WaPo: Winners and losers from the Democratic presidential debate's second night

[Celerity]

The first Democratic debate is over, after the second installment featuring the second set of 10 candidates concluded Thursday in Miami.

Highlights: Night 2 of the Democratic debate

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/28/winners-losers-democratic-presidential-debates-second-night/?utm_term=.e732ddf86877

Below are our winners and losers.

Winners

Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.):

People underestimate Harris as a politician, still to this day. And she seized the moment in her first presidential debate, charting a bold course. When the candidates talked over one another repeatedly, she raised her arms and silenced them: “Hey, guys, you know what? America does not want to witness a food fight, they want to know how we’re going to put food on their table.” It worked. Then she spurred the signature exchange of the night — a planned effort, clearly, but an effective one — by going after former vice president Joe Biden on his record on race. “I do not believe you are a racist,” she began, before calling it “hurtful” that Biden played up his working relationships with segregationist senators. Then she worked in Biden’s past opposition to federal busing, talking about a little girl who was “bused to school every day, and that little girl was me.” Others tried to engage Biden, but Harris actually got it done. And she made it personal, speaking about the issue as nobody else onstage could.

Link to tweet

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg:

This was a minefield for Buttigieg, and talking about his stewardship of South Bend, Ind., after police shot and killed a black man was inevitable. Then Buttigieg did something novel: Admit some fault. Asked why he had so few black police officers in a diverse city, Buttigieg responded, “Because I couldn’t get it done.” Humility is okay. And when talking about other issues like free college and health care, he managed to offer bold ideas but emphasize realism. If he can get past the problems in his hometown, his performance suggested future debates could be more fruitful.

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Losers

Former vice president Joe Biden:

We knew the former vice president was going to be attacked in this debate, given that he leads in the polls. We also knew his opponents had plenty to work with and that he would face tough questions about his lengthy period in public life. The combined result wasn’t great. His exchange with Harris was particularly brutal, but he also seemed to argue against the Obama administration’s record on deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. He offered a confusing answer on health coverage for undocumented immigrants. He at one point said of gun control, “Our enemy is the gun manufacturers, not the NRA” — which almost definitely isn’t what Democratic voters want to hear and can’t possibly have been a planned talking point. And Harris eventually got him to take what was essentially a federalist position on busing. “I did not oppose busing,” he said. “I opposed busing ordered by the Department of Education.” In the end, Biden had almost no chance to pursue his preferred campaign message: talking about Trump.

The old Democratic Party on immigration:

The way the Democrats talked about immigration was basically irreconcilable with how the party talked about this issue 10 or even five years ago. All 10 candidates said they favored health-care coverage for undocumented immigrants, which California only recently became the first state to experiment with. All but one — Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.) — raised their hands when asked whether crossing the border without documentation should be a civil rather than criminal offense. And many said they supported not deporting undocumented immigrants who haven’t committed serious crimes. Among these candidates was, apparently, Biden, who said such people “should not be the focus of deportation.” The Obama administration he served in deported millions of people, including lots who never committed serious crimes.

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[quickesst]

1. Think I'll revisit this thread....

....after the post-debate polls come out.