Last night was the first of only 6 Democratic party primary debates, conducted by CNN. There were few surprises, and a few good comments. There was very little sniping or tossing other candidates under the bus, but it did happen a couple times. The topics covered a lot of ground, some of which seemed geared towards generating "heat" or "controversy" (those backfired, for the most part). In general, the big takeaway is how much the candidates agree - rather than differ - on most topics.
Most people are familiar with Hillary Clinton - a lifelong Democrat - and Bernie Sanders, whose political career has mostly been as an Independent (never a Democrat). Martin O'Malley is also a lifelong Democrat, and Jim Webb - who sounded more conservative than any of the other candidates - has also always been a Democrat. Lincoln Chafee used to be a Republican, but indicated he didn't leave the party - the party left him.
I will present the topics and my notes on the candidates' responses below (and I apologize for the length), but here is my summation of the candidates' responses:
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