Elizabeth Warren Has Lot To Say, But Nothing New In Debate

Elizabeth Warren's run of standout debate performances hit the same snag Wednesday night that her climb up the polls have experienced. The Massachusetts senator had a solid, but not spectacular, showing in a rather forgettable Democratic debate.

Some of that was perhaps by design. Warren stayed above the debate drama, even as she was not-so-indirectly subjected to more moderate attacks on her progressive proposals.

She instead stuck to the her strength — the issues — sometimes blowing straight past moderators' questions and detailing her would-be policies. But Warren offered nothing new to chew on and no biting one-liners or viral takedowns, all of which helped give her earlier debates some legs.

She also did little to convince skeptics that her liberal ideas would be enough in what, for Democrats, is a must-win election against President Trump.

The performance may not have been as inspirational as her run thus far, but it likely didn't cost her much, either. She was attacked for her Medicare for All plan, but she took far less heat for it than the last debate. She also avoided slip-ups (Joe Biden) and being on the wrong end of a pointed exchange (Tulsi Gabbard) that other candidates were unable to dodge.

Warren, who was passed by Pete Buttigieg at the top of recent polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, again led the field in speaking time, particularly dominating the screen during the first half of the debate.

The first question, on impeachment, was directed at her. But she quickly turned it her refusal to trade high-level positions for big donations, pointing out how Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who gave damning testimony in the impeachment hearings earlier in the day, never should have been appointed in the first place.

When asked about the country's division, she pitched her wealth tax. Sen. Cory Booker pushed back on the feasibility of it, echoing what many in the Democratic party are fearful of.

"I'm tired of freeloading billionaires," Warren retorted.

Which we already knew.

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