(Analysis) US election 2020: What to expect in Democratic debates

[nitpicker]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48761550

US election 2020: What to expect in Democratic debates

Anthony Zurcher
North America reporter

25 June 2019

The first Democratic debates are like the opening round of a golf tournament. There's no way to win the prize right now, but plenty of ways to lose it for good. The candidates, their visions and their plans will be put in the crucible. There will be more tests to come, but this is the first real chance to see how they hold up under pressure.

Here are five things to keep in mind as we settle in for the opening volleys of what is going to be a very long campaign season.

Big night for Warren

While the second debate night is getting most of the press, the first presents an interesting opportunity for the participants. Elizabeth Warren is the hot candidate right now, but this isn't the World Cup. There are no easy draws. The other candidates will have plenty of chances to make an impression in the two-hour proceedings.

Unlike the Republican "kids' table" debates four years ago that were largely ignored, the national media will be covering the event in full and looking for storylines beyond "Warren has plans".

That's an open door for Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Julian Castro to find the spark that's been missing from their campaigns so far. Beto O'Rourke could recapture the magic from his 2018 Senate bid. Bill de Blasio might show he's more than just a New York tabloid punching bag. Washington Governor Jay Inslee will have a national audience for his climate-change pitch, as will Tulsi Gabbard for her visions of world peace and Tim Ryan for his blue-collar Ohio populism. John Delaney… will also be there.

The shelf life for buzz from the first debate will be short - but a night of good press is better than none at all.

Bernie v Biden

This has been the marquee matchup ever since the debate line-ups were first announced. Joe Biden is the undisputed front-runner for the Democratic nomination at this point. Bernie Sanders was the runner-up in 2016 and posted the biggest fund-raising numbers in the first three months of 2019 (before Biden entered the race).

Both candidates are also the only ones on stage who have presidential campaign experience and know what it's like to be in one of these multi-candidate scrums.

It seems all but certain that there will be fireworks between the two septuagenarians. The Vermont senator will try to portray the former vice-president's calls for moderation and bipartisanship as woefully out-of-step with the current mood of the Democratic Party and an ineffective way to motivate core voters. Biden will counter that Sanders is too extreme and his proposals are unrealistic.

It could all be eerily reminiscent of the 2016 face-offs between Sanders and Hillary Clinton - only this time, there will be a crowd of other candidates waiting to get in on the action. Biden could get pummelled because he's at the top of the pack. Sanders may face sharp attacks from the centrists in the field. Both are susceptible to generational attacks from the younger candidates

It's an unstable dynamic that could turn into a feeding frenzy if there's blood in the water.

Yang-mentum
(snip)

What's the big issue?
(snip)

The man who isn't there
(snip)

[TreasonousBastard]

1. The first one is tonight-- I don't need to know what to expect when...

I'll see it in a few hours.

(And then there will be untold hours of discussion on what I just saw.)