The Democratic Debate - Mike Bloomberg, Human Punching Bag

AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS POST (THE FIRST PIECE) NOW APPEARS ONLINE IN THE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES (THE PRINT VERSION IS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR TOMORROW)

What happened to civility?

As the urgency of the moment became evident, as Super Tuesday sits at the doorstep, as Michael Bloomberg and his billions threaten to change the political landscape, a war broke out on the Las Vegas stage this evening.

Elizabeth Warren attacked seemingly everything that moved, her suddenly sinking campaign clearly deciding that being "tough" was the appropriate manner to get noticed, to breathe life into her candidacy.

Mr. Bloomberg was pummeled by all, his wealth, his stop and frisk policy, his non- disclosure settlements all fodder for endless very loud criticism. At times he appeared flustered, a bit befuddled and overmatched. It was not a stellar introduction to the country.

Mayor Pete and Senator Klobuchar standing next to each other and going toe to toe. Even Elizabeth Warren getting nasty with her friend Amy.

Senator Sanders repeating his mantra over and over, when not denigrating the former Mayor of New York City.

And Mr. Biden,well, he was there trying to be as coherent and focused as possible.

It made for a more entertaining evening for certain. Whether it was actually a debate was debatable.


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("Despite His Billions, Bloomberg Busts")

He was certainly awful. While those in his corner may have tried to stop the bleeding suggesting it has been a decade since he last appeared in this arena and it takes time to shake off the rust, he was full of holes and often seemingly defenseless. If this were a Vegas prizefight, it would have been a first round knockout.

But Mr. Bloomberg can take some solace in the following: In California, over a million have participated by now in early voting.  Many others have already made up their minds in favor of the former NYC Mayor. And, how many Dems even bothered to tune in to see his flaws so concretely exposed? 

So while dismal is far too glowing a word for the Bloomberg debacle, it is still to be seen if this performance will serve to derail a campaign built on the back of a $60 billion dollar fortune. 

Donald Trump has proven you can fool a lot of the people all of the time. Michael Bloomberg, even with a losing hand in Vegas, is betting big that Mr. Trump is not the only one who can win at that game.