Insiders: Bad night for Bernie [View all]
He will have time to bone up by the next debate.
Insiders: Bad night for Bernie
One day after the Paris attacks, Democrats viewed him as unprepared to talk in depth about foreign policy.
By Katie Glueck
11/15/15 06:50 AM EST
By Todd S. Purdum
Bernie Sanders had the weakest night of the three Democrats onstage at Saturday night’s debate.
That’s according to a survey of the POLITICO Caucus, a bipartisan group of influential strategists, operatives and activists in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, who weighed in immediately following the second Democratic primary debate.
Nearly half of Democrats surveyed said the Vermont senator lost the debate, and only 10 percent of Democrats said he won. Those insiders who said Sanders had the worst night argued that he appeared out of his depth on foreign policy a day after terrorist attacks rocked France. He spent just a few seconds addressing the matter in his opening statement before pivoting to his familiar pitch about the economy, in stark contrast to rival Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state who devoted her entire statement to the Paris attacks.
“He made a mistake right off the bat in switching from Paris to the economy, and had an uneven performance,” a New Hampshire Democrat said.
"He was clearly not comfortable discussing detail on foreign policy matters," agreed another New Hampshire Democrat.
Others said the self-described democratic socialist made no effort to appeal to the broader Democratic Party, and reinforced perceptions Saturday night that he is unelectable.........................
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/insiders-bad-night-for-bernie-215901#ixzz3rgvnuZBi
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