It all started during the opening statements at Thursday’s Democratic debate. While Bernie Sanders received a very warm welcome from the crowd at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Hillary Clinton drew just as warm of a reception. It’s from this point forward that the gloves came off and the fight was on.

Clinton
Screengrab via Video

The big question since then though is: “Who won?” Well, to be quite honest, neither. Some would call it a “wash.” While the candidates held back no punches and tried to drive their messages home, what we got was the same talking points that we have heard so many times before. Which isn’t a bad thing since they were at least debating specific issues.

Except this time, the passion level seemed to be higher than ever before. Maybe because New York has so many delegates to offer. BallotPedia reports that there are 247 delegates at stake with the percentage of pledged delegates allocated for New York at 65.33-percent.

With Sanders having some serious momentum heading into the April 19 vote, New York would be a very nice win for either candidate.

So why would the latest debate be considered a wash? Well, for those that actually watched it and paid attention, then you noticed the same topics from previous debates were once again on full display.

If you go by the mainstream media’s soundbites, then maybe you could play the “one-up” game and pick a winner.

There was definitely no shortage of each candidate trying to one-up each other as Sanders went on the attack. For the most part, Sanders held Clinton’s feet to the fire on the issues of her vote for the war in Iraq, her trade agreement voting, and her judgement on Super-PACs.

The last one has been a staple and rallying cry for Sanders and his supporters as they believe that she is dependent on, and beholden to, “big money.” Especially from Wall Street.

In response to her “questionable” judgment, Clinton had this to say:

“The people of New York voted for me twice to be their Senator from New York, and President Obama trusted my judgement enough to ask me to be Secretary of State.”

As for Clinton, she attacked Sanders on his lack of decisiveness and specifics. She accused Sanders of not being able to adequately define how he would break up the big banks, his core issue, even using his recent interview with the New York Daily News as a reference.

She also said he couldn’t answer questions about Afghanistan, Israel, counter-terrorism, and why he would allow banks to restructure themselves. While Clinton has been accused by some of doing too little too slowly, Sanders has sometimes been labeled as someone who is “dreaming” too big and not realistically.

Sanders himself said at the debate:

“We have got to understand that in America we should be thinking big, not small. We need to join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee healthcare to all people as a right. My view, not hers.”

While I do agree with that view, honestly, I would have to call it a wash. They both made good points and both have their negatives. What I will say is that no matter who the presidential nominee is, I will be voting BLUE.

I hope others can get over their personal biases and realize that either candidate is better than anything the Republicans have to offer.