What Democratic debate on CNN ? ? ?

Seriously ? . ...  I  mean SERIOUSLY ! ! !   Was that a gaggle of geese or some other bunch of large feathered fowl on CNN during the time when any sensible person should have been watching Clayton Kershaw master all the Mets except for Daniel Murphy

During the so-called "debate," the only person who talked  about "credibility" and "ethics" as a necessary trait in a candidate for president was Lincoln Chafee  --   Chafee talked about it in his opening; and Chafee talked about it in his closing; and, most important, Chafee talked about it in answer to a direct question posed by Anderson Cooper about Hillary Clinton's E-mails being a "huge" problem for her.

None of the other candidates were willing to talk about Hillary's E-mails  [but Jim Webb might have wanted to, but he was repeatedly cut off by the moderator, Mr. Cooper] ---  AND ---  Bernie Sanders even went so far as to say everybody, including the media, needed to stop focusing on Hillary's  E-mails,  or even talk about them

Speaking of Jim Webb, he was clearly being treated like he didn't belong on the debate stage by the folks at CNN, in the person of Anderson Cooper, the debate's moderator  ---  Whereas Lincoln Chafee was used as a foil by Cooper at a key moment when it looked like Cooper was trying to turn up the heat on Hillary about her E-mails scandal

FIRST,  THE JIM WEBB PART

Let me start by saying there is a pretty even-handed report about what looked to me as if it were a total beat down of  Democratic Candidate Jim Webb by the moderator,  Anderson Cooper.  And, of all places, that report showed up on "Mother Jones."   Even though the opening of Max Blumenthal's piece,  for/in MJ doesn't really tell the complete story, it's not unfair to the Vietnam hero and former Senator, James Webb,   "Jim Webb needed to make a splash at Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate, and his chance to do it arrived early. As the rest of the field sparred over the Iraq War and use of force in Libya and other countries, Webb tried to interject. It was time for the former Marine infantryman, the only person on stage with military experience, to lay the hammer of his combat experience and Pentagon leadership down on the rest of the field....   But when he finally got a chance to speak, Webb's answer was more of a lecture than a smackdown. He wandered from ethnic divisions in Iraq to a nuclear Iran before unexpectedly diving into the issue of China's rising power, one of the former Virginia senator's pet themes. He then finished by picking the first of many fights with moderator Anderson Cooper over his speaking time...."   (See  "Jim Webb Misses His Moment..." by Max J. Rosenthal, 10/14/15,  Mother Jones   [http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/jim-webb-democratic-debate]).

The way Blumenthal's article continued was not very far off-base, either:   "....    It's those moments, which came off as petulant, that may define Webb among voters who know little about him. That, or for his jarring answer to the final question of the night, where he said the enemy he was proudest of making was one he killed in Vietnam.... "

The best part of the Blumenthal piece for the 1 or 2 percent of Democrats for Webb, and/or his other assorted rooters, was this:  "....His finest moment was a respectful exchange with Sanders, in which Webb gracefully declined to take shots at Sanders' status as a conscientious objector during Vietnam and Sanders praised Webb's service and key role in passing the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Both men came off as thoughtful and humane, and Webb got a competitor to talk about his biggest political achievement. But in a debate that was generally civil and substantive, it wasn't enough...."

The end of the Mother Jones piece was a bit of a downer, but given the realities of the CNN debate, what else could it have been.....

THEN,  THE LINCOLN CHAFEE PART

Once during the CNN debate last night,  candidate and former Governor and Senator from Rhode Island,  Lincoln Chafee talked about his deceased father, John Chafee, also a former Govenor and Senator.   [As a matter of disclosure, I met John Chafee once, while he was Secretary of the Navy --  the man who introduced me to him was Captain James Webb, USMC, also the current Democratic Candidate for President].

I give kudos to Lincon Chafee because he was the only Democratic Candidate on the stage at the Wynne Casino in Las Vegas, who even alluded to Hillary Clinton's E-mails scandal.

As I reported in a comment about last night's CNN Democratic debate in the comments string to a prior post,   "....    During the first Democratic debate, moderator Anderson Cooper had asked Hillary Clinton about the ongoing controversy surrounding her emails and her use of a private server during her tenure as Secretary of State....   After a verbal bouquet from Bernie Sanders to Hillary on the issue of the E-mails, Anderson Cooper then brought up Lincoln Chafee’s past criticism of Clinton on the subject; and he asked Chafee if he stood by his prior harsh statements, including that the E-mails issue was a huge problem for Mrs. Clinton....    Former Senator and Governor Chafee replied with this:  'Absolutely. We have to repair American credibility after we told the world Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which he didn’t, so there’s an issue of American credibility out there. So anytime anytime someone’s running to be our leader, and a world leader, which the American President is, credibility is an issue out there with the world. And we have repair work to be done. I think we need someone that has the best in ethical standards as our next President.'...    Although he did not specifially address his comments to Hillary Clinton , given the context of Anderson Cooper's question, Lincoln Chafee's statements about '[having to] to repair American credibility,' 'an issue of American credibility,'  'someone’s running to be our leader, and a world leader, which the American President is, credibility is an issue' and  'best ethical standards as our next president'  were clearly open-ended  references to Hillary Clinton's problems in those areas...."

My comment to the post immediately below this one ended with this:   "....  Mr. Cooper then turned to Hillary Clinton, obviously expecting a response [to the Chaffe comment about her at the debate]:  'Secretary Clinton, do you want to respond?'  Her unflinching, and even SMILING, one word answer was one of the most memorable statements and moments of the debate ---  'No !'  [she said in reply to Cooper]

It certainly bears repeating that  during the so-called "debate," the only person who talked  about "credibility" and "ethics" as a necessary trait in a candidate for president was Lincoln Chafee.   Mr. Chafee talked about it in his opening remarks; and  candidate Chafee talked about it in his closing statement; and, most important, Chafee talked about it in answer to a direct question posed by Anderson Cooper about Hillary Clinton's E-mails being a "huge" problem for her.  Chafee also pointed out more than once, that during his entire public life as a mayor, governor and U.S. Senator,  he has never been mentioned as part of any scandal --- an implied negative comparison to State senator Clinton.

NO DOG IN THIS FIGHT, BUT IF...

So there you have it.   If I had anything close to any dogs in this fight among the Dems, they would have been Chafee and Webb.....