10/13 Democratic Presidential Debate
Moving into the October 13th CNN Debate on Wednesday, Lincoln Chafee’s sole goal was to get his name out. For a candidate whose most exciting movement is to move from last to second to last (when Lawrence Lessig jumped in and took last place), Chafee needs to further get his name out if he is to have any hopes of staying in this race.
Chafee throughout the night debated as an almost second tier candidate. As the debate and questions focused on Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and at times Martin O’Malley, both Chafee and Virginia Governor Jim Webb seemed to be left out. But even in comparison to Jim Webb, Chafee seemed unremarkable, merely regurgitating pre-prepared answers by his campaign staff. Chafee even seemed to lack the conviction of Webb.
Chafee more than likely hurt his chances of moving ahead in the polls. His answers only seemed to leave the audience with more questions. Chafee suffered under attacks due to previously identifying as a Republican; many of his answers did not resonate with either the audience or Democratic ideals.
Despite this poor showing, Chafee only has room to gain. Because he lacked large name recognition among American voters, just being on stage was beneficial. Although it may be disappointing for Chafee and his campaign of his poor showing on stage, at least voters will know a name and a face.