Author: craigcrawford

Two things happened in the debate before the recent Michigan primary that Bernie Sanders surprisingly won: His attacks on Hillary Clinton’s trade record worked and her specious attacks on his auto bailout voting record did not work. Ergo, he needs to do more of the same and she needs to do something different. Join our chat thread now for tonight’s debate (CNN 9pm ET) in Florida, where Clinton is far ahead, but he will be aiming at Ohio, where he has the best chance at replicating his Michigan success. (And don’t forget Illinois & Missouri, also voting March 15.)

Here is your Tuesday vote watch thread. Michigan, Mississippi top the list. At issue: Will Cruz trump Trump? Is Bernie burnt? Hillary has well earned the $250,000+ she is apparently paying herself from her campaign funds (good luck figuring out the prevarications on this latest mess).

More vote counting today. Michigan is the big one, testing whether Mitt Romney made a difference against Trump in his so called home state. Trump is way ahead in Michigan and Mississippi, also voting today. Handicappers are saying that anything less than double-digit leads will be a sign Trump is losing momentum.

For those who view the coming presidential choices as Hobson’s headache, count out Michael Bloomberg as an option for an alternative. He is out.

In Sunday night’s debate Bernie Sanders pushed hard on trade and Wall Street issues where Hillary Clinton is certainly vulnerable, but landed no hits that she couldn’t diffuse by changing the subject, counter punching and occasionally with outright prevarication. Flustered and flummoxed, Sanders basically threw in the towel. One wonders if Trump is her debate foe in the Fall whether he will rise to the occasion.