Politics 2016: After Paris, Des Moines.

The East Village in Des Moines, Iowa, a neighborhood west of the Iowa State Capitol. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One night after Paris got hit with its second wave of terror attacks this year, the three Democratic presidential candidates--Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley--met in Des Moines, Iowa to debate the issues.  Once again, it was all about the front-running Clinton.

Understandably, in the wake of the attacks, the CBS-televised debate began with a moment of silence and some questions about foreign policy.  This is where Clinton is in a unique position to defend her qualifications, having previously been Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.  That she did.  But Sanders criticized her for past votes on terrorism as a fellow Senator, and for her slow response as Madam Secretary to threats posed by the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Otherwise, the three spent their alloted network time talking about immigration reform (which were mostly different from, let's say, Donald Trump), whether Clinton is too chummy with Wall Street to reform it (although she didn't help herself with her comment that 9/11 improved her relations with the bankers who contributed to her campaign), race relations and gun control.  This debate was a lot more substantial than the Republicans' November-fest in Milwaukee a few nights ago.

Sanders and O'Malley had their moments, whether it was the Vermont Senator advocating breaking up the banks a la "Trustbuster" President Theodore Roosevelt, or the former Maryland governor referring to Trump as a "carnival barker".  Given what's been happening in Paris in the previous 24 hours, however, both are hopelessly outmatched when compared to Clinton.

This debate was sponsored by CBS News, its affiliate KCCI in Des Moines and the Des Moines Register newspaper.  As the first of these to be shown on network television, there were more commercial breaks than usual for drug companies and financial services--the kind of entities the candidates say they want to reform.  It was also held on a Saturday night, and so will the next one in New Hampshire in December.  Obviously, the TV networks are quite willing to dump the debates on the least-watched night of the week--opposite football, no less.  It also benefits the Democratic National Committee, who have so far resisted the call for scheduling more debates, believing the less we hear from Hillary, Bernie and Martin, the better.

The fact that this exercise in American political discourse happened so soon after a major attack that killed over a hundred people in a beloved city halfway around the world, it should remind everyone how fragile our normal life is right now.  In France, it is anything but.