A makes you look like a cool newcomer, i dont think thats what people want right now. We have a newcomer in the white house and look where it got us. I think having some experience is a good thing. Paul lets bring in wall street journal columnist, Dan Henninger and kim strassel and bill mcgern. How did Pete Buttigieg hold up under the attacks . Well, you know, it was no more mr. And mrs. Nice guy to New Hampshire. The stakes are so high that we saw a new willingness as you showed for the candidates to really go after each other. He held up well in they that his answer to a lot of this is he is presenting himself as the unifying candidate and also a new generation of candidate and so he has found so far its been to his benefit to answer these attacks by essentially saying we need a new vision and i offer that new vision, the politics of today have failed, et cetera. Paul s lets go to an exchange on Marijuana Prosecutions in south bend. I want to take a look at that. How do you explain the increase of black arrests in south bend under your leadership for marijuana possession. The overall rate was lower there was an increase, the year before you were in office, it was lower. We adopted a strategy that said Drug Enforcement would be targeted in cases where there was a connection to the most Violent Group or gang connected to a murder. Paul bill, what did you think of that, trying to defend his record . Well, i think the answer is he cant defend his record. He had that kind of deer in the headlights look. I think its an opening. Its you amazing the question e from a moderator who really pressed him on it and none of the other candidates, it shows a vulnerability. I think he did well last night, he did well by not answers any questions. What do we know more about Pete Buttigieg from terms of policy than we knew before. He gives vague generalities. Paul when you hear him first, you say that sounds good and when you look at at the actual answer theres not a lot of hes gone this far with no one bringing you his record as mayor of south bend which is paul one other point, hit him on petes billionaires, all the donors he has which are wealthy people, from sanders and warren. I think youve got to understand here that this debate didnt appeal to me very much, on substance, but the fact is theyre not running in the general election in november. Theyre running in the democratic primary. Theyre trying to appeal to democratic voters who appear in those primaries and the democratic electorate, the big story of the election, the Democratic Party is sprit between mod rests, progressives and moderates and between Younger Voters and older voters and Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are basically presenting aspirational campaigns. Theyre not talking much about details other than medicare for all. Meanwhile, Amy Klobuchar joe biden are talking about substance, laws they passed. For younger democratic voters that stuff is i relevant and i think Pete Buttigieg is trying to aa peel to bows sides of that. Paul do you think the attacks on th debate will slow down pets momentum because hes been gaining on sanders in New Hampshire. The polls certainly suggest hes maintaining the momentum. Here was the really good news for Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders of that debate. They were both treated as the frontrunners. And thats always good for your campaign. They spent more time talking up there on stage than just about anybody else. They largely held their own and thats going to help mayor pete because it presents him alongside these other individuals as the guy you need to beat. Paul i thought Amy Klobuchar was the best performer onstage and i thought she has a plausible argument for victory, saying we have to put together a centrist coalition and peel off some of the people that dont like donald trump personally but could come to us for that reason. And yet she hasnt caught on in the polls at all. Yeah, and the question is will she ever catch on. Perhaps theres just not enough charisma there for her to be able to compete. We have to keep in mind, the 80t on the stage, Mike Bloomberg, hes going to be competing for the same set of voters as klobuchar and joe biden and i suspect its going to actually eventually come down to Mike Bloomberg versus Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. Paul and joe biden all but conceding hes going to get whacked in New Hampshire. I felt sorry for joe biden last night. I think he looked out of it. Hes always talking about the past. Someone on twitter said hes like the guy you meet talking about do you remember the game in high school where i caught the winning pass in 1969. It was kind of a sad performance. He started off saying i took a hit in iowa and i expect to take one here. Paul and then theres Bernie Sanders, how in the world does he keep avoiding really getting the brunt of the criticism that was leveled at mayor pete . He avoids it because Bernie Sanders sort of analogous to donald trump donald trump through the republican primaries in 2016 kept getting 30 of the vote in all those primaries. Bernie sanders clearly has about 30 of the Democratic Base locked in. Young progressive voters, they really like bernie and as a result, the other candidates are very reluctant to alienate his voters by going after him. Other than to say, you know, as Amy Klobuchar did, she didnt think a democratic socialist was electable. Paul other than that, how was the play, mrs. Lincoln. New polls show Bernie Sanders struggling to maintain his lead in the granite state. Can he close the deal with New Hampshire voters . Well talk to someone who l follows his campaign. Can my side be firm . And my side super soft . Yes. With the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. Can it help me fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet. But can it help keep me asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. So, you can really promise better sleep . Not promise. Prove. And now, during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus 0 interest for 24 months on all smart beds. Only for a limited time. And i like to question your im yoevery move. N law. Like this left turn. Its the next one. You always drive this slow . How did you make someone i love . That must be why youre always so late. I do not speed. And thats saving me cash with drivewise. My son, he did say that you were the safe option. And thats the nicest thing you ever said to me. So get allstate. Stop bossing. Where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. This is my sons favorite color, you should try it. [mayhem] you always drive like an old lady . [tina] youre an old lady. The democratic president ial candidates making their final pitch to New Hampshire voters this weekend as a new poll shows vermont senator Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg virtually tied for the lead. Barton is an editorial page writer. Welcome, good to see you. You wrote an interesting piece for us about your New Hampshire trip saying the people who go to sanders events are not like people who go to other events in that theyre already committed. Theyre not theyre already on his team. Theyre not looking to be persuaded. Elaborate on that. Yeah. Let me back up and say if you go to another event in New Hampshire or elsewhere, say an Amy Klobuchar event or a mayor pete event and you talk to the person beside you, youll usually hear maybe the person likes that candidate but theres usually some indecision. You know, i really klobuchar but im not sure she can beat trump so im really looking at you know, whoever. When you go to a bernie event, theres no indecision. They stuck with bernie in 2016. Maybe theyre a little put out about the delegate situation back then. Theyre sticking with him in 2020 and hes their guy. They think that theyre sure he can get the nomination and go all the way to november and beat donald trump. Paul its interesting, though, isnt that a sign of strength in this sense i hate to admit this, the first New Hampshire primary i covered was in 1976 and reagan had some of those same turnouts, true believes and people loved him. You had huge crowds that other people couldnt match. Isnt that a sign of strength for sanders . For sure. For sure it is. The only thing that i would say is that at least among the many people i talked to, the fact that no one is coming or relatively few people are coming to bernie events in order to give him a look suggests that there is some contingency, some substantial number of people in the Democratic Party who are just not really considering bernie. Im sure there are a lot many who would vote for him against donald trump but people dont go to bernie events to give him a look, to consider what his ideas are. Paul that suggests that maybe he has a floor under his support but maybe also a ceiling which is of course also what people said in 2016 about donald trump. Who then became president. What are the main themes that sanders hits on the trail . What is obviously, health care. But what else . Well, if youve ever been to a bernie event, im familiar with him, of course, but i was really surprised and taken aback by how relentlessly negative his 45 minute stump speech is. He just its one sort of gloomy thing after another. The corruption on wall street, the criminality of the pharmaceutical industry, underfunded education and you expect some of that, a lot of that maybe in a primary election like this in which you challenge the incumbent but for 45 minutes to go on at that length and almost be completely negative was a little odd. Paul thats a little i guess it plays in a primary. The challenge for him will be in a general election, if people are feeling the country is feeling in a generally good mood more or less, thats a tough pitch to sell. Right. He does get to a bit where theres sort of left wing solidarity, were going to take back the country for the working families and so on. But even that is it lacks inspiration. It lacks a sort of uplift that you expect in a political canty political candidacy. Paul the other concern some democrats have with sanders is the appeal to African American voters. You live in South Carolina. How is his support among black voters down there . Well, if i recall, in 2016 he did all right even considering that the clintons are very popular among African Americans. But as i talk to people, he is a familiar face, like joe biden, and to the extent biden falls, i think bernie stands to gain in South Carolina, for sure. Paul do you see anybody else rising to replace joe biden, to challenge bernie . Over the last few months, warrens name has come up a lot among African Americans. Theres something about her energy and shes almost a little hyper active and a certain kind of voter responds to that sort of energy. Paul well see how she does. Shes got to get out of New Hampshire and then nevada. Thanks, appreciate it. When we come back, much more on the state of the democratic race as we look ahead to tuesdays first in the nation primary and back at what happened this week in iowa. Buckle up for some insurance themed fun at Progressive Park children yeah announcer ride the totally realistic traffic jam. Beep, beep, beep, beep children traffic jam announcer and the worlds first never bump bumper cars. Children never bump announcer its a real savings hootenanny with options that fit your budget. Thats fun for the whole family. Announcer only at progressive par. Maybe an insurance park was a bad idea. Yeah. Yep. Stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate i switched to miralax for my constipation. The nerves in your colon. Miralax works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. And it doesnt cause bloating, cramping, gas, or sudden urgency. Miralax. Look for the pink cap. I want to make sure that every iowa voter knows their vote was counted and i want to make sure every voter across this country knows their vote was counted and we take our commitment to accuracy very seriously. Paul tom perez calling for a recanvas of the vote in iowa after days of uncertainty and growing concerns about the a accuracy of the caucus results. Were back with Dan Henninger, kim strassel and bill mcgern. I think fiasco is a polite word for what happened. How do you not count your own votes and you have to have a recount of your own voters. I dont see that this goes anywhere. The president ial candidates dont seem interested themselves. The night was lost. The biggest thing about iowa is being first, is that you get that 10 minutes in the sun when you won and kind of attracting donors. Thats gone. I dont expect a recount would change much, maybe a delegate here or there. Paul the bigger news out of iowa is just how low the turnout was, it was comparable to 2016, even though there were so many more Democratic Candidates in the field, all trying to get their people to the caucuses. Versus 2008, when you had a surge of enthusiasm. Thats what everybodys going to be watching in the succeeding primaries, the level of turnout. Bernie sanders mentioned this a couple times. He was struck by it, concerned about it. The whole premise of beating donald trump is based on huge democratic turnout to offset what will undoubtedly be large turnout on the republican side for him. Well watch New Hampshire closely to see if it matches the turnout in 2016. Paul the other thing that jumps out at me, where the democrats are at now, is how sharp idea logical divisions are in the party, sanders and warren on one side and klobuchar and the others. Theres deep divisions and i think you can see, and i wonder if you see it too, a certain amount of panic setting in about maybe Bernie Sanders being the nominee. That to me is the one inarguable result of iowa. If you look at it and you just break out those candidates, the kind of pure progressives, the medicare for all camp, thats the bernie and the warren camp, they got about 50 of the vote and you put klobuchar, biden and buttigieg into the, quote, more moderate camp and they got 50 are of the vote. This reflects a deep and ugly divide in the party which continues to grow and i think thats whats got Party Leaders just as rattled as the bernie surge, which is when all of this gets done, can you heal this community, can you get folks to rally around the ultimate nominee, given such stark differences. And thats starting to set in. Paul youve argued for a long time that bernie is not going away,s hes going to take this all the way to the convention as long as he continue to rack up delegates. Bernie has said as much. This is the other thing out of iowa. Because it didnt produce a clear consensus candidate, this primary is going to continue going on and because of the way the democrats have changed the rules to give proportional delegates, everyones got a shot of picking up a few in subsequent races. Theres no incentive for anybody to get out. Paul did Nancy Pelosis impeachment missile miss donaldd trump and hit joe biden with all the talk about joe and hunter biden . Is that what happened here. It didnt help joe biden at all. He got dragged into this and he was supposed to be out there in iowa campaigning and the impeachment missile, it wasnt a missile, it was a nuclear bomb and the they dropped it and Nothing Happened to donald trump. I mean, the most remarkable thing is that his Approval Rating since october has gone up. I mean, how can you explain unloading the way adam schiff, jerry nadler, nancy pelosi did for all that time, the whole idea was to suppress Donald Trumps approval and now hes at 49 in the gallup poll. If im running for the presidency as a democrat, like Bernie Sanders, you have to be very concerned that their strategy is simply going in the wrong direction. Paul another thing that struck me about the debate is when they were asked about Donald Trumps targeted killing of qassem soleimani, the iranian terror master. Pete buttigieg and a joe biden i think they said no, they would not have done it. Theyre the two men, the two candidates that i think had the greatest would have benefited most by saying yes, i would do it. That struck me as a larger theme of the debate, is i didnt hear a positive word about america, didnt hear a positive word about defending america from people that kill americans, about the private sector, you think its run by greedy, evil people. I think Pete Buttigieg missed an opportunity to say yes, im not shy about taking out enemies. You can make di distinctions elsewhere. Bernie sanders said hes fighting terrorism with the state department and diplomacy and noted he would pull money out of the pentagon, military we weapons pr