Sep.28

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Debate Takeaways

As always, we watched the debate and wrote our assessment without looking at or listening to anyone else's commentary. Well, OK, staff dachshund Otto barked at DeSantis every time he came on screen, but we didn't let that influence us unduly.

Because the debate happened fairly early in the evening, there's been time for pretty much everyone to do takeaways pieces. So now that our thoughts have been put to paper (or to pixels, at least), let's see how others had it:

The New York Times:

• Punches grazed Trump, but the status quo remains
• DeSantis offers a glimpse of what his supporters have wanted
• Haley cemented her spot near center stage
• Tim Scott reasserted himself
• Ramaswamy showed a kinder, gentler side

The Guardian (UK):

• The candidates finally called out Trump for his absence
• The jokes were worse than usual
• Republicans continue to politicize crime to avoid talking about solutions
• It mostly devolved into culture wars
• Abortion was almost overlooked

The Associated Press:

• DeSantis hits Trump
• GOP's shift from Reagan
• A new tone from Ramaswamy?
• A more assertive Scott
• Running to win?
• The cringe debate

Al Jazeera:

• Attacking Trump
• Talking tough on immigration
• Vivek Ramaswamy on the defensive
• Cringeworthy moments

NBC News:

• DeSantis calls out Trump for skipping the debate
• Christie gets 'Donald Duck' trending on social media
• Candidates deflect on striking union workers
• A GOP stuck in neutral on health care policy
• Haley, Ramaswamy clash again
• Burgum, serial interrupter

The Washington Post:

• Haley aims shots at her rivals
• The candidates diverge on immigration
• A more assertive Scott seizes the spotlight
• Blaming Biden for the autoworkers strike
• An effort to score points over the shutdown

CNN:

• Trump's safe approach appears to pay off
• A messy two hours
• Palmetto pummeling
• An uneven performance for DeSantis
• Tough questions on immigration, Latino voters
• The candidates—and moderators—shy away from abortion talk
• DeSantis, Pence duck health care questions while Haley pounces

The Hill:

• Trump's shadow hangs over debate
• Moderators struggle to keep control
• Ramaswamy tries to reboot
• Scott shakes off Mr. Nice Guy image
• Nobody on stage wins

So, the running themes are: (1) people are attacking Trump finally; (2) still, Trump wins by not being there; (3) Haley did well; (4) Scott got meaner; (5) Ramaswamy got nicer and (6) it was tough to watch. That is about how we saw it, too. (Z)