already beleaguered city. And they didn’t weigh in on each other’s physical characteristics, or call each other liars, or constantly interrupt one another so that neither could get a point across.

One reason Sanders’ saying “Excuse me, I’m talking” during one heated exchange resonated so much is that it was the only time in two hours that either of them did that. That’s not quite the way the Republican debates go.

4. I don’t think either candidate won the debate last night. I think both they and the Democrats did, because over the two hours there was a thoughtful, sometimes hard-fought discussion of the things that really mattered to the people watching. There is no question in my mind that both Clinton and Sanders have the intelligence and personal demeanor to run this country, especially compared to the man-children on the Republican side.

But I’m a Democrat and I come in with a bias. And here’s the problem: I doubt very seriously whether there are enough people who are so completely undecided about this election that the brains and maturity of the Democratic candidates compared to their Republican opponents matter.

5. That doesn’t mean the Democratic contest shouldn’t keep going. I support Clinton because I think she’s the smartest person in the field and can bring about the changes I’d like to see.

But I’ve always been a fan of Sanders. And I think he’s helping her. He’s keeping her focused on the issues. He’s giving voice to a side of the Democratic Party that really needs to sound off, and a side that I suspect Clinton is somewhat sympathetic to beyond the fact that she wants their votes in November.

If she wins the nomination fair and square, and gives Sanders and their supporters their due – at the convention and during the campaign – it will pay off big in the end by keeping the Democrats together. And, if there are any truly undecided people left by Nov. 8, the ones who can think will see the difference between her and whatever the Republicans throw at her.

6. I’m going to try to be better about blogging more frequently. See you tomorrow.

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