Winners and Losers of PBS Politico Democratic Debate
PBS Newshour hosted its first Democratic debate in partnership with Politico at the Los Angeles campus of Loyola Marymount on Thursday night, though it was also broadcast on CNN.
The lead moderator, Judy Woodruff, opened things by immediately asking candidates to address the historic news of the week: the impeachment of President Donald Trump. It set the tone and context for a nearly three-hour discussion of the need to restore the White House with honor, and which candidate could best help those in need.
The issue that first seemed to spark the most passion was candidates expressing competitive urgency on climate change. Politico’s moderator Tim Alberta was chided by Bernie Sanders for what was deemed a poorly thought out question. The diversity of candidates on stage — or lack of therein — also came up, and the only person of color candidate Andrew Yang got a big round of applause for his immediate vocal support of Senator Cory Booker, who did not make the cut for this debate, but in Yang’s esteem “he will be back!”
The two-and-a-half debate started slow, too slow in fact. But things heated up when Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg mixed it up over fat-cat campaign events and “purity tests.” That particular knife-fight was not only fascinating to watch unfold but seemed to unlock the energy and spirit of a debate that was quickly going to a place of ignominy.
PBS’s production team deserves some credit for a debate format and overall production that was mostly free of any technical glitches. Judy Woodruff did an admirable job, but in a few instances seemed confused by who she was addressing.
The debate was remarkably civil, so much so that it lacked the conflict that regular consumers of political media one sees on cable news, may have been understimulated.
WINNERS
Amy Klobuchar
The Minnesota Senator had, by far, her best day to date on a Democratic debate stage. She commanded attention from moderators without seeming too aggressive, she called out what she saw as inconsistencies and/or hypocrisies of her competitors (in particular, Pete Buttigieg) and she made salient points that found a comfortable place between the more progressive and moderate ends of the candidate spectrum.
Pete Buttigieg
The current “it boy” of candidates continued to show off his rhetorical flourish in the manner that reminded this viewer of Barack Obama. The time-honored sophistry trick first acknowledging or validating the underlying subtext of any question, before pivoting to an aphorism that seems wise and common sense, but upon closer inspection, is actually quite banal and lacking any deep meaning. Either way, Buttigieg was the target of the most attacks on the evening, which he handled quite graciously. His push back on Elizabeth Warren’s chiding over campaign finance issues, with nuanced “purity test” dig that may have subtly referenced pasts DNA tests was a particular highlight of the debate.
Andrew Yang
It’s difficult to put one’s finger on what exactly makes Andrew Yang stand out. Yes, he is a political outsider, and yes his perspective on most political issues is consistently unique to traditional political candidates. I think the thing that makes him most unique is that a) he seems remarkably comfortable in his own skin, and b) he seems to really enjoy the dialog in a manner that isn’t self-serving. This was all on display Thursday night, as he was first challenged as the only person of color on the stage, to which he immediately admitted he missed Kamala Harris and Cory Booker (who he then predicted would return.) Yang has done the nearly impossible — he has gone from a Silicon Valley entrepreneurial curiosity to someone who is considered a serious candidate for 2020.
NOT WINNERS
It’s not really fair to call these candidates “losers” as no one really stepped in it. But the following candidates did not cover themselves in the same glory that the three above did.
Elizabeth Warren
It wasn’t that Elizabeth Warren was off her game. She was sharp and relaxed and quite likable. If anything, Warren suffered from the expectations of being the hot candidate from a few months ago, and the high expectations-slash-media exposure that makes her one-note-samba something of an earworm. When she tried to mix it up with Mayor Pete over campaign financing, it didn’t turn out well. She almost much gave as good as she got, but lost on Mayor Pete’s “purity test” points. It wasn’t a bad night for Warren, but it wasn’t the big night her campaign was looking for to trend the other way.
Joe Biden
Uncle Joe was Uncle Joe. There were no serious gaffes and he shed his affable nature now and again to chide his fellow competitors and even interrupt. But while specifically challenged the idea that he is pitching a “return to normal,” it is hard to not see Biden as campaigning to return to a time that is too far gone. Joe Biden is the rearview mirror candidate, and that’s a tough sell for people are more eager to look forward.
