Biden’s Rivals Helped Him More Than He Helped Himself

After two nights of spirited debate in Detroit, many Democrats may be feeling anxious: Their 2020 frontrunner didn’t entirely mollify concerns about his political skills, and his three major rivals positioned themselves in ways that could leave the party vulnerable in the general election. … Biden’s mixed performance yesterday highlighted […] Read more »

The second Democratic debate: Opening up the centrist lane

Ever since the 2018 election, the storyline around the Democratic Party has been at odds with the facts. The Democratic Party is, as it has been for many decades now, a center-left party and not a left-wing party in the style of European political parties. In the first Democratic debates […] Read more »

Biden Under Fire From All Sides as Rivals Attack His Record

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. delivered a steadfast defense of his moderate policies in the Democratic primary debate on Wednesday, striking back at a familiar adversary, Senator Kamala Harris, but facing intensifying attacks on his record from liberal rivals including Senator Cory Booker and Julián Castro, the former […] Read more »

Wednesday’s presidential debate turns on character as much as ideology, a foreboding turn for Democrats

Democrats turned their presidential debate into a spiral of attacks against one another here Wednesday night, spending more than two hours squabbling over policy details and questioning each other’s honesty or character but only sporadically making a strong case for defeating President Trump in 2020. … What took place showed […] Read more »

The core debate among 2020 Democrats: How progressive is too progressive to win?

… Given Trump’s success and given the number of 2012 voters who stayed home, is it possible to put together a campaign that energizes infrequent Democratic voters, doesn’t turn off those Democrats who vote regularly — and doesn’t further energize Republicans? Can the Warren-Sanders strategy of whipping up the progressive […] Read more »