National Post (National Edition)
A debate in the midst of a pandemic
U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden isn’t known for his eloquence. He had a stutter as a child and often struggles for the right word. As an orator, Pete Buttigieg could run rings around him, and he lacks the fire of either Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders. Biden also has a habit of obediently screeching to a halt the moment his allotted time expires, rather than obliviously charging ahead, as any other politician would.
He managed to sum up the core of the Democratic nomination race quite effectively Sunday night, however, as he joined Sanders on stage as the last men standing in the competition to face President Donald Trump in November. Summing up the various matters for debate and his views versus Sanders’, he explained:
“We disagree in the detail of how we do it, but we don’t disagree in the principle. We fundamentally disagree with this president in everything. … This is much bigger than whether or not I’m the nominee or Bernie’s the nominee. We must defeat Trump. Four more years of Donald Trump will fundamentally change who we are as a nation. We’ve got to restore this country’s soul, that’s essential, and as long as this president is there, we’re not going to be able to do that.”
Well said, and at that point, they could have called it a night and sent the audience home — except, of course, there was no audience, thanks to the dictates of coronavirus. There were just two men doing their best to fill two hours that had been booked long before anyone knew a global pandemic would come along to upend the country and place everything in a new light.
That being the case, they carried on. There were no handshakes — they jovially bumped elbows instead. Rather than have them nose-to-nose so the camera could capture them at close quarters, they were positioned at the opposite ends of the stage. It was not exactly riveting TV. There was no fighting for more time (there was lots for both of them), or talking over one another. No Elizabeth Warren-style takedowns. They called each other Joe and Bernie. They pledged to campaign hard for the ticket, no matter which one of them won the nod.
Biden succeeded in stealing the morning headlines by announcing that his vice-presidential running mate would be a woman, almost certainly chosen from among his former rivals. Any of senators Warren, Amy Klobuchar or Kamala Harris would suit well enough, though Warren and Harris likely have the inside track: Warren because she would appease the liberal wing of the party in Sanders’ absence and Harris because she represents both California and the black community, two monumentally important constituencies for the Democrats.
Personally, my money’s on Harris: she’s 15 years younger than Warren, represents a new generation and Biden owes a deep debt of gratitude to African-American voters for rescuing his campaign from oblivion and vaulting him into front-runner status. Even the fiercest of progressives would have difficulty finding fault with Harris in the No. 2 slot.
Sanders said he, too, was leaning toward a woman, though it’s clear that he expects Biden to be the candidate. For the Vermont socialist, the debate was largely an effort to steer the platform as far left as possible, particularly in regards to health-care policy, which is his bread and butter.
He worked at it gamely, again and again denouncing greedy drug companies, dishonest insurance firms and the overarching villainy of Wall Street, arguing for a single-payer, universal system that is his preferred alternative and the core of his campaign. It’s the one issue on which he and Biden hold clearly different views, and the former vice-president wasn’t about to give in this late in the game.
“People are looking for results, not a revolution,” Biden asserted, listing several areas in which Sanders’ plan remains vague or unexplained.
He pointed out that Italy has the sort of system Sanders advocates and it hasn’t done the country much good when it comes to saving lives or halting the progress of the coronavirus. He countered by pledging a blank cheque to fight the virus, should it still be ravaging the country come the inaugural in January.
Anyone hoping Democrats would make an effort to contain the runaway deficits of the Trump administration was in for a big disappointment: neither of these guys has the slightest hesitation to throw open the vaults. If anything, Biden outbid Sanders in his determination to be seen protecting Americans.
“We need a major, major, major bailout,” he said. “No one will have to pay anything that has to do with the emergency.” Lost paycheques would be covered, mortgages seen to, childcare ensured, hospital bills paid. Sanders struggled to find a fear Biden wasn’t willing to offset with a healthy dose of government cash. I was waiting for him to channel former president Franklin Roosevelt and proclaim that, “The only thing we have to fear is … fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Maybe his advisers didn’t think of it.
The candidates did get into some minor spats over where their campaign money comes from, whose ads were less truthful and who voted for what in distant congressional sessions — stuff pertinent to only the most passionate partisans. They agreed so wholeheartedly about the evils of Trump, it barely required mentioning. “He is the most dangerous president in the history of this nation,” Sanders stated flatly.
It’s unclear what happens next. The two camps are trying to keep their momentum going in the absence of everything that usually goes into a campaign. No rallies, no glad-handing. Criss-crossing the country in campaign jets is bad karma when no one is allowed within 10 feet of one another. Georgia and Louisiana have already postponed their primaries. There is talk as to whether the election itself could be delayed.
There are reportedly constraints in place that would make moving the election extremely difficult to do, but does anyone doubt that Trump would give it a go if he thought it would help him? Stranger things have been happening lately.
HE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PRESIDENT.