The first Democratic Party debate was everything we hoped it would not be: a boring coronation.  Alas, Mrs. Clinton literally shouted the competition off the stage.  She bitch-slapped the boys with the usual Clintonista talking points: gun control, health care, feminism, piñata politics, and Trump-bashing.  The selling of baby parts did not come up.  Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders flew in formation, suggesting that they would finance new initiatives by taxing the rich.  No news here.

Calling the Clinton/Sanders appearance a “face-off” gives hyperbole a bad name.  The New York Times predictably tried to put lipstick on a pig by categorizing the Tuesday séance as a “sharp debate.”

Sanders said nothing last night that would challenge Hillary on any significant issue.  Indeed, Bernie actually came to Hillary’s defense on the private server/email fiasco.  By evening’s end, Hillary was probably asking herself: “Why am I on the same stage with these clowns?”

Mrs. Clinton’s performance is probably a polished preview of her impending congressional testimony, a real confrontation that, alas, is likely to have similar consequence.  The only men likely to be more fey than professional CNN journalists are the faint-hearted professional politicians on Capitol Hill.

Last night, there were no hardball questions on foreign policy, Benghazi, or the blatant mendacity that has followed.  There were no tough questions about domestic policy or husband Bill, either, what role he would play in Clinton III.  The media might get personal with Trump, but they dare not with Hillary

Anderson Cooper proved to be a more than adequate ally as a CNN southpaw, throwing softballs from the left at the left all evening.  Indeed, when asked how she would be different from Obama, Mrs. Clinton actually admitted that she wouldn’t be different.  She promised more of the same – only farther to the left.

Jim Webb, the only voice of reason on the stage, looked out of place, an oddball, a single-digit turd in the usual punchbowl of liberal promises.

The most telling moments of the evening were when Hillary mentioned gender, several times, in fact.  When asked about dynasty, or being a certified insider, she retreated to her sex.  Asked how she would be different, she chortled: “Who could be more of an outsider than a woman?”  With that rallying cry, Mrs. Clinton ran up the genital and victim Jolly Rogers on the same Democrat halyard.

It’s official now.  Just as Obama played the melanin card, Hillary is running on her vagina.  A “first” is a terrible thing to waste.

The opening Democrat debate was not novel, informative, revealing, controversial, confrontational, noteworthy, or even entertaining.

Call it a DINO, a debate in name only.