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Biden and Sanders debate without audience 7:57
(CNN) - Amid a gradual shutdown of American society due to the spread of the coronavirus, the top two Democratic presidential hopefuls debated Sunday night: the first face-to-face debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and the Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
I saw it, took notes, and chose some of the best and worst moments of the night. My conclusions are here.
WINNERS
Elizabeth Warren / Kamala Harris / Stacey Abrams / Amy Klobuchar
Biden pledged Sunday night to elect a woman as her vice president. It is VERY important, as it will be, assuming Biden is the candidate, the third time in the history of the Democratic Party that a woman will be on the national ballot. (The other two? 1984 and 2016). It's very important. And if you're Warren, Harris, Abrams, or Klobuchar, you've just had a surprisingly good Sunday, politically speaking.
Donald trump
The president's handling of the coronavirus, the ONLY issue that matters at the moment, has been unstable to say the least. He has made a series of inaccurate statements about the threat posed by the virus. He goes on to suggest that everything is perfectly under control. He refuses to take any responsibility for any of the mistakes his administration has made to date.
In short, you would have thought it would have been a goal-rich environment for both Sanders and Biden, right? After all, the first 30 minutes (at least) of the debate were devoted to the coronavirus and how every man would fix it if he were president. And yet, with the exception of an occasional mention here and there, Trump was barely mentioned.
Much of the rest of the debate was spent with Sanders attacking Biden's voting record for more than three decades in the Senate - in everything from bankruptcy to Social Security cuts and the Defense of Marriage Act - what it's not likely to change the trajectory of the Democratic race (it seems likely that Biden will win overwhelmingly in the states that will vote on Tuesday) but it provides fabulous lines of attack for Trump once Biden is the candidate.
No live audience
The reason there was no live audience in this debate was because of concerns about crowds and the coronavirus. While I wish a global pandemic was not the motivator, I think this debate was MUCH better than the recent ones in which the cheers, boos, and "screams" from the audience were a distraction and a wrong influence on the television audience. We need to accept that this is a television event. The vast majority of people who watch do so from afar. Why let hundreds of people the campaigns (and the Democratic National Committee) invite influence a wider audience?
Elbow salute
Sure, it looked a bit odd when Sanders approached Biden and they hit their elbows instead of shaking hands. It was also a) the right thing amid the coronavirus outbreak and b) a powerful symbol for the general public about how we should all adjust our behavior accordingly.
Plus, he gave us these amazing quotes you could NEVER have anticipated in a presidential debate in 2020.
1) "I am using a lot of soap". - Bernie Sanders
2) "I wash my hands God knows how many times with hot soapy water." - Joe Biden
"The You Tube"
With much of the country committed to staying home to protect us (and society at large) from coronavirus, a video-sharing website probably won't need help. But he still got something out of it when Sanders urged people to come to "You Tube."
LOSERS
Bernie Sanders / Joe Biden
Both applicants had good times. They both had bad times. But overall, they spent two hours attacking each other's voting records, often focusing on the kind of legislative minutiae (Hyde Amendment!) That the average voter simply ignores. And in the process, giving the Trump campaign a large number of clips to be used in the general election. Both men seemed smaller than they seemed large. And with the country facing a threat like never seen before, that felt like a great missed opportunity.
Let's talk about Sanders first. The expectation before the debate - judging by the tone of Sanders' announcement last week that he planned to stay in the race - was that the Vermont senator would use the face-to-face format with Biden to try to force the former vice president to access some of his political proposals, but that in general would avoid giving great blows to the man who, according to the mathematics of delegates, is the almost certain Democratic candidate. Sanders was on target when he tried to turn the coronavirus conversation into a recitation from his Medicare for All program. His unwillingness to reject his praise for Cuba under Fidel Castro was a big mistake. That said, if you are a supporter of Bernie, you probably loved that he took Biden to talk about Social Security, the war in Iraq, the Defense of Marriage Act, and some other major laws where the two applicants were on opposite sides.
Now, Biden. He clearly benefited from a face-to-face format, which makes more sense and remains more relevant to the entire debate. He was VERY smart in announcing that he would elect a female vice president. His focus on the need for reliable leadership during the coronavirus crisis made Sanders seem small. But his trademark verbal errors - he apparently mixed the coronavirus, SARS, and H1N1 multiple times - were there, and the Trump campaign caught on immediately. Biden's response to whether he put the Social Security cuts on the board was neither clear nor good. He gave the Trump campaign clear opportunities for the attack with his support for non-deportation in the first 100 days and his endorsement of ending fracking.
Neither of us came out of that debate looking great. And none of his supporters moved an inch closer to each other. Biden summed things up nicely when asked what he would do, if he were the candidate, to bring Sanders into the fold: "He's making it difficult for me right now."
Ambitious Democratic politicians
Sorry Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker and Andrew Yang. The best they'll get is being part of Biden's cabinet (if that happens). Also, thanks to Yang for the evening's tweet following Biden's promise to elect a female vice president: “Wow Joe just got engaged to a female vice president. I like. He didn't mention it to me when we talked, though. ”
Democratic debate