Debates reshape Democratic race

[left-of-center2012]

The 2020 Democratic presidential race has burst wide open after two debates here this week.

Joe Biden, the former vice president who has until now been the unarguable front-runner, has been badly weakened. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has reinvigorated a campaign that was at risk of becoming stagnant. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accelerated her momentum with a dominant performance in the first and less contentious debate, on Wednesday.

The eventual nominee to take on President Trump is likely to be one of those three people or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who acquitted himself solidly but unspectacularly on Thursday.

Biden can still avoid such dismal fates, of course. But he faces several interlocking problems. One is that the core rationale for his candidacy is that he is the strongest candidate to beat Trump. If he is now judged to be an unsteady debater, that argument may be holed below the water line.

Biden could recover with better performances in the future. He could lean even more heavily into his supposed empathy for voters in the electorally vital Rust Best and upper Midwest. But Biden, seeking to show a front-runner’s strength, was revealed as weak in his first big test. The fallout could be severe.

https://thehill.com/homenews/the-memo/450968-the-memo-debates-reshape-democratic-race

[KPN]

1. Meh. The Hill looking for a story as usual. We got a long way to go.

[democratisphere]

2. The Hill, along with the rest of the MSM, is attempting to make a story

that isn't there. In fact, it is likely the opposite of the Hill's claims.

[KPN]

3. Hopefully, enough people will just watch the debates and form their own opinions.

[Thekaspervote]

4. The Hill.. the gopeeee twist... distorted as usual