What Went Down In The Fifth Democratic Debate

Julia, maybe the focus is partly a reflection of the fairly small areas of serious policy disagreement (granted, health care is obviously a major subject) among the candidates. With Buttigieg’s rise in the race, I think credentials are a very fair topic of conversation. The mayor of a city of 100,000 becoming president would certainly cut against the idea that traditional credentials matter.

Biden just gave a long answer that focused on civility. This is the great difference between Biden and the party’s activist wing, which doesn’t like him. Biden really believes that politics will be improved if partisans are less angry. He thinks American politics can be less divisive. Many liberals think that there is no way to compromise with Republicans and that the problem in American politics is the GOP, not a lack of civility or divisiveness.

Yeah, Nate, I agree that Biden has exceeded expectations so far. But this is kind of like saying in May that Mike Trout is on pace for 95 home runs. Biden often tails off toward the end of debates, so let’s reserve judgment for now.