All right, I’m no special snowflake. During last night’s Democratic Debate, Amanda Palmer asked for people’s thoughts, which she would then more likely than not retweet. Still though, AMANDA FUCKING PALMER.

But I digress.

Did you watch the Democratic Debate? I surprised Moose with a trip to downtown Portland, where local Bernie 2016 organizers were holding a debate watch party at the cozy McMenamins Mission Theater (and Pub). It was a two-tiered theater and I had brought us almost too late – almost all the seats looked taken, but Moose, ever my bulldog, sniffed out a pair of seats in the second row of the balcony.

I’m no political analyst, so here are just a list of my thoughts:

• Everyone was really strong. I was surprised by Martin O’Malley’s conviction. He sounds so very sincere and I like his “hey, let’s not fight, guys” attitude. I loved his jab at the Republicans with the “We actually believe in science” comment. (And can anyone explain to me why he’s still in the race? It’s obvious he has no chance at becoming president. Is it for exposure for his ideas?)
• Bernie’s opening statement could have been stronger. He used the first half of it to rehash his script before finally answering the 3-point question. Hillary and O’Malley did a much better job of getting to the point.
• Hillary is such a confident speaker. She has one hell of a poker face. That poise! She looked so unfazed. It’s really impressive.
• Bernie’s sideways dagger glare:

• Cutest moment of the night – Martin O’Malley: “Can I get 30 seconds, too?” (Followed very closely by his reaction to getting 60 seconds first for his closing statements.)

tfw when you get 60 SECONDS https://t.co/d7EKA9Ox5F #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/Iup1hlaexI

— Mashable (@mashable) January 18, 2016

• Hillary was really hitting Bernie hard. It’s clear she’s not taking any chances of a repeat of 2008.
• Bernie’s response to Andrea Mitchell’s question concerning his comments about Bill Clinton: gold. He handled that provocative question so well, saying that he wants to make this presidential campaign about the issues, not personal drama or the like.
• That question for Hillary about her “relationship” with Putin was weird. Am I paranoid for thinking that was supposed to imply things? (Dumb things, specifically.)

All in all, it was an interesting debate. And I realized that as flawed as these candidates and their rhetoric can be, they’re still wa-a-a-a-a-ay more sane than any of the Republican candidates – quite possibly even all of them combined! As much of a Bernie fan as I am, I can still admit that Hillary would be a much better president than any vying for the Republican nomination.

Also, after the debate, I found myself looking at a TIME Internet poll for who won the debate. Their disclaimer is amusing – you can sense the snark through the screen:

Very subtle, TIME. Very subtle.

So fellow Lonely Tribalists, did you watch the debate? What did you think? Are you getting tired of all this political skullduggery? Here, watch this video of a tortoise trying to eat a strawberry and narrated by the late Alan Rickman.

Read more:

• FactChecking the Fourth Democratic Debate | FactCheck.org
• Here’s what you missed from the Democratic debate (in 2 minutes) | MSNBC
• Watch the Democratic Debate (Full) | Youtube
• Winners and losers from the fourth Democratic presidential debate | The Washington Post

[Header image source: Newspaper Post]