The DNC had a smart plan for shrinking the Democratic field. What happened?

The huge number of contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination has provided a summer’s worth of amusement. But, despite how the 2016 Republican primary contest unfolded, politics aren’t supposed to function like reality television — with bizarre characters thrown into the mix for the sheer sake of drama. So it’s puzzling that the Democratic National Committee appears to be losing its nerve and abandoning a smart, well-designed plan to use its debates to winnow the field. CONT.

David Byler, Washington Post