Tonight was the latest Democrat debate and it wasn’t pretty, even if it was ultimately meaningless. But far be it from RedState to go without choosing a victor and the defeated. Without further padding, let’s do this.

WINNER

Bernie Sanders: Bernie won the debate. Look, it comes down to how you look. There were many exchanges where Hillary seemed more knowledgeable than Bernie (for a dem) but in the end, she came off shifty and establishment and he just didn’t. He came off idealistic and “change” driven. He was more Barackish while she was .. well, a Clinton.

On top of that, despite many recent wins Bernie is still the underdog. He’s fighting a superior force. But he came in with his fists raised and he didn’t put them down despite the imperious stares from She Who Would Be Queen.

That makes Bernie Sanders the winner, inasmuch as a Democrat Debate can even have winners, even though he said some colossally dumb things.

LOSER

Hillary Clinton: Yes her highness lost. She was schooling him at the beginning, coming off professional to his unserious, but it turned around at the Wall Street transcripts and she just never brought it back. We’ll have a few more examples posted here tonight at RedState, but despite more realistic plans (for a democrat) vs. Bernie’s fantasy of the future, she just didn’t seem like a winner. She needed to. Also her closing statement sounded like she was desperate for people to feel something about her, and to seem like she has the normal range of human emotions. Mission not accomplished.

That makes her the loser. Well, more of a loser.

America: As usual, Democrat debates mean America loses. Two candidates fighting tooth and nail to prove they’ll raise taxes, to prove they’ll socialize sectors of the economy, to prove they’ll give out the most freebies, that they’re the worst on foreign policy, that they’ll do the least about terror. That makes us the real losers tonight.

And that was the debate, may the Lord have mercy on our souls.