Dems bash each other rather than Trump

Sam Smith - It was certainly one of the worst presidential debates I've seen, largely because most of the candidates concentrated on attacking each other rather than, as is their current purpose in life, showing how they could effectively defeat Trump. As Daily Beast put it:

If you wanted a debate to help you make up your mind, you came away disappointed. Instead, what you got was shouting and sighs, canned lines and badly landed jokes, curt ways for the candidates showing they had more to say, not-so-subtle pleas for campaign donations, and virtually everyone begging for more time.

And, noted the NY Post:  

The Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina quickly degenerated into a schoolyard screaming match Tuesday night — all of the candidates furiously talking over each other as the CBS moderators seemed unable to do anything about it.

CBS News moderators Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell struggled to keep the seven unruly candidates in line as six of them rushed to attack Bernie Sanders, who they now realize is on an unstoppable march to the nomination.

At one point, all of the candidates were wildly flapping their hands and yelling over each other before former veep Joe Biden chastised their on-stage decorum.

 What was left largely unnoted is that one of the best ways to judge the candidates is to figure out which one would do best against Trump. Coming up with loud and angry reasons not to support their Democratic alternatives is ultimately not a good tool in this regard.  

What happened was another illustration of how politics has become less of an ideological coalition and much more of yet another TV style personality contest. In fact, only one candidate - Amy Klobachar - acted as though she was part of the Democratic Party rather than as its narcissistic would-be savior. It would be far more comforting if the other candidates followed her lead instead of wasting their time attacking the candidate standing next to them.