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| 6 Takeaways From the December Democratic Debate | 6 Takeaways From the December Democratic Debate |
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| LOS ANGELES — If hour one of Thursday’s debate was a substantive if sedate affair, hour two had significant and even sizzling moments for Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Amy Klobuchar. Those three candidates are in a fierce battle in Iowa, where the leadoff presidential caucuses are just six-and-a-half weeks away. Here are six takeaways from the December debate: | LOS ANGELES — If hour one of Thursday’s debate was a substantive if sedate affair, hour two had significant and even sizzling moments for Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Amy Klobuchar. Those three candidates are in a fierce battle in Iowa, where the leadoff presidential caucuses are just six-and-a-half weeks away. Here are six takeaways from the December debate: |
| Tensions between Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Warren, which have been brewing for six weeks, finally boiled over. And once a political squabble like this boils over, it is awfully hard to turn down the temperature. | Tensions between Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Warren, which have been brewing for six weeks, finally boiled over. And once a political squabble like this boils over, it is awfully hard to turn down the temperature. |
| The two had a pair of fights, one on each of their turfs. Ms. Warren targeted his campaign fund-raising tactics — pivoting from a friendly question about whether women should have more influence in politics — and Mr. Buttigieg assailed her free public college plan. | The two had a pair of fights, one on each of their turfs. Ms. Warren targeted his campaign fund-raising tactics — pivoting from a friendly question about whether women should have more influence in politics — and Mr. Buttigieg assailed her free public college plan. |
| “The mayor just recently had a fund-raiser that was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served $900 a bottle wine,” Ms. Warren said. | “The mayor just recently had a fund-raiser that was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served $900 a bottle wine,” Ms. Warren said. |
| Mr. Buttigieg was ready. Ms. Warren, he said, is herself a millionaire, and one who transferred millions of dollars she had raised for her Senate account while holding the same closed-door, high-dollar fund-raisers she now disdains. | Mr. Buttigieg was ready. Ms. Warren, he said, is herself a millionaire, and one who transferred millions of dollars she had raised for her Senate account while holding the same closed-door, high-dollar fund-raisers she now disdains. |
| “This is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass,” Mr. Buttigieg said. | “This is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass,” Mr. Buttigieg said. |
| Ms. Warren retorted: “I do not sell access to my time.” | Ms. Warren retorted: “I do not sell access to my time.” |
| “As of when, senator?” Mr. Buttigieg shot back. | “As of when, senator?” Mr. Buttigieg shot back. |
| The later clash over free college was less heated and less personal, but both sides will view it as beneficial. For Ms. Warren, the fight helps her shore up her left flank and prevent liberal supporters from decamping to Senator Bernie Sanders. Mr. Buttigieg can use the argument to bolster his contention that a centrist argument is the way to win a general election. | The later clash over free college was less heated and less personal, but both sides will view it as beneficial. For Ms. Warren, the fight helps her shore up her left flank and prevent liberal supporters from decamping to Senator Bernie Sanders. Mr. Buttigieg can use the argument to bolster his contention that a centrist argument is the way to win a general election. |
| Both of them see some benefit in drawing contrasts with the other, and in Iowa they are competing for a similar group of high-information, highly educated voters. As long as those dynamics remain in place, expect the Buttigieg-Warren fighting to continue apace. | Both of them see some benefit in drawing contrasts with the other, and in Iowa they are competing for a similar group of high-information, highly educated voters. As long as those dynamics remain in place, expect the Buttigieg-Warren fighting to continue apace. |
| Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. may still be the Democratic leader in national polls, but you wouldn’t know it from Thursday’s debate. For the third consecutive face-off, he often faded into the background — and that could be a good thing for him. | |
| Mr. Biden was the subject of remarkably few swipes, insinuations or even tough questions from the moderators. He ranked fifth in speaking time out of seven candidates — four to five minutes less than Mr. Sanders, Mr. Buttigieg, Ms. Warren and Ms. Klobuchar. | Mr. Biden was the subject of remarkably few swipes, insinuations or even tough questions from the moderators. He ranked fifth in speaking time out of seven candidates — four to five minutes less than Mr. Sanders, Mr. Buttigieg, Ms. Warren and Ms. Klobuchar. |
| At one point, Mr. Biden literally took a step back from his microphone as rivals went back and forth, covering his face to suppress what appeared to be a laugh over an exchange he was not involved in. | At one point, Mr. Biden literally took a step back from his microphone as rivals went back and forth, covering his face to suppress what appeared to be a laugh over an exchange he was not involved in. |
| It wasn’t until the final stretches when Mr. Sanders and Mr. Biden debated over foreign policy and health care but even then it was mostly civil. “Put your hand down for a second Bernie,” Mr. Biden instructed. | It wasn’t until the final stretches when Mr. Sanders and Mr. Biden debated over foreign policy and health care but even then it was mostly civil. “Put your hand down for a second Bernie,” Mr. Biden instructed. |
| “Just waving to you, Joe. Saying hello,” Mr. Sanders replied. | “Just waving to you, Joe. Saying hello,” Mr. Sanders replied. |
| Mr. Biden got to talk about his record on foreign affairs. He pledged to bring combat troops back from Afghanistan. And he took swings at President Trump — his favorite target — whom he accused of “dumbing down the presidency beyond what I even thought he would do.” And he got off a one-liner about President Obama’s recent remarks about older men not stepping aside. | Mr. Biden got to talk about his record on foreign affairs. He pledged to bring combat troops back from Afghanistan. And he took swings at President Trump — his favorite target — whom he accused of “dumbing down the presidency beyond what I even thought he would do.” And he got off a one-liner about President Obama’s recent remarks about older men not stepping aside. |
| “I’m gonna guess he wasn’t talking about me,” Mr. Biden said. | “I’m gonna guess he wasn’t talking about me,” Mr. Biden said. |
| Any debate where a polling leader departs relatively unscathed is a good night. And for the third straight debate, Mr. Biden did just that. | Any debate where a polling leader departs relatively unscathed is a good night. And for the third straight debate, Mr. Biden did just that. |
| Little infuriates Ms. Klobuchar more than the suggestion — often made by her — that she is being ignored compared to her higher-polling rivals. | Little infuriates Ms. Klobuchar more than the suggestion — often made by her — that she is being ignored compared to her higher-polling rivals. |
| So the Minnesota senator will be thrilled at the amount of attention and speaking time she received in the debate. Only Mr. Sanders got more time, despite Ms. Klobuchar’s standing at fifth or sixth place in many polls. | So the Minnesota senator will be thrilled at the amount of attention and speaking time she received in the debate. Only Mr. Sanders got more time, despite Ms. Klobuchar’s standing at fifth or sixth place in many polls. |
| And Ms. Klobuchar made the most of it, engaging in substantive discussions about political experience with Mr. Buttigieg and health care policy with Mr. Sanders. Unlike in past debates, she appeared confident and relaxed, delivering a new joke about how she stands the same height as James Madison (5 feet, 4 inches). | And Ms. Klobuchar made the most of it, engaging in substantive discussions about political experience with Mr. Buttigieg and health care policy with Mr. Sanders. Unlike in past debates, she appeared confident and relaxed, delivering a new joke about how she stands the same height as James Madison (5 feet, 4 inches). |
| Now the task for Ms. Klobuchar is to turn her recent well-reviewed debate performances into increased support in Iowa, the state where she placed the fate of her campaign. On Friday she’ll begin a four-day, 27-county Iowa tour designed to build momentum to try to launch her into the campaign’s first tier. | Now the task for Ms. Klobuchar is to turn her recent well-reviewed debate performances into increased support in Iowa, the state where she placed the fate of her campaign. On Friday she’ll begin a four-day, 27-county Iowa tour designed to build momentum to try to launch her into the campaign’s first tier. |
| Mr. Sanders is a top candidate whom nobody wants to attack. | Mr. Sanders is a top candidate whom nobody wants to attack. |
| While Ms. Warren, Ms. Klobuchar and even the billionaire Tom Steyer took unprovoked shots at Mr. Buttigieg, nobody went after the Vermont senator, whose standing in the race has only risen since his October heart attack. | While Ms. Warren, Ms. Klobuchar and even the billionaire Tom Steyer took unprovoked shots at Mr. Buttigieg, nobody went after the Vermont senator, whose standing in the race has only risen since his October heart attack. |
| Mr. Buttigieg went after Ms. Warren on free college tuition even though Mr. Sanders holds the same views. Ms. Klobuchar couched a disagreement with the Sanders single-payer health care proposal by saying that as president, she’d work to enact his legislation cracking down on the pharmaceutical companies. And Mr. Biden offered no real retort when Mr. Sanders brought up the former Delaware senator’s vote to authorize the Iraq war. | Mr. Buttigieg went after Ms. Warren on free college tuition even though Mr. Sanders holds the same views. Ms. Klobuchar couched a disagreement with the Sanders single-payer health care proposal by saying that as president, she’d work to enact his legislation cracking down on the pharmaceutical companies. And Mr. Biden offered no real retort when Mr. Sanders brought up the former Delaware senator’s vote to authorize the Iraq war. |
| The only people onstage who challenged Mr. Sanders were the moderators, by pushing him on questions about race, transgender rights, whether a woman should be president and if his health care proposal is realistic. Each time Mr. Sanders pivoted back to signature issues, like pushing for a political revolution to support working-class Americans. But it didn’t always work: His initial attempt to pivot back to climate change, when asked about diversity in the Democratic field, was met with derision from some audience members. | The only people onstage who challenged Mr. Sanders were the moderators, by pushing him on questions about race, transgender rights, whether a woman should be president and if his health care proposal is realistic. Each time Mr. Sanders pivoted back to signature issues, like pushing for a political revolution to support working-class Americans. But it didn’t always work: His initial attempt to pivot back to climate change, when asked about diversity in the Democratic field, was met with derision from some audience members. |
| The entrepreneur Andrew Yang spoke nearly 10 minutes less than the top speaker, Mr. Sanders, and once again spoke the least. But he delivered not only some of the evening’s most memorable lines (“I miss Kamala and I miss Cory, although I think Cory will be back”) but he regularly and deftly pivoted back to his core message of a $1,000 universal basic income. | |
| “What we have to do is we have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which unfortunately strikes many Americans like a ballgame where you know what the score is going to be,” he said in his first answer, “and start actually digging in and solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place.” | “What we have to do is we have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which unfortunately strikes many Americans like a ballgame where you know what the score is going to be,” he said in his first answer, “and start actually digging in and solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place.” |
| After six debates, the ever-tieless Mr. Yang has clearly found his footing. He invoked his own family twice in resonant ways, saying he has relatives in Hong Kong where there have been mass protests and unrest, and that he has a child with special needs. “Special needs is the new normal in this country,” he said, adding, “We have to stop confusing economic value and human value.” | |
| Of course, it helped that no one onstage seemed to see any advantage in challenging him. Still, Mr. Yang’s plain-spoken answers — he directly said the government should pay to help Americans move out of places impacted by climate change — cut through on a stage filled with political hemming, hawing and hedging. | Of course, it helped that no one onstage seemed to see any advantage in challenging him. Still, Mr. Yang’s plain-spoken answers — he directly said the government should pay to help Americans move out of places impacted by climate change — cut through on a stage filled with political hemming, hawing and hedging. |
| The moderator’s closing question was quirky: Would you prefer to ask for forgiveness or give someone a gift? Ms. Warren and Ms. Klobuchar — the only two women onstage — were the only ones to say they would ask for forgiveness. They said they would seek it for, essentially, working too hard and caring too much about the American people. The men chose gifts. | The moderator’s closing question was quirky: Would you prefer to ask for forgiveness or give someone a gift? Ms. Warren and Ms. Klobuchar — the only two women onstage — were the only ones to say they would ask for forgiveness. They said they would seek it for, essentially, working too hard and caring too much about the American people. The men chose gifts. |
| “I know that sometimes I get really worked up,” Ms. Warren said. “And sometimes I get a little hot. I don’t really mean to. What happens is when you do 100,000 selfies with people you hear enough stories about people who are really down to their last moments.” | “I know that sometimes I get really worked up,” Ms. Warren said. “And sometimes I get a little hot. I don’t really mean to. What happens is when you do 100,000 selfies with people you hear enough stories about people who are really down to their last moments.” |
| Or, as Ms. Klobuchar put it, “I would ask for forgiveness any time any of you get mad at me. I can be blunt. But I am doing this because I think it is so important to pick the right candidate here.” | Or, as Ms. Klobuchar put it, “I would ask for forgiveness any time any of you get mad at me. I can be blunt. But I am doing this because I think it is so important to pick the right candidate here.” |
| It was a striking moment that spoke to the different standards that many Americans apply to men and women who run for office, and to the ways that the women and men onstage chose to present themselves. | It was a striking moment that spoke to the different standards that many Americans apply to men and women who run for office, and to the ways that the women and men onstage chose to present themselves. |