Will Jawando and Mark McKinnon on the Democratic Debates

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Did anybody break out in a significant way, Will, as a Democrat?

WILL JAWANDO, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL: Well, I think you saw a couple things between the two nights, from Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, you saw a strong vision from where they think the country should go, you know, Medicare for All. I don’t think anyone in the last two election cycles has had more influence on the Democratic party than Bernie Sanders. Now, the baseline is are you for Medicare for All, are you for free college, and those are ideas that he brought to the forefront, even though they’ve been around for a while. So, I think those two are winners from both nights because what Democrats want — first, they want to beat Donald Trump. Second, they want to have a proactive vision for the country, and I think those two really put that out there. Now, that being said, because Democrats first want to beat Donald Trump, there is still a large contingent that thinks Vice President Joe Biden, my former colleague and boss, is the one to do it. And so, that’s why I think you see him doing well in the polls. So, I also think he is right in there along with Harris and Booker and others, but I think the problem with last night’s debate was that everyone was arguing, they were really in the swamp, got down low and they weren’t given that big vision. That’s what you saw from Warren and Sanders the first night.

AMANPOUR: The big vision. All right. From your perspective as political strategist for previous presidents and you continue to give your advice, what do you think as a Republican in what you’re seeing right now on the Democratic stage, Mark?

MARK MCKINNON, CREATOR AND HOST, “THE CIRCUS”: Well, I agree with the big takeaway which is that, you know, the Democrats spent a lot of time arguing about policies from 20 years ago and not enough time arguing about policies for 20 years from now. I think we learned a lot about the candidates. I thought the debates were good. I thought they were informative. I thought they substantive. I think that the main take away for me for the debates is that Joe Biden survived, although, I would say just barely, but survived is enough for now, and that Elizabeth Warren really thrived. I think that she is the candidate with the most momentum right now. She is the one where the heat in the Democratic Party is right now. I think if you’re for the policies of Sanders and Warren, why not pick Warren, because there is so much heat being generated in the Democratic primary toward diversity and women. She is just like a sunnier version of Bernie who always seem so angry and mad. So, those are the main takeaway. So, I think we are clear about where the nomination might be headed in the Democratic side. I think we have a top tier of Warren, Sanders, Biden, Harris and maybe Booker and Buttigieg kind of sneaking up there. The question is from watching these debates, are they any closer to a strategy and a message to beating Donald Trump? And that, I think, is less clear.