周二晚上，伊丽莎白·沃伦将舞台上的候选人分为赢家和输家。“看看舞台上的男人，”她说。“他们总共输掉了10次选举。在这个舞台上，唯一赢得他们参加的每一次选举的人是女性:艾米和我。”
这是今晚所有候选人最热烈的掌声，艾米——参议员克洛布查尔——也很乐意跟随。“太对了！”在中西部立法者推出她最喜欢的辩论口号之前，她大声喊道:“我赢得了每场比赛，每一个地方，每一次。”
沃伦在选举问题上的赌博获得了回报。她是当晚的大赢家。而且，因为涨潮托起了所有的船，克洛布查尔也能够抓住交给她的时机，同时仍然保持在她的温和路线上，甚至有时采取沃伦进步的医疗保健政策。
在这些人中，只有参议员伯尼·桑德斯进行了激烈的辩论。他断然否认他曾告诉沃伦一个女人不能当选总统的故事，用他一贯的精力推出政策要点伯尔尼斯托，并承诺支持任何成为民主党候选人的人。(“我希望不是这样，我希望是我，”他说。)
印第安纳州前南本德市市长皮特·巴蒂吉度过了一个黯淡的夜晚，他努力突破并确定自己计划的细节。这在一两年前他在民意测验中名列前茅的时候不会是一个争论的问题，但是这位前罗兹奖学金获得者已经退了下来(尽管他仍然是前四名的竞争者)，他需要一个强劲的表现才能再次飙升。他没明白。
前副总统乔·拜登也没有，但是到目前为止，他跌跌撞撞的辩论表现并没有伤害到他，现在似乎仍然如此。最后，亿万富翁汤姆·施泰尔也在台上。关于他只能说这么多，所以我们继续。
2020年1月14日，在爱荷华州得梅因德雷克大学举行的民主党总统初选辩论中，前副总统乔·拜登在聆听伊丽莎白·沃伦参议员的讲话。
沃伦战胜桑德斯，并获胜
沃伦当晚最重要的时刻是在主持人第一次问桑德斯，事实上，他是否说过一个女人不能赢得总统选举之后。他完全否认，认为整个想法荒谬。
“事实上，我没有说出来，”桑德斯说。“任何人都认识我，都知道我认为一个女人不能成为美国总统是不可理解的。今天去YouTube，有一段30年前我谈论一个女人如何成为美国总统的视频。事实上，2015年，我把这件事交给了沃伦参议员。有一场动员沃伦参议员竞选总统的运动。你知道吗，我说，退后。当沃伦参议员决定不竞选时，我后来确实竞选了。
“希拉里·克林顿以300万张选票赢得了普选。一百万年后怎么会有人不相信一个女人能成为美国总统呢？让我非常明确地说，如果这个舞台上的任何一个女人，或者这个舞台上的任何一个男人赢得提名，我希望不是这样，我希望是我，但是如果他们这样做了，我将尽我所能确保他们当选来击败我们国家历史上最危险的总统。”
当被问及她当时对桑德斯的反应时，沃伦很强势，但没有排练过度。“我不同意。伯尼是我的朋友，我不是来和伯尼打架的，”她说。她没有否认他已经发表了评论。“但听着，这个关于女性能否成为总统的问题已经被提出来了，现在是我们迎头痛击的时候了。我认为谈论谁能赢的最好方式是看人们的获胜记录。
“那么，一个女人能打败唐纳德·特朗普吗？看看这个舞台上的男人，”她说，为男性候选人的落选记录设置了自己的落选时刻。
沃伦还对她的候选人同伴发表了另一个令人惊讶的声明:“在过去30年里，唯一打败在任共和党人的人就是我。”
但这一点有点模糊。桑德斯声称，他也击败了现任共和党人。你基本上可以看到沃伦脑子里的齿轮在转动，因为她插嘴问道，“那不是30年前吗？”桑德斯证实，是的，那是在1990年。有一个意味深长的停顿，两位候选人看起来都很困惑，不确定对方是如何定义“过去30年”的谢天谢地，主持人继续前进，但在观众做出一些讽刺之前:
尽管如此，这是一出聪明的戏。选民们对沃伦的当选表现出犹豫不决，她把注意力集中在实际的选举结果上，直接解决了这个问题。但是如果她赢得了这场战斗，她可能仍然会输掉这场战争。推特对她的“30年”路线的反应是两极化的，许多桑德斯的粉丝被他们看到的廉价镜头激怒了。当前的政治物理学定律是，沃伦的每一个行动都会给桑德斯带来一个平等和相反的冲击。
这种交流显然刺痛了沃伦:辩论结束时，她避开了桑德斯主动伸出的握手——从现在开始，你可能会反复看到这一片段，这可能会进一步疏远伯尼的兄弟们。
让我们谈个人问题
就像沃伦的激情时刻一样，当晚其他最好的时刻也到来了，候选人不再谈论自己，而是关注成千上万受政策影响的人。
但是，当特朗普向中东派遣更多军队时，凭借他在军队服役的个人经验，迪吉格是第一个尝试的人，值得一提。
“每当我看到这种情况发生时，我都会想起我们出发的那一天，那段留给家人告别的时间，”布特格回忆起他被部署前的最后时刻。“我记得当我们离开时，我和我的一个朋友，另一个和我一起训练的中尉走在一起，他一岁半的儿子蹒跚地跟在他后面，不明白他父亲为什么不回头去接他，但他用尽了所有的力气才没有回头再看他的儿子一次。当我们看到更多的军队被派往危险的地方时，现在成千上万的人正在这样做。”
但是没有人能超越克洛布彻令人印象深刻的诱饵和开关，从一个相当枯燥的USMCA问题变成一个关于特朗普贸易战留下的工人的感人故事。
“我永远不会忘记去爱荷华州的克劳福特维尔。我去了这家工厂，工厂里只剩下一个工人。由于唐纳德·特朗普的贸易政策，也由于他对这些工人的所作所为，给石油公司秘密豁免并破坏可再生燃料标准，该工厂已经关闭。那个工人拿出一套制服，说道:“这些是我的朋友，他们不再在这里工作了。”他们的名字绣在制服上:德里克。马克。萨尔瓦多。唐纳德·特朗普的贸易战伤害了这些人。"
克洛布查尔此举很明智，他的竞选团队声称她是今晚舞台上唯一一个走访了爱荷华州所有99个县的候选人。离爱荷华州核心会议只有几周的时间了，这种不间断的竞选活动是她本可以投入更多的。
2020年1月14日，在爱荷华州得梅因德雷克大学举行的民主党总统初选辩论后，伊丽莎白·沃伦参议员和伯尼·桑德斯参议员在一旁观看。
没有人喜欢独裁者
今晚的舞台上有强烈的分歧，尤其是在医疗保健和贸易方面(“乔和我在这里有一个根本性的分歧，以防你没有注意到，”桑德斯曾经开玩笑说)。但是，前30分钟辩论的焦点是伊朗和美国军队，这清楚地表明，在外交事务上，他们之间几乎没有什么分歧。
最轻松的时刻到来了，拜登在回答特朗普与朝鲜领导人金正恩三次会晤的问题时，开始用第三人称称呼自己。
“我不会会见“最高领袖”，他说乔·拜登是一只疯狗，应该被棍子打死，”前副总统说。
“除此之外，你喜欢他吗？”桑德斯说..
“除此之外，我喜欢他，”拜登回答道。"紧接着，他收到了特朗普的一封情书."
站在舞台中央，拜登和桑德斯有机会抢走今晚的风头。相反，他们做得足够好，不太可能在爱荷华州的民意测验中被推翻。但是离核心会议只有20天了，沃伦今晚为该州数千名犹豫不决的选民提出了强有力的理由。如果她关于候选人资格的争论被选民接受，这足以让他们中的一个下台。
WHO WON THE SEVENTH DEMOCRATIC DEBATE IN IOWA? ANALYSIS OF THE WINNERS, LOSERS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Elizabeth Warren sorted the candidates on the stage Tuesday night into winners and losers. "Look at the men on this stage," she said. "Collectively, they have lost 10 elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they've been in are the women: Amy and me."
That was the biggest applause line of the night from any candidate, and Amy--Senator Klobuchar, that is--was happy to follow it. "So true!" she called out, before the Midwest lawmaker rolled out her favorite debate catchphrase, which she wheeled out twice during the evening: "I have won every race, every place, every time."
Warren's gamble, taking on the issue of electability, paid off. She was the night's big winner. And, because a rising tide lifts all boats, Klobuchar was also able to seize the moments handed to her while still staying in her moderate lane, even taking on Warren's progressive health care policies at times.
Among the men, only Senator Bernie Sanders had a strong debate. He emphatically denied the story that he had told Warren a woman couldn't be elected president, rolled out the Bernifesto of policy points with his usual energy, and promised to support whoever becomes the Democratic nominee. ("I hope that's not the case, I hope it's me," he said.)
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a lackluster night, struggling to break through and pinpoint specifics on his plans. That wouldn't have been an issue a debate or two ago when he was riding high atop the polls, but the former Rhodes Scholar has since dropped back down (though he's still a top 4 contender) and he needed a strong performance to soar upwards again. He didn't get it.
Neither did former Vice President Joe Biden, but so far his stumbling debate performances haven't hurt him, and that seems to still be the case. Lastly, billionaire Tom Steyer was also on the stage. That's all that can really be said about him, so we'll move on.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks as former Vice President Joe Biden listens during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Warren Takes on Sanders, And Wins
Warren's big moment of the night came after moderators first asked Sanders if he had, in fact, said a woman could not win the presidential election. He denied it completely, deeming the whole idea preposterous.
"As a matter of fact, I didn't say it," said Sanders. "Anybody knows me, knows that it's incomprehensible that I would think that a woman could not be president of the United States. Go to YouTube today, there's some video of me 30 years ago talking about how a woman could become president of the United States. In 2015, I deferred, in fact, to Senator Warren. There was a movement to draft Senator Warren to run for president. And you know what, I said, stay back. And when Senator Warren decided not to run I did run afterwards.
"Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million votes. How could anybody in a million years not believe that a woman could become president of the United States? And let me be very clear, if any of the women on this stage, or any of the men on this stage, win the nomination, I hope that's not the case, I hope it's me, but if they do I will do everything in my power to make sure they are elected to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of our country."
When asked how she responded to Sanders at the time, Warren was strong but not overly-rehearsed. "I disagreed. Bernie is my friend and I am not here to try and fight with Bernie," she said. She did not back away from the assertion that he'd made the comment. "But look, this question about whether or not a woman can be president has been raised and it's time for us to attack it head on. I think the best way to talk about who can win is by looking at people's winning record.
"So, can a woman beat Donald Trump? Look at the men on this stage," she said setting up her drop-the-mic moment about the male candidates' losing records.
Warren also doubled down with another surprising claim about her fellow candidates: "And the only person who has beaten an incumbent Republican anytime in the past 30 years is me."
But this point was a little murkier. Sanders contended that he, too, beat an incumbent Republican. You could basically see the gears turning in Warren's mind as she interrupted to ask, "Wasn't that 30 years ago?" Sanders confirmed that, yes, it was in 1990. There was a pregnant pause and both candidates looked confused and unsure as to how the other was defining "in the last 30 years." Moderators thankfully moved on but not before viewers made some quips:
Still, it was a smart play. Voters have shown hesitancy about Warren's electability and she tackled the concern head on, focusing on actual election results. But if she won the battle, she may still be losing the war. Twitter reaction to her "30 years" line was polarized, with plenty of Sanders fans enraged by what they saw a cheap shot. The current law of political physics is that every Warren action draws an equal and opposite surge for Sanders.
The exchange obviously stung Warren: when the debate ended she turned away from Sanders' proffered handshake—a clip you are likely to see repeatedly from now on, and which may further alienate Bernie's bros.
Let's Get Personal
Like Warren's hot minute, the other best moments of the night came when candidates stopped talking about themselves and rather focused on the thousands of people affected by policies.
Buttigieg deserves an honorable mention for being the first to try it, leaning on his personal experience serving in the military as Trump sends more troops to the Middle East.
"Whenever I see that happen I think about the day we shipped out, the time that was set aside for saying goodbye to family members," Buttigeg recalled about the last moments before his deployment. "I remember walking with a friend of mine, another lieutenant I trained with, as we walked away, and his one and a half year old boy was toddling after him, not understanding why his father wasn't turning back to scoop him up but it took all the strength he had to not to turn around and look at his boy one more time. That is happening right now by the thousands as we see more troops sent into harm's way."
But no one could top Klobuchar's impressive bait-and-switch from a rather dry question on the USMCA to a heart-felt story of workers left behind by Trump's trade war.
"I will never forget going to Crawfordsville, Iowa. I went to this plant and there was one worker left in that plant. That plant had been shut down because of Donald Trump's trade policies, and because of what he had done to those workers, giving secret waivers to oil companies and ruining the Renewable Fuel Standard. That worker brought out a coat rack of uniforms and said, 'These are my friends and they don't work here any more.' And their names were embroidered on those uniforms: Derek. Mark. Salvador. These are real people hurt by Donald Trump's trade war."
It was a smart move by Klobuchar, whose campaign claimed she is the only candidate on tonight's stage to have visited all 99 Iowa counties. With just weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, that non-stop campaigning is something she could have leaned into even more.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speak as Tom Steyer looks on after the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa.
No One Likes Dictators
There were strong disagreements on the stage tonight, particularly about health care and trade ("Joe and I have a fundamental disagreement here, in case you haven't noticed," Sanders joked at one point). But, the debate's focus on Iran and U.S. troops for the first 30 minutes, made clear that when it comes to foreign affairs there's barely a hair between them.
The lightest moment came when Biden began referring to himself in third person in response to a question about Trump's three meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"I would not meet with the "Supreme Leader," who said Joe Biden is a rabid dog who should be beaten to death with a stick," the former vice president said.
"Other than that you like him?" Sanders said..
"Other than that I like him," Biden responded. "And then he got a love letter from Trump right after that."
Standing center stage, Biden and Sanders had the chance to steal tonight's limelight. Instead, they did well enough that it's unlikely they'd be knocked off their top positions in Iowa's polls. But with just 20 days left until the caucuses, Warren made a strong case tonight for the state's thousands of undecided voters. If her argument on electability gets through to voters, it could be enough to knock one of them off their perch.
