The video: California senatorial candidates Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina went head-to-head Wednesday night in the first televised debate of the campaign season. (Watch a clip below.) During the "contentious" one-hour exchange, Boxer repeatedly attacked Fiorina on both her record as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, where she fired 30,000 U.S. workers, and her support of tax policies that Boxer says favor the very-rich. Fiorina fought back, painting Boxer as a ineffective Washington insider who'd failed to create jobs in the struggling state.
The reaction: "This was a hard-hitting debate," political analyst Jessica Levinson tells the Christian Science Monitor. But "not a particularly spontaneous one." Overall, "it seemed less like an exchange of ideas, and more like an exchange of talking points." If you ask me, says Brian Joseph in The Orange County Register, the debate was "a let down." Without "any major gaffs or even memorable moments," it's nearly impossible to declare either candidate the winner. Watch a clip from the Boxer-Fiorina debate below:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in musicunder the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling BiblesSpeed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitnessIn Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
