Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden had their first chance to go mano a mano in a debate. Arguably, it was the most consequential debate for Bernie this election cycle. If he did not get a powerful win over Joe, then there is basically nothing that would save him from losing.
But Bernie did not get a hard win. In fact, I’d say that this debate was Joe’s finest performance so far. Instead of coming across like a bumbling, possibly senile man beyond his years, he was relatively articulate, confident, and seemingly clear-minded.
When Bernie pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic is a perfect example of our need for universal healthcare, Joe already had a lined-up response. Look at Italy. They have universal healthcare and they are still in ruins from the virus. It has nothing to do with this. I don’t necessarily agree with Joe’s response (for example, what about US citizens fearful of their coronavirus medical debts if they seek help vs. Italian citizens), but that provided the right kind of soundbite to a moderate leaning layperson to dismiss Bernie’s point and healthcare plan, almost like a thought-terminating cliche.
When Bernie pressed Joe on his record of grandstanding, bragging about his efforts to cut Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, and so on, Joe outright lied and said none of that was true. It doesn’t matter that there are recordings of Joe from C-SPAN where he talks about the multiple times he tries to cut benefits (to be clear, a freeze of benefits in a system subject to inflation is a cut). The average voter didn’t even watch the debate, and of the ones that did, a significantly smaller amount were aware of or are going to seek out what Joe actually said:
I think Bernie put up an admirable fight, but it just wasn’t enough. I don’t expect good things from the next set of primary states.