The Second Democratic Debate Was a Battle of Policies — Not Personalities
The crowded nature of this year’s field means the debates veer away from candidate-centered discussions.
Most of the coverage around a presidential debate focuses on the winners and losers: who commanded the conversation, who defended their past positions, who simply came out flat. But that media narrative often overlooks the larger story — how, for example, the progressive and moderate wings are combating one another; or whether the new, larger debate format is itself working as intended.
With that said, here are three big-picture takeaways from the second debate.
A crowded field makes things less candidate-centric
It’s little surprise that the adoption of a direct primary, with all its retail politics and television opportunities, would make nomination contests all about individual candidates. There are plenty of examples of presidents who were adept at using this system to their advantage: Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.
But the crowded nature of this year’s Democratic field has actually meant that the debates veer away from candidate-centered discussions. With so many candidates on the stage at one…
