| | | | 6 debate matchups I really want to see |  | | At 8 p.m. ET tonight, the draw begins!
What draw, you ask? The one that determines what night each of the 20 candidates who have qualified for CNN's debates later this month will appear and with whom they will share the stage, of course! (Everything you need to know about the draw -- including all the ways you can watch it -- is here.)
I am pretty darn excited. For the draw -- and the debate. And I've spent a LOT of time thinking about what candidate mixes on stage would make for the best conversations and contrasts. My top six are below -- let's see if any of them happen. Luck of the draw!
1. Joe Biden vs. Kamala Harris: After the California senator dunked on the former vice president in the first debate -- catching Biden totally off-guard with a question about his record on busing -- the two appearing on stage again would be a recipe for a rematch that Biden would hope ends very differently. Actually scratch that: A rematch that Biden would have to make end differently.
2. Elizabeth Warren vs. Bernie Sanders: Warren, the Massachusetts senator, was the lone top-tier candidate in the first night debate last month, meaning we didn't get to see her interact with the other candidates that polling suggests are her main rivals for the nomination. I think the most interesting matchup in that group for Warren is Sanders, who she is directly competing with for the votes of the most liberal elements of the party. Warren is winning that fight of late, meaning Sanders might see the debate as a chance to reset the discussion.
3. Sanders vs. Harris: These two candidates were on the same stage in the first debate, but never really litigated the central question that still lingers over Harris' hard-to-pin-down position on health care: Does she believe, as Sanders does, that ALL private health insurance needs to be eliminated in favor of "Medicare for All" government-run system? Harris has been squishy on that question and Sanders would seem the right person to hash it out with her.
4. Julian Castro vs. Beto O'Rourke: Much like Harris-Biden, the fight over immigration between the former San Antonio mayor and the former Texas congressman was one of the most notable clashes in the first debates. Unlike Harris-Biden, however, this one had a personal edge to it -- as though Castro was unleashing months of pent-up frustration that O'Rourke had someone become a political wunderkind without, in his mind, any real "there" there. O'Rourke is scuffling badly at the moment, and needs to find a way to show signs of life. Maybe a rematch with Castro could do the trick?
5. Biden vs. Michael Bennet: Yes, I know a bit of a weird one BUT: Go back and watch the second night debate last month with Biden and Bennet. The Colorado senator nailed the former vice president when the latter tried to make the case that he had a long record of finding ways to work with Republicans. Bennet jumped in to argue that the deals Biden cut -- often with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) always were better for Republicans than Democrats. That confrontation got overshadowed by Harris' taking on Biden, but it's the sort of thing that could matter if the two men find themselves on stage together later this month.
6. Biden vs. Cory Booker: The New Jersey senator has been, without question, the most outspoken critic of Biden in the race to date -- demanding Biden apologize for seeming to praise a former segregationist senator and then getting into a long back and forth with the former vice president about whether such an apology was needed. That clash with Biden is, by far, the most attention Booker has received in the race so you can be sure that if the two men are on a debate stage, he will try to raise the issue(s) again.
The Point: I could come up with 10 more candidate matchups that intrigue me. Easily. And I will -- once we know the draw!
-- Chris | | "Poor fella."
-- Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, dismissing news that President Trump mentioned him at a rally, saying that VP Mike Pence had told him Buttigieg "never did a good job" as South Bend mayor and is "not a star." | | | You can watch the candidate draw tonight at 8 p.m. ET on CNN and CNNgo.
The DNC informed 20 candidates Wednesday evening that they had qualified to participate in one of two party-sanctioned debates airing July 30 and 31 on CNN. Tonight's drawing will determine which candidate is on which night.
Once the draw is completed Thursday night, CNN will announce the podium positions -- based upon public polling -- for each debate night. Stick around for the analysis.
What topics should the candidates cover at the debate? Vote here. | | Things are really not OK in this New York suburb
Whatever 🙃 means, that's how people feel about politics now 🙃
Elon Musk is making implants to link the brain with a smartphone
Bud Light is offering free beer to any alien that makes it out of Area 51
TOP. GUN. 2.
Where Is Ivanka? | | | This reviewer says the new Ed Sheeran album "sounds like a hostage situation." To be honest, I kind of like it. | | Contempt
It's Congress' repercussion for those who refuse to cooperate with its demands.
The much wonkier Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute defines it as any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12-month imprisonment.
Those demands could include responding to subpoenas, which is why contempt is currently hanging over White House adviser Kellyanne Conway's head.
Conway did not appear at a committee hearing on Monday, despite a subpoena to do so. The committee chair, Elijah Cummings, said a contempt vote would be held July 25, but urged Conway to appear before then. | |
SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE... | | | When Bernie Sanders announced a new pledge yesterday calling on all Democratic candidates to reject donations of more than $200 from pharmaceutical and health insurance executives, he may not have realized that his own campaign was in violation of the pledge.
After signing the pledge, it was discovered that executives from both Pfizer and EMD Serono, two companies that made Sanders' blacklist, had donated to the Sanders campaign. Both donors incorrectly identified their professions when donating.
The Sanders campaign told CNN's Annie Grayer that it will be returning these donations and any others that do not align with the pledge. | |  | | From Brenna: "Make it a personal challenge to approach one of your daily tasks as enthusiastically as Joe Biden approaches a campaign photo op at a soul food restaurant. Share The Point with your most hyped friend!" | | | | | | |
Post a Comment