Jim Webb, a former Virginia governor, was running for the Democratic nomination. Now he’s probably not. We should all feel overwhelmingly neutral about this.

Here are the facts you need to know: Webb was doing incredibly poorly–polling at about 1 percent. He did participate in the first Democratic debate, but the only two things that people appear to remember about his performance is that he kept complaining about not getting enough time to talk, and he had a vaguely uncomfortable answer about killing a man while fighting in Vietnam to the question “who is the enemy you’re most proud of?” Yesterday, the media was vaguely interested in the reports that he may drop out of the race and launch an Independent bid. But today, the buzz is that Webb is going to drop out of the race altogether and “mull his options.”

He’s expected to hold a press conference later today to explain his decision to the public. Whether anyone will watch who isn’t a political reporter or stuck in a doctor’s waiting room and can’t figure out how to change the station is unclear.

Webb is almost certain to rail against the Democratic party and the media for not supporting him–an argument he’s been making for a while. For example, he claimed the Democratic debate on CNN was rigged, saying: “It’s very difficult to win a debate when you don’t have the opportunity to speak the same amount of time on issues as the other two did.” He also criticized the DNC, for embracing Hillary Clinton and not aiding the other Democratic candidates.

In the end, this is sort of a shame. Webb is further right-center than the other Democratic candidates in the field. He should have been a legitimate candidate (at least more legitimate than the pretty insane Lincoln Chafee) who forced the leading candidates to talk about issues that may not have come up otherwise. Instead, he came across as uninteresting and whiny.

So, Jim Webb joins the “Scott Walker List of Candidates Who Didn’t Do Anything Interesting Until They Dropped Out.” Whether he eventually re-joins the race as a Independent is essentially irrelevant–he’s not going to suddenly inspire a wave of voters or donors by changing his party affiliation from D to I. So cheers to Jim Webb–the Democratic field is about to get a little less crowded, but honestly, it doesn’t really matter in the slightest.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last night was a big evening for “Saturday Night Live.” Tracy Morgan came back to host for the first time since he was in a serious car accident last summer. But even that celebration was overshadowed by another reappearance–Larry David, a former cast member writer for SNL. David played presidential hopeful and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, showcasing a resemblance that has had many clamoring for David to play Sanders since he started making waves in the Democratic polls.

David was joined by Kate McKinnon, reprising her role as Hillary Clinton. Lincoln Chaffee was played by Kyle Mooney, Taran Killam was Martin O’Malley, and Jon Rudnitsky was the debate moderator, Anderson Cooper. Alec Baldwin, an SNL regular, also showed up to play Jim Webb.

Showing that the best comedy comes from real life, SNL used some of the actual lines from the Democratic debate, including when Sanders informed Clinton that everyone was tired of hearing about her “damn emails.” SNL also incorporated when Clinton decided not to respond to Chafee’s claims that her ethics could use some work with a simple “no.” Some of the satirical lines were also brilliant, including David’s tirade about Super PACs. David, as Sanders, said:

I don’t have a Super PAC, I don’t have a backpack. I carry my stuff around loose in my arms like a professor between classes. I own one pair of underwear. That’s it! Some of these billionaires, they have three, four pairs. And I don’t have a dryer! I have to put my clothes on the radiator. So who do you want as president? One of these Washington insiders, or a guy who has one pair of clean underwear that he dries on a radiator?

David’s similar features, as well as his pretty accurate Brooklyn accent, were a dead ringer for Sanders. Certainly the internet thinks so, as the clip quickly went viral.

Larry David as Bernie Sanders is the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin of this election cycle. #SNL

— Michael Calia (@Michael_Calia) October 18, 2015

 

Larry David is Bernie Sanders on #SNL. As was foretold by the seers of old.

— Matt Fowler (@TheMattFowler) October 18, 2015

As the 2016 primaries continue to (slowly) heat up, there will be a lot of fantastic satirical skits. But SNL just set a very, very high bar.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Late Night Political Clip Win: Larry David is the Perfect Bernie Sanders appeared first on Law Street.

Last night was the first Democratic debate of the 2016 primary elections. Unlike the Republican field, which had to be split into two parts in order to accommodate the insanely large group, the Democrats have a small collection of political veterans vying for the nomination. There’s Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner; Bernie Sanders, the surprise challenger; Martin O’Malley, the other normal candidate that everyone keeps forgetting; Lincoln Chaffee, the weird metric system guy from Rhode Island; and Jim Webb, who probably exists.

In a lot of ways the Democratic debate felt a little flat, and a little too early. While there were some really great moments of legitimate and important discourse, the Democratic field is just a bit more subdued and unified on a lot of key issues than its Republican foil. But, that didn’t keep some funny, wtf, and badass moments from sticking out. In fact, here are the top five moments from last night’s Democratic debate.

Best Shot on Donald Trump: Martin O’Malley

Donald Trump, the inexplicable Republican frontrunner, received a pretty sharp jab from O’Malley, who called Trump “that carnival barker in the Republican party…”

Given the flashiness and “look-at-me” attitude that Trump has used to gain supporters, this classification isn’t that far off, and made a powerful point about his attitude toward immigrants.

Best One Word Answer: Hillary Clinton

It wasn’t surprising, but one of the biggest criticisms against Hillary Clinton to stick so far–the kerfuffle over her emails while she was Secretary of State–was a point of contention at last night’s debate. Lincoln Chaffee made a not-so-veiled reference to the email scandal, saying “I think we need somebody with the best and ethical standards as our next president. That’s how I feel.” Clinton was asked if she wanted to respond, and her answer was short, sweet, and made it clear she was tired of political grandstanding over the issue: “No.”

Second Most Uncomfortable Moment: Lincoln Chafee and Anderson Cooper

Cooper, who was by all accounts, a strong and fair moderator, went after Lincoln Chafee on his earliest Senate vote–the Glass-Steagall Act. Chafee gave a weird answer: it was his first vote after being appointed to his recently deceased father’s spot. Cooper followed up–asking if he wasn’t defending his vote because he was saying he didn’t understand what he was voting for. That led to really awkward exchange, that certainly could have been handled better by Chafee.

It also wasn’t the only moment where Chafee struggled to defend his record as a Senator–questions about his vote for the Patriot Act also seemingly tripped him up.

Most Uncomfortable Moment: Jim Webb’s Enemy

Jim Webb, who served during the Vietnam War, was asked what enemy he’s the most proud to have made. While his competition gave fun predictable answers such as Republicans and the NRA, Webb focused on his military experience, saying the enemy he’s most proud of making was “enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to.” While Webb was an incredibly impressive and heroic soldier, sans important context and with awkward delivery, the entire thing came across very strangely.

Best Moment Overall: Bernie Sanders and Clinton’s Emails

Sanders said exactly what we were all thinking the umpteenth time that Hillary’s emails came up last night: enough is enough. It’s time to talk about the real issues. And he was damn right.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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