San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
What we learned from Democrats’ debates
In one dramatic exchange, Sen. Kamala Harris answered three perceptions that have dogged her presidential campaign. She went into Thursday night’s debate in Miami with questions about whether she was too cautious, too reticent about showing a personal side and terminally stuck in the second tier of candidates after an impressive rollout in late January.
Then came her confrontation with Vice President Joe Biden: daring, personal and commanding attention.
Harris might have won the debate even if not for the way she forcefully challenged a flustered Biden about his opposition to courtimposed school busing as a desegregation tool in the 1970s. She was strong from start to finish, quickly establishing herself as the adult in the room and a master of readyforreplay oneliners when her competitors began talking over one another: “Hey, guys, you know what,” she said. “America does not want to witness a food fight, they want to know how we are going to put food on their table.”
But her effectiveness in knocking Biden offbalance cinched the deal for Harris. He was the frontrunner whose lead was built in large part on his support among African Americans. In doing so, Harris showed her prosecutorial chops — as seen in Senate hearings — and indirectly but ever so unmistakably raised questions about the former vice president’s age (76) and his potential to match wits with President Trump in a generalelection debate.
Followup stories to the HarrisBiden exchange dominated the next day’s news cycle, which is likely to be reflected in the
coming rounds of polls and fundraising.
In American politics, a sudden surge brings sudden scrutiny — and some may prove uncomfortable for Harris. She joined Sen. Bernie Sanders when asked for a show of hands of which candidates would eliminate private health insurance, an issue in which she has expressed conflicting positions. On Friday, she said she misunderstood the question and, while supportive of Medicare for All, was not advocating the end of private insurance. She also joined all 10 when asked whether she would extend coverage to undocumented immigrants, a moment that surely will be brought up in a general election.
Depending on how the polls go, her fellow Democrats may take aim at her in the next debate, potentially on her record on the death penalty as attorney general.
But for at least one night in Miami, the stage belong to Kamala Harris.
Other debate takeaways:
The flickering torch: Rep. Eric Swalwell tossed a Hail Mary early on, directly challenging Biden’s age in declaring it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation of Americans.” The 38yearold Dublin Democrat can hardly be blamed for a big reach; he was sub1% in the polls and positioned on the fringe of the stage. But a guiding principle for a biting sound bite is to use it once. Guiding principle two: Make sure it will stand up to inspection. Factcheckers who reviewed the 1987 Biden quote cited by Swalwell noted that the senator had been referring to President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech, not making an agebased pitch for himself. Biden was ready: “I’m still holding onto that torch.”
Night One: Julián Castro also came to the debates from back in the pack, but stood out with poise, passion and a pointed takedown of fellow Texan Beto O’Rourke on the issue of whether crossing the border should be a civil offense (Castro’s position) instead of a felony. It was a position that will play far better in a Democratic primary than a general election, but that is the game right now, and Castro won the point. Sen. Elizabeth Warren had a solid performance — with a law professor’s command of the facts and the room — and her agenda seemed to drive the themes of the evening.
Field takes shape: The moderators, every so predictably, focused on candidates who have been polling in at least the high single digits, leaving those on the outside lanes (such as — surprise! — New Yorkers Bill de Blasio and Kirsten Gillibrand) to try to blurt their way in, as they did with limited success. Biden, Sanders, Warren and Harris are right in the thick of it it, with Castro, Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg having done well enough in the debates to remain in the conversation. Never say never in politics, but all others are now in an increasingly desperate race against time — and money — to stay competitive.
Let civility reign: It’s impossible to get into too much substance with 10 candidates on stage, but the two nights were refreshingly devoid of personal insults. Sure, they took some shots at one another, but there was neither name calling nor questioning of another’s looks, height, hand size, patriotism, intelligence or energy level. We can only hope the 2016 GOP “food fights” — to borrow a phrase — were an aberration.