The Democratic nominee will have been vetted.
Two narratives have emerged from the debate last night. One is the old line of a circular firing squad, a party at war with itself, candidates diminished rather than growing in stature.
The other narrative is quite different. It is of candidates battle testing each other, poking at the greatest weaknesses of the others on stage, weaknesses President Trump, unencumbered by facts, or the truth, or decorum, is likely to drive directly at in the general election.
Put me down more in the second camp. I have seen many contentious primaries. Most often candidates emerge stronger, but not always. The biggest damage comes when a candidate cannot, due to their personality, convictions, or policy platform, unite the party.
The contours going into last night in one important way didn't seem to change. Bernie is likely at a solid 25-35 percent with the primary voters. I think he emerged in the same rough place, which is enough to have a definitive edge over his rivals. But the question that emerges, with a level of support far below a majority, Is whether it hints at a ceiling for Bernie, or is it due to the fractured opposition.
As for that opposition, each has a band of support. I agree with what seems to be an emerging consensus that Warren had a great night and Bloomberg got bloodied. Will his support slip? Will she get an infusion of funds and momentum? I see disagreement about whether Biden was strong, weak, or was just able to duck some of the fire. I think he was fine but maybe not enough to stem the tide because the greatest pitch to his candidacy is his electability. Butegieg was who he has been. Some love him. Others don't. He has seemed to be on the ebb. I don't see anything he did tonight drastically refocusing his fortunes. And as for Klobuchar, another solid performance but was it enough to create a bigger spark?
But all that being said, this race remains fluid. And yet the clock ticks. With Super Tuesday looming, can one of the other candidates become THE alternative to Sanders? Perhaps, but time is running out.
I want to add that, despite all the political posturing, I saw something else on the stage. There was not a lot of talk of President Trump. But I don't fault the moderators. The goal here is to find the differences in candidates. And what binds these women and men together, from Bloomberg to Sanders, is a belief that the president is an unrelenting danger to the future of this nation.
If you want to see Democrats agree, get angry, and motivated, just bring up President Trump. And I think for all the acrimony on the stage last night, the party will end up unifying because they feel they have no other choice. They see the stakes as not about just the next four years but about the health and security of the nation stretching forward decades into the future. They see a planet in a climate crisis. They see cruelty and greed, corruption and incompetence. They know who they will vote for in November, just not necessarily now. And this is the process by which Democratic voters will make their choice.
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