WASHINGTON -- At some point during Tuesday night's Democratic debate, many people in living rooms across the country undoubtedly turned to each other with the same basic thought about Hillary Clinton: Oh, so that's why she's the front-runner.

They also experienced something historic: For the first time in the modern political era, Americans got to watch leaders of a mainstream political party debate the relative merits of capitalism and democratic socialism. And for once, socialism was cast not as the ideology that produced a brutal dictatorship in the old Soviet Union, but as a benign and, yes, democratic outlook that has created rather attractive societies in places such as Denmark and Sweden.

Whatever happens to Bernie Sanders' candidacy, he will deserve credit for having widened our political horizons.

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http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_28974350/e-j-dionne-jr-clinton-won-debate-but

Bernie Sanders scored big on social media, fundraising, and in a post-debate focus group and instapolls. He came in well ahead of Hillary Clinton.

By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer October 15, 2015

Washington — There’s no doubt that Hillary Clinton had a good debate Tuesday night. She was poised, prepared, presidential, even funny. She commanded the room.

Many pundits (including Donald Trump) declared her the winner, creating an echo chamber of affirmation for the Democratic front-runner. Mrs. Clinton won the “after debate,” as the Monitor’s Peter Grier puts it.

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The biggest measure of who “won” Tuesday’s debate won’t truly be known until next week, after major pollsters have had several days to gauge Democratic voter opinion. But in the meantime, there are signs that, in fact, Bernie Sanders scored big Tuesday night.

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http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/1015/Did-Bernie-Sanders-win-the-Democratic-debate

Great news for both Bernie and Hillary. This poll is obviously more reliable than the online ones we've seen, most of which do not even require user validation by SMS or email.

The MOE was +/- 3.6, and the survey was conducted via telephone. All respondents identified as Democrats.

Post DNC Debate Poll Results
Who Do You Think Won?
Clinton 62%
Sanders 30%
O' Malley 9%
Chafee 2%
Webb 1%

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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/14/1432486/-First-Post-DNC-Debate-Poll-Results-Gravitas-Marketing