Maybe it's the shortening days, or the impeachment hearings sucking up all available political oxygen. Whatever the cause, Wednesday's Democratic debate in Georgia was an oddity of event: Hesitancy and ambivalence were the order of the night — until, all of a sudden, they weren't. So who benefits? Not frontrunner former Vice President Joe Biden, who struggled yet again — and not Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who seems unsure of how best to respond to her shifting fortunes. Here are five key takeaways from the evening.
1. A weirdly muted night got zesty at the end.
For about an hour and forty five minutes, the ten Democrats on stage circled each other tentatively, not going for the political jugular or even looking very interested in mixing it up at all. The most memorable moments that transpired also seemed insignificant, like Biden accusing Tom Steyer of hypocrisy on climate change and Sen. Kamala Harris ripping Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as a Democrat in Name Only.
But then, with the clock ticking down, everything changed. Harris, in what may or may not have been a veiled attack on Mayor Pete Buttigieg, bemoaned Democrats who are taking the African-American electorate for granted. Sen. Corey Booker accused Biden of being blind to the racial implications of marijuana legalization. Sen. Amy Klobuchar dissed Buttigieg for failing to win election statewide, prompting Buttigieg to diss her and everyone else on stage as longtime Washington denizens who’ve let the country down. And then, to round out the night, Buttigieg and Gabbard tangled over the merits of military service and their respective wisdom (or lack thereof) on foreign policy. Why Buttigieg, who’s currently the frontrunner in Iowa, didn’t get draw more sustained criticism throughout the debate is unclear — but it was good to see an actual debate break out after a surplus of collegiality early on.
2. Biden struggles again.
That late-breaking flurry of activity brought us another Biden misstep when — in talking up his record with African-American voters — he said he has the support of “the only African-American woman ever elected to the Senate.” He was talking about Carol Moseley Braun. Problem is, another African-American woman has been elected to the Senate, and she (Harris) was standing a few feet away from Biden as those unfortunate words passed his lips. Harris’s reaction (laughing and raising her hands as if to say, “Words fail me”) is destined for the political GIF hall of fame. Taken in isolation, it’s not the worst mistake in the world. But despite his frontrunner status, Biden’s 2020 candidacy has been packed with moments like this — and taken collectively, they raise real questions about the former vice president's ability to handle both the long slog of a campaign and the high-pressure test that debates with President Trump would represent. (At other moments Wednesday, Biden winced as he misspoke and instantly corrected himself — a tic that we’ve seen before, and reinforces the notion that Biden’s best days are behind him when it comes to political effectiveness.)
3. Deval who?
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s late entry into the race last week was big news both locally (where many of us remember his incredible skill as a campaigner) and nationally, where it was seen as a rebuke to — and possible attempt to derail — the candidacy of Warren. But if you’d been on vacation and watched Wednesday’s debate unaware of Patrick’s last-minute candidacy, nothing you saw or heard would have clued you in that he’s running. Yes, the question of ideological moderation versus progressive aggressiveness got a hearing, but that was thanks to Buttigieg’s critique of Medicare For All as extreme/divisive and Barack Obama’s recent decision to urge restraint from the sidelines. Sure, it’s a small sample size — but it’s still worth asking whether Patrick is going to impact the race at all moving forward.
4. Warren Is Still Focused On Her Plans, Not On Pushing Back
It’s been a rough stretch for the Massachusetts senator, who’d actually pulled ahead of Biden nationally just before the last debate (according to Real Clear Politics’ national average) but has been trending down ever sense. The problem? Actually, there were a few, including, her caginess about whether her Medicare For All plan would raise taxes; the skepticism that plan engendered when it was finally released; and repeated attacks characterizing her as too extreme and inflexible.
I thought Warren’s slide, and her being on the receiving end of potshots from Barack Obama, Patrick, and others, might lead her to push back Wednesday — to say that criticisms of her (and Bernie Sanders) were misguided, and that the Democrats’ success in 2020 hinges on dreaming big rather than playing it safe. But Warren, instead, acted as if the headwinds she’s encountered didn’t even exist. More than anything, she seemed eager once again to point out how many things she has a plan for, and to describe as many details of said plans as possible before the moderators cut her off. There’s a strategic argument to be made for this approach, I suppose; acknowledge those criticisms, for example, and you risk legitimizing them. But there’s a risk the other way too: Ignore the doubt that the naysayers are trying to plant in voters’ minds, and it can take root and spread. Lack of explicit pushback notwithstanding, Warren’s comportment Wednesday felt different — she seemed less confident than we’re used to, a natural response as the contours of the race shift and positive momentum turns negative.
5. No Male Moderators? No Problem
Without naming names, let’s just say we have seen — in previous Democratic debates — fairly persuasive evidence that moderators in general, and male moderators in particular, occasionally misunderstand their role and believe that they, not the candidates, are the star of the show. It’s a maddening dynamic, especially given how packed the Democratic stage is this election cycle. And on Wednesday, it was blissfully absent. Rachel Maddow, Ashley Parker, Andrea Mitchell, and Kristen Welker were terse, pointed and efficient questioners. There wasn’t a single moment of grandstanding. Instead, their sole focus seemed to be eliciting the fullest, most telling answers possible from the various Democratic hopefuls. No offense to my brothers, but…maybe we can do this again sometime soon?
