There’s an old joke often expressed well into banquets and conferences, where a speaker says, “We’re at the point where everything that needs to be said has been said, but not everyone has said it.” We’re already at that point with the Democratic primary debates. Tonight was a three-hour ordeal, and candidates largely repeated the arguments they made in the previous two debates. There’s not much reason to expect tonight will generate any dramatic swings in the polling in the coming days or weeks.

With each debate, former Vice President Joe Biden's performance has improved. He handled the predictable incoming questions much better than past debates with greater passion and authenticity. Biden finally began to remind voters of his experience and accomplishments, not only as a senator, but as vice president, proudly serving at the side of the Democrats' most popular living president. No one else in this race has that resume.

HOUSTON (AP) — Democratic debate night No. 3: Attacks and counter-attacks. Love for one former president, loathing for the current one. A 76-year-old front-runner essentially got called old, and he turned around and called another rival a “socialist.”

But will it change the fundamentals of a nominating fight that remains remarkably stable at the top with five months until voting begins? Here’s a look at some takeaways and potential answers:

STATUS QUO PREVAILED

The third Democratic debate seemed to end in a 10-way tie.