I've liked Bernie Sanders for years, and believe he means what he says, even where I don't necessariliy agree with him 100 percent. I do agree on most positions he has and loved that he answered honestly, didn't have to waffle or come up with some kind of weak BS the way Hillary Clinton did. At one point seemed like Clinton was saying that, wihle she wasn't running on her name, she was running on her sex. Really? I'm female but I'm not going to vote for a woman simply because. 

This article from the Chicago Tribune speaks to me. 

Sanders, though, had a better night. Much as Republican debates showcased Donald Trump, this debate showcased Sanders' authenticity. The notion of anyone asking if he would change positions to win votes is preposterous.

Sanders is the reason Democrats have a serious primary race. And he came across Tuesday night as a candidate who believes what he believes and won't waffle. He voiced positions that will give some Democrats pause; he isn't a pacifist, he said, and as commander in chief wouldn't hesitate to take America to war. Clinton, meanwhile, answered a challenge to her Senate vote for war in Iraq not with a defense or an apology, but by invoking President Barack Obama: Even after that vote, he chose her as secretary of state. Sorry, but it sounded lame.

On BlackLivesMatter

Ever since Netroots Nation in July, when BLM activists disrupted speaking engagements by Sanders and O’Malley, the topic of state-backed police violence against black communities has been at the forefront of the election cycle. Both candidates were initially viewed as weak on the subject of criminal justice reform and the plight of black communities, but have since released comprehensive platforms after meeting with BLM representatives. Sanders’ tackles racial justice, sentencing reform, restoring and protecting rights for convicted felons, and ending police violence that disproportionately targets people of color. O’Malley’s plan similarly zeroes in on sentencing reform and the economic and political rights of convicted felons. But his plan does not concede that police violence is a systemic problem unique to communities of color.

Clinton has also met with BLM several times in the past few months and called for criminal justice reform. After taking heat for the private prison lobbyists fundraising on her behalf, Clinton also told activists that she wants to eliminate the private prison industry. Unlike her competitors, she has yet to release a detailed platform — and some in the movement feel that Clinton has not gone far enough to support their cause.

Cognoscenti

From this perspective, Sanders did not just win the debate, he won in dramatic fashion. Rather than engaging in an opening statement, he moved immediately to his core message: Too many of us work too hard for too little and too few of us have far, far too much. As the debate progressed, he built on this aspect: College now is what high school was, and so public college or university should be free for the same reasons we made high school free a generation ago. Health care is a right, not a privilege. And we need paid family leave. On many of these issues, Secretary Clinton agreed, but she did so in piecemeal fashion. The thematic building, one of the critical components in effective debate, belonged to Sanders. And, of course, he returned to it at the end, thereby (for this judge) cementing his victory.