Biden had a strong start going after Sanders and Warren on health care pretty effectively on the matter of costs. But then, for really the first time in a debate, his advanced age came up when Castro asked Biden if he’d forgotten an answer he’d said just a few moments ago –- a pretty obvious dig at the fact that Biden is 76 years old. In a moment that might cement that as a storyline, Biden later had a rambling answer on the legacy of slavery where he mentioned that parents should have a “record player” on each night at home. So it seems quite possible that questions about Biden’s age are going to get more coverage and attention than they have so far. In my mind, that’s not good for Biden. But who knows if it'll actually move the polls.
Klobuchar was very sharp from the get-go, putting in her two cents in the health care section by making her pitch as a moderate alternative to Biden by attacking Sanders’s Medicare for All bill because it would force many people off their current insurance, which she used as an opportunity to plug for a public option. And later she eloquently discussed what she had done to improve the handling of police shootings and work with the African American community while serving as a prosecutor in Minneapolis and then gave a strong answer on gun control. So all in all, it was easily her strongest debate yet. The question is, will it help her in the polls? It might help her if Biden slides, which could happen after tonight. Time will tell.