Fifth Democratic presidential debate was the best so far

Variety

"The Democratic party primary debate in Atlanta ran long (by about 20 minutes) and had a crowded stage of 10 candidates — and yet, relatively speaking, flew by efficiently," says Daniel D'Addario. "After a passel of debates that had been wildly oversubscribed and caught fire more for personality conflict than policy difference, the MSNBC and Washington Post debate was rigorously moderated and governed by questions intended to draw out differences of belief rather than of rhetorical style. It was a refreshing change, and a signal that the debate calendar may be shifting into its more serious season. The moderators — Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Ashley Parker, and Kristen Welker — deserve special mention for the degree to which thoughtful provocation managed to fit into their elegantly slight questions; the debate covered a great deal of ground, managing to touch on climate change, foreign policy, whether it is even possible to unite Americans anymore, and the legacy of Hillary Clinton." ALSO: The best part of the debate was when simple questions about regular-people problems were asked.