My analysis: There were a number of times where Sanders could have gone after Biden harder, and he didn’t. Not a good night for Sanders. He needed to go for the jugular.
9:57 Biden’s closing is strong, showing a lot of empathy. Makes the point that Donald Trump is the biggest threat.
9:55 Closing message about Coronavirus. Sanders notes that our current system makes it worth.
9:49 Ad break.
9:47 Dana Bash is horrible. She has not asked a single question that is not about electioneering. There are actual issues, and focusing exclusively on horse-race electoral questions is journalist malpractice.
9:46 Biden is claiming that he knows who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. This is a succinct description of every American foreign policy failure over the past 50 years. Choosing who deserves to win in some other country is a font of failure.
9:44 Sanders notes that EVERYONE knew that Bush was a liar, and that Biden also supported horrible trade agreements and the like.
9:42 Biden questioned on Iraq war vote. He says that his vote for the invasion was because he was lied to by the President, who said that there would be no invasion, just a UN resolution. That makes Biden an idiot or a liar.
9:40 Sanders notes that stating reality is a requirement dealing with the world.
9:38 Biden questioned on Obama’s similar statements on the Cuban education system. He tries to imply that Sanders’ comments were beyond the pale.
9:36 Sanders questioned on his statements on Cuba, specifically in terms of Florida voters. Sanders notes that observing objective facts is not support for a dictatorship.
9:30 Ad break.
9:29 Sanders quizzed on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without fracked natural gas. Sanders response is that he is calling for a Manhattan Project level of investment. He should have said that leaks from fracking mean that the Tapper’s assumption is not certain.
9:26 Sanders notes that the Paris accords are insufficient, and that the US needs to further and to, the maximum degree possible, apply pressure overseas as well.
9:25 I expect a walk back, but Biden just said that he would ban ALL drilling in the United states.
9:24 Bernie says that fighting anthropogenic climate change is a war, and that big oil has been lying for years. Wants them to be held CRIMINALLY accountable. (Good point)
9:23 I know what Biden is trying to say, but he needs to watch Schoolhouse Rock, because he is completely leaving out conjunctions about his policy. (Not mental decline, he’s always talked this way)
9:21 Biden notes that the Pentagon briefed him and Obama on the threats of climate change.
9:20 Climate change, Jake Tapper asking about to handle health consequences (tropical diseases, etc.). Sanders response is that this is real existential threat, not just diseases. He wants to end fracking and tax breaks to big oil.
9:19 We are in the middle of a love fest on immigration.
9:17 Both of them come out unequivocally against local police transferring illegals to ICE.
9:15 Biden notes (correctly) that a part of Sanders opposition was his publicly stated concerns about immigration being used to drive down wages.
9:13 Sanders explains his vote against the 2007 immigration bill, and notes taht LULAC opposed the bill, and that the SPLC said that the guest worker bills were, “Akin to slavery.”
9:11 Calderón asks Biden about Obama’s immigration policies. (Deporter in chief) Biden comes as close as he ever has to criticizing Obama. Promises only to deport felons.
9:10 Sanders says, “Probably” for a woman VP pick.
9:09 Challenged by Bernie, Biden repudiates his votes for the Hyde amendment. Also wants to codify Roe v. Wade into law.
9:06 A question from “Ordinary People”. It’s a question about how he would staff his cabinet to protect women’s issues. It’s actually a highly sophisticated question. Bernie talks policies, which is somewhat orthogonal to the personnel question. Biden promises a black woman for SCOTUS, that his cabinet will “look like America”, and he is promises that his VP pick will be a women. (MAJOR announcement)
9:01 Ad break.
8:59 Sanders says the same. It should be noted that Sanders campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
8:58 Biden asked about winning over Sanders voters. Biden promised to support and campaign for Sanders should he get the nod.
8:56 Biden brings up Sanders bad history on gun control. He’s right, but unlike Biden, he has publicly repudiated those votes.
8:55 Sanders notes that he voted against the Bankruptcy bill, DOMA, the Iraq War, the Hyde Amendment, etc. and Biden voted for it.
8:53 Sanders makes a point that he has been supporting things like free college tuition, and opposing Biden’s sellout to MBNA with his bankruptcy bill, and that Biden is a late comer. Sanders, is (IMHO weekly) implying that Biden cannot be trusted.
8:51 My wife just turned to me and said, “I understand why you want to be drunk.”
8:48 Biden challenged on his reversal on free state college tuiton. Word salad.
8:46 Joe said that he never did, and then he said, that “Everything was on the Table.” Joe, you just ceded this point.
8:45 Bernie Sanders just called out Joe Biden for calling for Social Security cuts, and then notes that people can see his speeches on the Senate floor on YouTube.
8:41 Sanders (IMHO accurately) says that the problem is asymmetry of power, and it needs to be fixed.
8:38 Blitzer serves up a softball question about Bernie’s call for revolution to Biden. Binden says that he can pass stuff and Bernie can’t. **cough** McConnell **cough**
8:36 Calderón raises Bernie’s heart attack and precautions. Bernie mentions not doing rallies, hand shakes, etc. Asks Biden, and Biden says much the same thing, and makes a funny, when he says, “Knock wood,” and knocks on his head.
8:35 Immigration questions: Very little light between the two of them
8:32 Biden is saying that if we hadn’t bailed out the banks, everyone would have lost their money in banks, because, I guess there is no FDIC. BTW, Jorge Ramos should be asking these questions, but he is under self-quarantine, so the hapless Ilia Calderón is asking the questions. She is awful.
8:30 A rather disingenuous question about how he voted against the bank bailout in an attempt to suggest that his support for help for ordinary people now is hypocritical.
8:29 Biden is doing well. He is on point and coherent.
8:26 Talking about economic effects of pandemic, and once again, Biden is talking about a one time response, Bernie talks about how we got here, and where we go in the future. Biden keeps going back to ¯_(ツ)_/¯ we have to act now, and any consideration of future problems is an unwanted distraction/
8:15 I came in late, but the discussion of COVID-19 is (unsurprisingly) front and center. At least so far, Bernie is making the point that Medicare for All would allow for significant advance planning for a crisis like this, but his point is ignored by the moderators.
8:11 I came to this about 20 minutes in. I had to pick up Nat from rehearsal.
It’s down to 2, and it’s a critical juncture, so I’m doing this sober.
