Beto O’Rourke needed a wing and a prayer. The second Democratic presidential debate was an opportunity for the 46-year old Texas congressman to shut down the naysayers and speculators who were doubting his candidacy after a less-than-optimal fundraising stretch and a 2.8 per cent ranking in the polls. The game-plan for the former boy wonder of the Democratic Party was to finally find his footing as a national political candidate.
O’Rourke and his campaign team will put a happy face on the effort Tuesday night, but he likely went back to his hotel room wondering if his performance was any better than the first. On that question, the answer is yes; you couldn’t get worse than O’Rourke’s appearance last month, when he looked like a deer caught in the headlights as fellow Texan Julian Castro slayed him on national television about immigration policy. This time, the three-term congressman and Senate candidate looked a little more comfortable as the spotlights were beaming down on his face.
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