Tonight was an unprecedented debate featuring our first 1 on 1 contest in this cycle. The candidates kept a mellow tone at first and then proceeded to go at each other on their records going back decades. I’ve dispatched power rankings in favor of picking a winner so stay tuned to the end to find out who took the night!
Former Vice President Joe Biden
After two big and much needed wins on Super Tuesday and Super Twosday (how am I the only one pushing for that name?!) Joe Biden came in tonight as the clear frontrunner. In the past he’s seemed stilted and uncomfortable in debates versus the more aggressive and confident tone seen is his speeches and rallies. Tonight we saw those styles merge but he still stumbled with regularity. He delivered his campaign’s canned line of the night “people want results not a revolution” well and his team doubled down with it on social media the rest of the night. Biden also showcased his embrace of former competitor’s policy proposals pointing out his coalition building credentials. The big takeaway is he made a HUGE commitment, more on that below! Overall an above average performance for Biden.
Some notable High points:
- Committing to naming a female running mate!! This is a very big deal as his running mate would be the second woman to seek the office of VP in 20 years and the first democrat in decades!
- All of his coronavirus answers. He seemed presidential and cited a solid track record.
- Forcefully he’d campaign for Bernie if he wasn’t the nominee.
Some notable low points:
- Messing up and then seeming to forget the name of Coronavirus.
- Challenging Bernie’s vote against sanctions on Russia, doubling down, and then going nowhere even after Jake Tapper cut the senator’s explanation off.
- Comparing China to Jack the Ripper before being cut off without explaining.
Senator Bernie Sanders
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Bernie Sanders with losses on Super Tuesday and Super Twosday (it’s happening!!!!). Many people expected Bernie to be resigned to defeat and to spend tonight cheerleading his issues without beating up Biden but he came out swinging like a man running neck and neck. That said, he needed a breakout performance tonight and frankly I don’t think he delivered. With the onset of the coronavirus crisis Senator Sanders expectedly spent a huge amount of time focussing on healthcare. He landed some big moments there but stumbled on Cuba and lost the audience spending too much time breaking down ancient votes. Overall the Senator seemed to play his greatest hits and I’m not sure that’s enough right now.
Some notable High points:
- His opening answer on coronavirus was amazing. I tweeted it was exactly what people wanted to hear the president say last week.
- He did great explaining how his healthcare reforms would’ve helped the current problem.
- He got a big win from Dana Bash when she asked him about an op-ed he wrote on Social Security.
Some notable low points:
- Confusing coronavirus and ebola. Guess that one’s a push. Sigh…
- That Cuba response was terrible and I don’t know how he thinks he wins that argument.
- Equivocating on the question of choosing a female running mate. Senator Sanders is hard to blindside but Biden got him hard with that one.
So who won tonight’s debate?
Former Vice President Joe Biden
All he had to do was keep Sanders at bay without tripping over himself too bad and he did that and then some. It was a low bar but he cleared it with room to spare.
That’s it for tonight’s recap, see you for the next one! In the meantime follow me everywhere at @iammikegio, be safe, and be kind to each other.