Warren and issues dominate in Ohio DNC debate

Tuesday night’s CNN debate in Westerville, Ohio was another chance to hear the remaining twelve Democratic candidates to appeal for the nomination for president, and while the night provided few of the gotcha moments that have come to define success for television viewers, it did provide the opportunity for some well-crafted responses to the issues facing the United States.

Most were domestic, and many centered on some of the “bread and butter issues” that face all Americans, the night proved that Elizabeth Warren was now the co-equal of favored candidate, Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s vice president, and that fact was not lost on Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar who are hoping to make the November debate, and their sharply worded attacks on Warren show that she is the one to beat.

The debates also showed a vigorous sounding Bernie Sanders after his recent heart attack and that he was in fighting mode as the creator of Medicare For All.

Buttigieg seemed much stronger, even in fighting mode, to some - despite having $23.4 million cash in the bank - needed to define himself in starker terms, although rightly questioning the buy-back programs of assault weapons from fellow candidate Beto O’Rourke, and the program’s tattered edges, he stepped out with a remark to the latter about not needing a lecture on being courageous, a remark that came out of left field, and that some viewers thought might have been a homophobic remark, about not being manly, as the openly gay candidate handles slights, both perceived and real, but also one of desperation to define himself as a military man, fighting for the remains of the lower middle class who tend to dominate in the volunteer service, in his native Indiana.

Whatever the reason behind the remark it made him sound petulant, but he was on surer ground, as he and others ganged up on Warren on the cost of her health care program which she has not given an exact revenue stream.

Some Warren critics felt that she was evasive and indeed, Mayor Pete, as he calls himself, used the term, rightly sidestepped the question of exact costs, in the limited time slot and also wise, as hitting a moving target can be like shooting apples in a barrel, to use an old country term.

Vague is a term that has been used to describe her program, yet this early in the game, giving concrete numbers only adds to being on the edge, giving Warren points for being ahead of the others.

What proved to be welcoming was the absence of a barrage of attacks on President Trump, and a focus on issues, even though many American election historians have noted that elections are not won by issues.

One salient aspect of the debate that has largely gone acknowledged, by some observers, is how the dial has moved from the old-school centrist position of the Clinton and Obama presidencies to the new exigencies, created in part by Trump, that has moved the country, in no small measure, to the progressive left of Sanders and Warren, but also significantly is now challenged by those seeking a step back to an often hazy middle, by Biden and Buttigieg.

The one issue that galvanizes the change is health care, and when Mayor Pete challenged Warren in a saber-rattling moment to give a specific price tag for her health care program, she responded by saying, in part, “"My view on this and what I have committed to is, costs will go down for hard-working middle-class families," Warren said, again stressing that taxes on "the wealth and big corporations" would fulfill the bulk of the financing before pledging that she would "not sign a bill into law that does not lower costs for middle class families."

While she can be derided for being evasive, it’s also good statecraft, to avoid being shot down in a limited time frame, to respond, on what is her central issue in her years in the Senate, and also her professional career; and if that was not clear, then her mentioning of the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, underscored her point.

"Following the financial crash of 2008, I had an idea for a consumer agency that would keep giant banks from cheating people," Warren recalled. "And all of the Washington insiders and strategic geniuses said, don't even try because you will never get it passed."

Getting ahead of the pack, from a former debating pro, as she was in her native Oklahoma high school, Warren countered the haranguing by saying, “"I'm really shocked at the notion that anyone thinks I'm punitive," Warren said. "Look, I don't have a beef with billionaires," before reprising an argument that she's been making for years: that the wealthiest Americans owed a financial -- and moral -- debt to the country that helped facilitate their success,” reported CNN.

Biden, as avuncular as ever, despite some blow out moments, telling Warren that he got her votes got befuddles about the war in Syria, that he mislabeled as Iraq; leading many to think that might be a severe liability, outside of the all forgiving community of black voters.

Rounding the evening was Kamala Harris whose appeal for reproduction rights for women, brought a round of applause, after an intro by Corey Booker, shows that her fire for social issues is more her game, giving pause that she might be a cabinet member in a Warren administration.

While the issues may not matter for much of the electorate, it gives some support to those that care about the issues to see them front and center. Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and no one has sat down to dinner, at least just yet.