Bidenwas brilliantly adequate in second Democratic debate
Joe Biden was good enough. And that, in itself, was a victory.
His fellow Democrats began attacking himin the very first minute of Wednesday night’s debate, and they didn’t stop. They attacked him on health care. They attacked him on immigration. They attacked him on crime. They attacked him on inequality, race, climate change, trade, equality, abortion and Iraq.
And Biden was … perfectly adequate. He wasn’t the most eloquent or stylish debater on the stage. And, at times, he seemed stunned by the ferocity of the barrage — which, in fairness, was stunning.
But in contrast to the first debate, Biden was energetic and prepared. He returned fire with fire and, mostly, he held his own.
He worked in his trademark folksiness — “this idea is a bunch of malarkey” — and parried the constant challenges with a calm “the fact is.” He defended the Obama administration’s record, even when unpopular in the room, and he gave nearly as good as he got.
Little altered Biden’s commanding lead in the race. If anything, Biden may benefit from sympathy from voters, who may perceive his rivals as unfairly ganging up on the front-runner. Kamala Harris, Bill de Blasio, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand seemed particularly opportunistic in their attacks, and sometimes nasty.
The result? Biden remains the clear frontrunner. Perhaps even more so.
A Quinnipiac University poll this week found himgetting 34% support among Democrats, 19 points ahead of his nearest rival.
Biden’s triumph has a ready explanation. Correctly or not, voters believe this nonthreatening old white guy ofmoderate leanings is the one to beat President Trump. In the Quinnipiac poll, fully 51% of Democrats said Biden has the best chance of doing so.
On Wednesday, Biden trotted onstage and joked to Harris: “Go easy on me, kid.”
But that wasn’t in the cards. De Blasio, the mayor of New York, used part of his opening statement to attack Biden and his “wealthy donors.”
Soon after, Harris was telling him “you don’t know what you’re saying” on health care.
Later came Julián Castro scolding himon immigration: “One of us learned from the problems of the past, one of us hasn’t.”
Booker taunted the front-runner: “You’re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don’t even know the flavor.”
For more than two hours, Biden parried the unrelenting attacks.
To Harris: “You can’t beat Donald Trump with double talk.”
To de Blasio: “To compare [Obama] to Donald Trump, I think, is absolutely bizarre.”
To Castro: “I have guts enough to say his plan doesn’t make sense.”
While others attacked him, he repeatedly returned the focus to Trump, he stuck to his moderate positions and he tied himself closely to Obama. “Everybody is talking about how terrible I am on these issues,” he said. “Barack Obama knew exactly who I was. … He chose me, and he said it was the best decision he made.”
After one of several attacks by an incessantly nasty de Blasio, the former vice president smiled and said: “I love your affection for me. You spend a lot of time with me.”
De Blasio, who declared “victory” because Biden had changed the position he held on the North American Free Trade Agreement 25 years ago, replied: “We believe in redemption in this party.”
“Well,” Biden said dryly, “I hope you’re part of it.”
Not a bad line — on not a bad night for Biden. In fact, it was brilliantly and gloriously acceptable.
Editor’s note: This columnist’s wife, Anna Greenberg, works for John Hickenlooper, a Democratic presidential candidate.
Dana Milbank is a Washington Post columnist.