O Say Can You Please Entry 12

O Say Can You Please Entry 12: 2020: A Democratic Odyssey

Another Democratic primary debate just took place, and it was different, that’s for sure. Kamala Harris continued to spiral out with a cringeworthy performance, and Andrew Yang delivered his first weak performance right when he was gaining momentum. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden were both inconsistent, and Julian Castro delivered some terrible potshots. Amy Klobuchar was only slightly less listless than usual, while Beto O’Rourke showed that he wasn’t completely incompetent. Buttigieg, while decent as always, struggled to stand out, and Cory Booker only did slightly better. Finally, Elizabeth Warren got off to a slow start, but her performance was solid overall.

    Now, it is time once again to rank these candidates based on three factors: electability, debate performance, and my silly personal opinion. These candidates are the viable ones now, but not all of them were thought to be such in the last ranking. Case in point, here is how I described Beto in Entry 9 after the last debate: “The former darling Dem, no longer such a gem, used to be the one to watch, now kicked down a notch. To make things worse, you’re probably gonna lose! Oh my god, you couldn’t beat Ted frickin’ Cruz!”
The point is, my opinion has changed on some of these people, and may do so in the future. This is also not to be taken personally, or really all that seriously, as it’s all coming from a teenager on the outside looking in. With that said, let’s go from worst to first and see who lands where.

10. Julian Castro (Last ranking: 7)

    In the last ranking, I said the following about this candidate; “You are quite smart, I can tell by what you said, but just don’t let that get to your head!” Clearly, he didn’t quite get that memo, and fell three spots as a result. This is because of some poorly-done and potentially ageist pot shots directed at Biden. As a result, he is now a bottom-tier candidate, as opposed to his middle-of-the-pack status before the recent debate. My advice to him would be to stop with the snark before it forces him out of contention. Stick to mentioning your decent policies and talking about your upbringing. Just leave the dumb jabs to Kamala, and you should be fine.

9. Amy Klobuchar (Last Ranking: 11)

The only reason she is ahead of Castro right now is that she hasn’t made any offensive remarks this campaign season. In all other areas, she is utterly listless as a speaker, and her policies don’t distinguish her from anybody. In fact, the only way I remember her is because her sense of humor is cornier than a Michael Bolton song. I don’t know how she can improve as a candidate, but then again, she isn’t going to go much lower either. Therefore, she is forever doomed to be on only the fringe of electoral viability, at least in this campaign.

8. Beto O’Rourke (Last Ranking: 17)

    I can’t be the only one who isn’t surprised at his last debate performance, can I? After all, his first two debate performances were pretty pathetic, as he seemed totally outmatched in his niche by Pete Buttigieg. However, since two mass shootings in his home state, we have seen Beto become more powerful, but also more impulsive. He’s finally turning things around, but is openly admitting to supporting mandatory confiscation of assault weapons, which is a teensy bit unconstitutional. He may have shot the argument that now defines him in the foot with those remarks, but he’s actually somewhat viable again, so he is one to watch, for better and for worse.

7. Kamala Harris (Last Ranking: 4)

    Speaking of pathetic performances, Kamala absolutely did not sound like herself at the most recent debate. Her opening statement was solid, but she got seriously carried away, and decided to make everything about Trump. She probably didn’t contribute a single notable policy idea all night, which automatically makes her showing bottom-of-the-barrel. She’s only this high because of inertia, and if she keeps blowing it this badly, she will be done. She has to realize how big of a mistake this was, and radically change her approach for the sake of herself and everybody watching.

6. Cory Booker (Last Ranking: 6)

    Booker largely stayed the course in this debate. However, that course isn’t a particularly great one. He is top-notch on some issues (racial and other social ills), but on everything else, he’s raw. There is no doubt in my mind that a better economic advisor would go a long way for him, but he has to take the initiative like he does on the strong issues. Then, he’d be incredible, but that’s not the case right now. He’s still solid, but solid won’t cut it against President Trump, especially since Booker’s weak spot is the economy, where Trump shows most of his strength.

5. Andrew Yang (Last Ranking: 8)

Don’t get me wrong, Yang had a lot of momentum before this debate. However, he couldn’t flip the script on his low speaking time again, and instead cracked an unfortunate joke about knowing a lot of doctors. That will probably sap a little momentum from him, but he isn’t in a particularly bad spot. He just needs to double down on his unique policy ideas to regain what he lost.

4. Pete Buttigieg (Last Ranking: 5)

    Whereas most of the other candidates are shining in some moments and sucking in others, Buttigieg is consistently solid. He never reaches the highest of heights, but Mayor Pete is mastering the long game. He is saving his firepower for when he really needs it, and also has a stable, consistent, and logical approach, even without too much to stand out with. Basically, he is waiting for the other campaigns to collapse, and with Harris in freefall at this point, he is managing to hold on, even if the novelty is mostly gone. He’s probably not going to generate the most headlines, but it is more important to turn in a good performance in the shadows. When he re-emerges into the spotlight, people will regret ever moving it away from him.

3. Bernie Sanders (Last Ranking: 2)

    Seriously, though. Bernie was just disappointing with none of his usual bombast. Also, he got tossed around like a ragdoll when it came to healthcare. This is because of the fact that while you can’t put too much faith in the American public, you can’t put too little faith in them, either. He simply acted too stubborn to really leave much of an impact on that issue. In other words, he needs to do better next time around.

2. Joe Biden (Last Ranking: 3)

    While he has not fully dispelled questions about his fitness for office, I am personally starting to believe he still has what it takes for at least one term. He came off as coherent for once, with the notable exception being the botching of his racial issues argument that made him sound like an obnoxious 80s televangelist. Still, this performance was a drastic improvement for him, and I eagerly await to see if he can keep this momentum.

God, I’m starting to get predictable. Warren tops my list again due to having a high level of consistency than not even Buttigieg can reach at the moment. She is probably the best bet to take on Trump and win in this race, and no amount of Disney movie slurs can change that. However, I don’t believe she’ll win the nomination just yet. Biden has a commanding lead in the early states, and he is also slowly improving as a candidate. Warren is facing another uphill battle because of this, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s her.