Aki Soga

Free Press Engagement and Insights Editor

Quick take on the fourth Democratic presidential debate Sunday night in Charleston, S.C.:

All three candidates put in a respectable performance and likely did little make a major impact on their standings in the polls. Call it a draw, again.

In a debate billed by host network NBC as being 'about Bernie Sanders,' the Vermonter had no true breakout moment, but neither did Hillary Clinton, his chief rival, truly connect with any of her punches.

Clinton came out swinging on Sanders' record on gun safety - becoming a tired routine - then pressed the Vermonter on his health care reform plan which she criticized as doing away with Obamacare and starting from scratch in a difficult Congress.

Clinton, as usual, was in her element when talking foreign policy, drawing on her deep knowledge and playing up her experience as secretary of state.

Sanders neutralized Clinton's call from earlier in the week to release details about he would pay for single-payer health care by releasing his plan less than two hours before the start of the debate. The short notice gave his rival little time to digest and counter the proposal with any depth.

Sanders releases single-payer health care plan details

Sanders showed he did his homework, talking about Middle East policy with more depth and nuance than in previous outings. Still, the Vermont independent looked at times like a student trying to remember his lessons when called upon in class.

But he came back to his central themes of economic and social justice, and getting big money out of politics. He drew applause by pledging Goldman Sachs will not have a secretary of treasury in a Sanders administration.

As for Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor remained mostly an afterthought, despite having his moments - such as his stand that government shouldn't be afforded a backdoor for warrantless searches of encrypted and other electronic information. Sunday was likely his last stand on the debate stage.

Sunday's debate was the last one before the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1 and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9.

As of Sunday night, RealClear Politics average had Clinton up by 4 percentage points in Iowa, and Sanders up by 6.2 points in New Hampshire.