What Went Down At The First Biden vs. Sanders Debate

Sometimes debates can dramatically move opinions during a primary election. This was not one of those debates, and it might be the last one — we’ll see. It doesn’t help Sanders that his criticisms of Biden will have to break through during a period when media coverage will be framed almost entirely around the coronavirus. That part of the debate was less divisive, so if it’s covered, it shouldn’t do much to change minds. I thought Biden had a solid debate, too, and he avoided making the sort of mistake(s) that could’ve conceivably caused some voters to question their support for him.

It’s pretty amazing that the first two-person debate of the 2020 primary — winnowed from a field of 20-plus — felt in so many ways inconsequential. And I think it largely will be — Biden’s grip on the race just seems too tight.

But my one note of caution would be that the fact that this was the first two-person debate maybe introduces some extra potential power? IDK … maybe not. It’s sooooo hard to imagine this debate altering the trajectory of the race. At the same time, a lot of things have happened in politics — including in this race — that were hard to imagine.

It’s kind of sad that this debate took place in the midst of a global crisis that is naturally drawing everyone’s attention away, because it was a good one. Without the audience and the cacophony of seven+ candidates on stage, we finally got a chance to have Biden and Sanders challenge each other and actually respond. Still, while coronavirus naturally featured heavily in the top of the debate, there was something comforting about being reminded that the world is continuing to spin, and we continue to have an election that is about more than the current crisis at hand.