[NPR]The fourth Democratic debate was a long one, about three hours, and ended after 11 p.m. ET.
You might not have made it through the whole thing, but there were some potentially consequential moments.
Here are six takeaways:
1. The scrutiny came for Warren, and her vulnerabilities were exposed some
Buttigieg attacked Warren for promoting "Medicare for All," while not having a detailed plan or saying how she would pay for it.
"Look, this is why people here in the Midwest are so frustrated with Washington in general and Capitol Hill in particular," Buttigieg told Warren. "Your signature, Senator, is to have a plan for everything except this."
Klobuchar was going after Warren for, in her view, dismissing others' plans because they weren't hers.
Ouch.
The criticisms strike at Warren's core vulnerability ‐ that she's less electable than others in the race because, one, her policies are too liberal and, two, the former Harvard professor is dismissive and elitist.
2. The Biden versus Warren Rorschach test
Say what?
An exchange later in the debate certainly caught the attention of social media, but it was one that was in the eye (and ear) of the beholder.
Warren was touting her role at the inception of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration when former Vice President Joe Biden objected.
Joe wanted a big piece of the credit.
It's not clear what Biden's role was exactly in whipping up votes for the CFPB. Ryan Grim at The Intercept noted that he covered the agency's creation and recalled that while a top Biden adviser was involved, Biden was not.
3. Buttigieg may be back in the game
The small-town mayor, who has become a darling of the donor class, controlled multiple exchanges and had a very strong night. In addition to taking on Warren on health care, he also went after former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke on his proposal to take away privately owned guns and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on her support of President Trump pulling U.S. troops out of Syria.
Perhaps the only person in the quadrant to support Trump.
In exchange after exchange, Buttigieg appeared to be trying to rein in Democrats from getting too far afield with policies that don't poll very well.
He said he disagreed with Biden that Trump is an "aberration," arguing that the president is a symptom of what he sees as the challenge of a changing country.
Actually, I might agree with that. Any Dims want to address that?
Buttigieg also criticized Warren for what he called "infinite partisan combat."Think about that for a moment!
Can he sell his third way? He's at least positioned himself for the pragmatic lane if Biden falters, and he could pull from Warren's support given their overlap with college-educated white voters.
4. Questions about Hunter Biden were over and done with surprisingly quickly
The candidates ‐ and, frankly, the moderators ‐ didn't seem to want to go very deep on Biden's son Hunter and his business ties. It's somewhat surprising there wasn't more follow-up given just how much this has been talked about in recent weeks since Democrats opened their impeachment inquiry into Trump after the president's phone call with Ukraine's president.
"Look, my son did nothing wrong," Biden said. "I did nothing wrong. I carried out the policy of the United States government in rooting out corruption in Ukraine. And that's what we should be focusing on."
And that was essentially the end of the conversation. None of the other candidates wanted to touch it.
5. The previously taboo issue of age was broached
The top three Democratic candidates ‐ Warren, Biden and Sanders ‐ are all septuagenarians. Sanders is 78, Biden 76 and Warren 70. In the runup to the debate Sanders had a heart attack that took him off the campaign trail, and that became a reason for the moderators to ask about age.
Biden was asked about being 80 and handling the duties of president. "Look," Biden said, "one of the reasons I am running is because of my age and my experience. With it comes wisdom."
6. Health care was again dominant, while immigration, climate change and race didn't even come up
Once again, Democrats showed the biggest fissure in the party is on health policy. It has dominated Democratic debates for a decade, and it continuously rates as the top issue for Democrats.