Clinton, Sanders had the most speaking time, personal attacks during debate


This year's first Democratic debate Tuesday night featured Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee. Clinton and Sanders were the clear stars.
ABC News put together a numerical breakdown of the event, and Clinton had the most attacks against her (11) and most time to speak (28 minutes, 10 seconds). Sanders came in second on both fronts, with eight attacks and 26 minutes, 19 seconds of speaking time. Chafee and Webb were nonentities when it came to attacks, and O'Malley only had one, which came from Sanders. Chafee and Webb had less speaking time combined than Clinton, with Chafee clocking in at 9 minutes, 50 seconds and Webb at 14 minutes, 37 seconds. O'Malley had an even 15 minutes.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump was acknowledged twice (and referred to as a "carnival barker" by O'Malley), while the name Joe Biden wasn't uttered even once. Gun control was mentioned 40 times, Russia and Syria 36 times, and immigration 15 times. There was also one handshake, between Clinton and Sanders, after Sanders announced that the American public was tired of hearing about Clinton's "damn emails."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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