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.
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymanderingTALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
6 perfect gifts for travel loversThe Week Recommends The best trip is the one that lives on and on
-
How can you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefit?the explainer These steps can help boost the Social Security amount you receive
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
