We're beginning to see some polling which reflects the impressions the voters got in the second round of Democratic debates. It's still early and these trends won't become really solid until we see at least another week's worth of polling, but it's still worth taking a look to see where the Democratic field apparently now stands. So far, there hasn't been a whole lot of dramatic movement in the polls. There are really only three mini-trends to watch, and two of them really began before the debates even got started.

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Here we are again. We all know the drill by now. We all know pretty much what the eyewitnesses will say, what the talking heads on the television will say, and what the politicians will say. None of it ever seems to change, and none of it seems to change anything going forward, either. We go through the cycle of "mass gun attack" and hear the same words over again. We go through the cycle of grief which will then fade, right up to the time when it happens anew all over again. This is, sadly, the new normal for America.

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Well, the second round of the Democratic debates is over, which means we are now smack in the middle of the debate about the debates. This is a window where we don't yet have an accurate picture of whether this week's debates will change anything in the polling (likely outcome: not very much), so instead of hard data all we have to argue about is sheer speculation and opinion. And, from what's being said, some are wringing their hands with worry.

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Whew! The second Democratic presidential debates are now officially in the history books. Thankfully, this will likely be the last marathon two-night debate round, as the third debate is likely to cut the field so significantly that those who qualify might all be able to fit on a single stage.

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The second round of Democratic presidential debates begins tomorrow night. CNN will host two nights, with 10 candidates randomly drawn for each night. The lineups are more interesting than the last time around, at least to me, so it should make for some interesting television to watch. Added to the excitement is the prospect for many of the candidates on stage that this may be the last time they get to appear at such an event. With little to lose, the minor candidates may be making a lot more noise, in other words.

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Obviously, Donald Trump dominated the news this week, by going full-on racist. The Republican Party's reliance on "dog whistles" on racial issues is now no longer necessary, since the leader of the party has given everyone a green light to just go right ahead and publicly scream racist invective as loudly as possible. That was such a big story that it swamped all the other political news.

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As I continue to recover from my Netroots Nation trip, I thought I'd ease back into writing columns with another look at the Democratic horserace. Enough time has now passed from the first debate round that the polling has caught up to people's reactions, and the candidates have all just announced their second-quarter fundraising totals, so it seems like a good time to check in once again.

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After all the hype, things weren't nearly as bad as they could have been in Washington D.C. for the nation's birthday. Donald Trump gave a speech in front of some stationary tanks, but he (mostly) rigorously kept to the script which had been written for him to parrot. Perhaps someone had explained that if he went off script and turned the event into a campaign rally, then his campaign would have had to foot the bill. The size of that bill is still a secret, although the National Park Service admitted it had used over $2 million for it that should have gone to regular park maintenance.

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The poll numbers are starting to trickle in, and what is becoming apparent is that women won both nights of last week's first round of 2020 Democratic presidential debates. The first night belonged to Elizabeth Warren (which was exactly as expected), and Kamala Harris won the second night (which came as much more of a surprise). In the first presidential debates in history with multiple women onstage, these two ladies outperformed the gentlemen, hands down. It wasn't even close.

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Last night was the second of two nights of the first 2020 Democratic presidential debates, which showcased another ten candidates on stage sparring with each other. And it certainly lived up to its "adult table" billing, since Thursday night was a lot more high-energy than the previous night. There were fireworks, there was shouting, and there were a few punches landed. In other words, a good time was had by all (all the pundits watching, that is).

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