For this reaction paper, I decided to write about a current event that the majority of the nation of the nation paid some sort of attention to, which was the first Democratic presidential debate of the 2016 campaign, which aired on CNN. The debate took place in Las Vegas at the Wynn casino. The debate was made up of five candidates, consisting of Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee. Before watching the debate, I knew that Hilary Clinton was going into the debates as the favorite and was the most experienced debater. I also knew that Bernie Sanders was next in line to Hilary in means of popularity and Webb, O’Malley, and Chafee were virtually afterthoughts.
Throughout the debate, many issues were discussed. Candidates were asked whether black lives matter or if all lives matter, thoughts on the legalization of marijuana, opinions on gun control, raising the minimum wage, etc. Each candidate was asked challenging questions, such as Hilary Clinton being asked about being accused of inconsistencies with ideals. For the most part, the candidates agreed on many issues, such as wanting to modify gun control laws and wanting to legalize marijuana one way or another.
These issues are very important, because they can greatly change society if new laws are made. Personally, it matters to me, because these issues not only affect my life like it affects other citizens, but also because this is the first election that I will be able to vote in. Because of this, I have paid even closer attention to the presidential debates for the next election. In my personal opinion, Clinton was the most effective in the debate overall, while Sanders fell into a fairly close second. I predict that Hilary will indeed represent the Democrats and Bernie Sanders will end up as her running mate. The first Democratic debate was definitely friendlier and less dramatic than the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign. I take pride in paying...