Our columnists and contributors give their rankings.
Our columnists and contributors give their rankings.
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Winners and Losers of the Democratic Debate
ByThe New York Times OpinionDec. 20, 2019
Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the Jan. 14 Democratic presidential candidate debate in Des Moines. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rank the candidates on a scale of 1 to 10: 1 means the candidate probably didn’t belong on the stage and should probably drop out; 10 means it’s on, President Trump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought about the debate.
Read what our columnists and contributors thought of theNovember debate.
Amy Klobuchar
Jamelle Bouie(8/10) — To have any chance at the nomination, Klobuchar needs to win Iowa, and so she took aim at the candidate most in her way — Pete Buttigieg — presenting herself as the experienced alternative to a small town mayor with only a few electoral wins under his belt. It was compelling.
Jorge Castañeda(8/10) — Klobuchar was better than before, but still too earnest and self-centered, even by candidates’ standards. Her best moments were on Citizens United and how Trump quits when his peers make fun of him.
Gail Collins(8/10) — She’s been great at the clever, sensible answers for a while now. Time for an upgrade.
Ross Douthat(7/10) — Her most forceful, stage-seizing performance. The only question is whether enough Iowans liked the deliberate clash with Buttigieg.
Nicole Hemmer(7/10) — Klobuchar’s got jokes, but she’s also got jabs, and tonight she aimed almost all of them at Buttigieg, in an effective bid for voters looking for a non-wine-cave Midwesterner.
Nicholas Kristof(10/10) — Effectively presented herself as a unifier who can win elections, jousting with good cheer and optimism.
Robert Leonard(8/10) — If any debate is going to help her, this was it. She took some risks, dominated the conversation and aimed squarely at Iowa. Oh, and by the way, she’s from the Midwest. The Midwest.
David Leonhardt(6/10) — She’s getting better, but still sounds too much like a senator and not a president. She doesn’t need to mention all that legislation. Stay big.
Liz Mair(9.5/10) — Virtually flawless debate. She attacked effectively and came off as confident, experienced and presidential — and, yes, likable, something we’re told isn’t possible for female candidates but that she proved actually is.
Will Wilkinson(8/10) — The winnowing of the debate pack gave Klobuchar room to throw sharp elbows and make a compelling case for her electability and qualifications. She helped herself in Iowa.
Joe Biden
Jamelle Bouie(9/10) — Biden did extremely well tonight, although I’m not sure if he was actually good or if this is the soft bigotry of low expectations. Either way, this was exactly the kind of performance he needed to stay on top in the national race and even make up ground in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Jorge Castañeda(8/10) — Biden held his ground and did what he had to do: not lose points. He showed more emotion, especially on immigration and Afghanistan.
Gail Collins(6/10) — O.K., now we know he can just cope like a normal candidate. Please add just a tweak of magic?
Ross Douthat(8/10) — His best and most consistent debate. For the first time, he had real front-runner energy.
Nicole Hemmer(7/10) — For Biden, the bar is low — deliver coherent answers and show a bit of energy — but he cleared it ably tonight, something he hasn’t done in the past few debates.
Nicholas Kristof(9/10) — Biden’s best debate by far. Still no silver tongue, but solid for the first time, successfully conveying his experience as a strength.
Robert Leonard(8/10) — Maybe his best debate — because he faded into the background. No gaffes, other than a clumsy answer to the one spontaneous question. Stuck to his mantra — experience and electability.
David Leonhardt(8/10) — His best debate. He was passionate, mostly sharp and even funny. Although maybe a little less shouting next time.
Liz Mair(8/10) — Someone ate his Wheaties and drank his Red Bull. His final answer demonstrated Biden’s great strength — he really does love people, and that makes him really appealing.
Will Wilkinson(7/10) — Biden’s best performance to date. Trump’s scurrilous Biden-centric cover story for his corruption seems to have put some fighting pep in the former veep’s step.
Bernie Sanders
Jamelle Bouie(8/10) — If we were giving out awards then Sanders would get “most consistent player.” He’s always good! And since his heart attack in the fall, he’s more feisty and energetic than ever.
Jorge Castañeda(7/10) — He did what he does best: bring everything back to health care and the 1 percent. His opposition toU.S.M.C.A.was predictable but interesting.
Gail Collins(7/10) — Some good and quick responses, but he still does sound like a cranky uncle.
Ross Douthat(7/10) — If there’s a Warren-or-Sanders lane, he dominated it tonight.
Nicole Hemmer(8/10) — You always know what you’re getting with Sanders, but he’s so much better when — like tonight — he’s goofy rather than grumpy.
Nicholas Kristof(8/10) — Relentless, sharp and sometimes humorous, and extra credit for speaking empathetically about Palestinians.
Robert Leonard(7/10) — Bernie was, as always, Bernie, his great strength. He probably didn’t win any new converts, but he was comfortable, clear and consistent.
David Leonhardt(7/10) — I’m not a fan of universally free college, and I still thought his pitch for it — along with other universal public programs — was eloquent and effective.
Liz Mair(5/10) — You either love the Bernie show, or you wish he’d stop yelling already. It appears most Democrats don’t love it. But hey, maybe those that do will force a big fight on the convention floor and provide some entertainment for the nation next summer.
Will Wilkinson(8/10) — An under-the-radar contender in national polls was pugnacious, charming and made the clearest case so far that ordinary Americans would come out ahead with higher taxes but vastly reduced personal health care costs under Medicare for All.
Elizabeth Warren
Jamelle Bouie(6/10) — After taking a thrashing on Medicare for All and slipping in the polls, Warren is focusing on the anti-corruption part of her message. And like Bernie, she is relentlessly on message, able to tie almost any question back to the themes of her campaign. But she faltered in her confrontation with Buttigieg and lost some initiative.
Jorge Castañeda(7/10) — She is still on a downhill slope and peaked too early intellectually. I would have expected bolder stances on foreign policy, given her intellect. A missed opportunity.
Gail Collins(8/10) — If you’re a frontrunner just being fine is ... fine.
Ross Douthat(4/10) — Best one-liner of the night  “I’d be the youngest woman”); otherwise, strangely, almost a non-factor.
Nicole Hemmer(8/10) — She not only had the best one-liner of the night, she vibrated with passion, without drowning people in plans.
Nicholas Kristof(8/10) — Very effective in taking on the corruption of Trump and the system, but aggressively challenged Buttigieg, and it backfired.
Robert Leonard(7/10) — She stayed on message — and avoided the health care morass — but relied heavily on the same handful of talking points. She was best the few times she spoke with spontaneity and genuine feeling.
David Leonhardt(7/10) — She had the best line of the night (“the youngest female president”). Warren is sharp in laying out her vision. Mayor Pete effectively parried her no-big-donors argument.
Liz Mair(4/10) — Warren looked fairly desperate at points tonight, almost looked like she was going to cry twice and got roughed up pretty badly, mostly by Mayor Pete. She also nearly walked into another roughing-up at the end, eyes-wide-open and who knows why.
Will Wilkinson(7/10) — Warren made a muscular case for sticking up for the little guy and fighting corruption — including the soft corruption of Buttigieg’s fat cat spelunking.
Pete Buttigieg
Jamelle Bouie(5/10) — Buttigieg made an open defense of the extremely broken American campaign finance system, which is to say that “wine cave” is going to stick.
Jorge Castañeda(9/10) — He defended himself notably against Warren and Klobuchar. He is the best debater, but not the best candidate.
Gail Collins(8/10) — He was the target and he held up pretty darn well. If only he didn’t have to defend the fund-raiser in the wine cave....
Ross Douthat(4/10) — The knives went in at last. Though he can fight back just fine, in a fight the thin résumé looks thinner and the smirk comes out too quickly.
Nicole Hemmer(6/10) — The other candidates finally realized they could swing at Mayor Pete, and while it wasn’t a TKO, he took a body blow on wealthy donors. His wine cave is to 2020 what Romney’s car elevator was to 2012 — an image of out-of-touch wealth that people won’t soon forget.
Nicholas Kristof(10/10) — Buttigieg took incoming fire, particularly from Elizabeth Warren, and handled it ably: He faced his biggest debate test and passed.
Robert Leonard(4/10) — Points for composure in the face of jabs — even from Bernie! — at his inexperience, fund-raising and insider-outsider persona. But it’s hard to recover from Wine Cave Pete.
David Leonhardt(7/10) — High highs, but inconsistent. When replying to moderator questions, he resorted to anti-Washington cliches. When attacked, he was very good.
Liz Mair(6.5/10) — Not his best debate — he got roughed up by Klobuchar on his weakest point (not his fault; just his résumé). But he effectively attacked Warren, she deserved it, and a lot of people who think she’s grown increasingly smug, slippery and dishonest will be happy about it.
Will Wilkinson(6/10) — The mayor of Indiana’s fourth-largest municipality got seriously bloodied on wine cave fund-raisers and a paucity of relevant experience, but honey-tongued defensive maneuvers left him on his feet.
Tom Steyer
Jamelle Bouie(6/10) — Steyer has gotten much better at the debate game and much better at giving clear, concise answers. But he still doesn’t seem like he has the political skills to go toe-to-toe with his rivals, putting him on the periphery of most of the conversations and disputes.
Jorge Castañeda(7/10) — He had to shine, being an outsider, and didn’t. On climate change and not fighting among Democrats he excelled, but it was not enough.
Gail Collins(1/10) — Attention Bloomberg: Billionaire candidates need to sound like something more inspiring than ... a liberal billionaire.
Ross Douthat(3/10) — Seemed slightly more plausible than in past appearances, which isn’t saying much.
Nicole Hemmer(4/10) — Judy Woodruff didn’t seem to know who he was, and most voters don’t either. That he’s onstage instead of Cory Booker or Julian Castro makes the case that the Democratic Party needs to tweak its process.
Nicholas Kristof(6/10) — Smart, articulate and more forceful than in previous debates, but still seemed the weakest presence onstage.
Robert Leonard(4/10) — For the guy on the periphery, he was articulate in framing some major issues and gets points as the only one who took Trump’s racism head-on. Plus he repped California.
David Leonhardt(5/10) — Steyer is a force for good who doesn’t need to be on this stage. He could be doing so many other things to help beat Trump. His tie was fun.
Liz Mair(5/10) — Steyer did better than expected, but the competition was also tougher. He talked so much about having used his billions to build grass-roots movements, I was honestly surprised he didn’t mention having built one focused on disability rights.
Will Wilkinson(6/10) — This was Steyer’s best debate. He was unusually coherent, articulate and humane, but nevertheless superfluous.