Democratic Debate # 12: Was it Necessary? Did It Happen? What Would I Have Written?

(Plus A Test And A Lesson To Remember For PR People)

Arthur Solomon, Public Relations ConsultantBecause many Democratic primaries have been postponed because of the coronavirus epidemic, and former Vice-president Joe Biden’s has a seemingly insurmountable delegate lead, Democratic Debate # 12 was not scheduled during the first six days of April. But it was still a possibility. Then it became unnecessary, when on April 7 Sen. Sanders ended his campaign, delivering the most ungraceful concession speech I’ve ever heard. (He sounded more like a fanatic than most fanatics do). Missing from his speech was a single nice word about Joe Biden.On April 10, a news analysis column in the New York Times by Mark Leibovich said of Sen. Sanders remarks, ""Today I congratulate Joe Biden, a very decent man, who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward." "While not quite a full-throated tribute," wrote Mr. Leibovich,"perhaps the most significant aspect of it was that it occurred in April, as opposed to July, which was when Mr. Sanders finally came around to endorsing Hillary Clinton in 2016." A less generous analysis of the Vermont senator's speech was written by Kimberley A. Strassel, also in the April 10 Wall Street Journal.  Her column was titled, "Bernie Campaigns On." She wrote of Sander's remarks that he will work with Biden " to move our progressive ideas forward" wasn't an endorsement. It was a threat. "He's not conceding gracefully; he's not rallying Democrats behind a nominee; he's not going anywhere - not without extracting  a significant show of fealty from Mr. Biden," wrote Ms. Strassel.The Democratic National Committee (DNC) originally said there would be an April TV debate. And I was looking forward to it. Because of popular demand (my wife says writing these columns keep me out of the way), here’s what I would have written if there was a Debate # 12.In my analysis of Democratic Debate # 11 on March 15, I said: Health advice for political junkies: Don’t hold your breath waiting for the next debate. Even though the Democratic National Committee announced that there would be 12 debates, the final one has not yet been announced. If Biden sweeps Tuesday’s primaries and greatly extends his delegate lead over Sanders, Debate # 12 might never be held. (Alas, to my disappointment I was correct.)As I watched my imaginary Debate # 12, I thought given Joe Biden’s big delegate lead over Sen. Sanders, was this latest in the made-for-TV debate series necessary. (More on this later.)

Before commentating on the above, a recap of the last Debate, # 11:

 (Thus far in my opinion, Sen. Sanders has outperformed Biden in every previous debate.) This was the best of all the debates because it was limited to just Biden and Sanders, providing them both with more time to explain their positions. There was a major difference between the approaches of the two candidates: Sanders talked in generalities; Biden in specifics.

• Sanders attacked Biden on the former veep’s positions on social security, student loans, the Defense of Marriage act, the Hyde Amendment, gay rights, the Iraq war and NAFTA. Biden denied some of Sanders accusations.
• Biden attacked Sanders on his positions regarding Central America and particularly his comments about how some conditions in China and Cuba have improved. The Vermont senator replied that facts are facts but that he condemns dictatorships everywhere.
• Both Biden and Sanders agreed on many positions, but split over how to achieve them.

Because Biden provided specifics about how he would achieve his aims, I awarded this debate to him. Saying that, Sanders also did well, as he always does in these debates. (I thought this was Sen. Sanders best debate; it was also the best by Biden.)I also thought the CNN-Univision moderators, Ilia Calderon, of Univision, and CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash and anchor Jake Tapper turned in the best moderated debate of the series.They began and ended the debate with the major news of the week, questioning the candidates about how they would tackle the coronavirus.The trio of moderators made CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King look like they flunked journalism 101, because even though the coronavirus was the big news on February 25, the day of their debate, they followed their prepared list of questions and didn’t discuss the coronavirus situation until late in that debate. That was also one day after Sen. Sanders made his partial defense of Fidel Castro, which should have been the second questions asked. Just awful journalism.I also said: In the aggregate, I thought that the first 10 debates did nothing to help the Democrats in the 2020 election. What it accomplished was the damaging of other Democratic candidates. Too many circular firing squads; too few attacks on Donald Trump, except by Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg. And what did that get them? Thumbs down by the primary voters. After the first 10 debates, my score was Democrats’ 6, Trump 4, not because of the Democrats’ actions, but because of Trump’s manic, childish, narcissistic, grandiose behavior, and setting a U.S. presidential record for lying. And that was prior to his calling the coronavirus outbreak a “Democratic hoax” and fibbing about everything else associated with it. Thus even before Debate # 11 began, the score was Democrats 7, Trump 4.Notably. even on the night of Debate # 11, the after-the-debate analysis was cut short because of coronavirus news.I continued: Because Sen. Sanders’ followers are true believers (aka as fanatics in my dictionary), the caronavirus scare should play to his advantage during Tuesday’s voting. Fanatics are much more likely to wait in line to vote, despite being advised by medical pros to stay away from crowds, than rationale voters. The flip side is that young voters that make up the bulk of Sanders’ supporters don’t vote in large numbers. It turned out that they didn’t turn out for Sanders and Biden added to his delegate lead by winning Arizona, Florida and Illinois.

Did anything happen between Debate # 11 on March 15 and imaginary Debate # 12.Yes, some were the same old, same old. However, there were some significant occurrences:

• Because of the wall-to-wall coverage of the coronavirus, limited next day media coverage and analysis was provided by the cable political TV networks.
• A big question on the night of Debate # 11 and the following day was how would the coronavirus affect the voting in the March 17 and other primaries? The answer: Many primaries, not only Ohio, which was scheduled to vote on March 17, were postponed, meaning that the eventual nominee might not be known until mid-to-late June, or later. (Good news for political         fanatics; bad news for candidates.)
• Even though Joe Biden’s best debate performance received much less coverage than it normally would, because of the criticism by health experts regarding President Trump’s inept handling of the coronavirus situation, all Democratic candidates  received unexpected help in their election campaigns.
• On primary day, March 17, Biden’s sweeping victories received minimal coverage because even the political cable shows devoted the majority of their programs to the coronavirus.
• Though coverage of his victories was limited because of the coronavirus, Biden and other Democratic candidates for offices were buoyed by print and TV coverage detailing the lies and mishandling of the coronavirus situation by President Trump.
• Not that it mattered, but on March 19, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ended her presidential campaign and endorsed Biden.
• In its March 21-22 edition, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Bloomberg campaign will transfer $18-million to the Democratic National Committee, a boost for Biden, who has been struggling to raise money.
• Because of the coronavirus spreading like wildfire throughout the United States, the economy, immigration, financial markets, and all other issues will now be confined to the bleachers during the lead-up to the presidential election. Voter views of President Trump’s handling (mishandling?) of the coronavirus situation, his attempts to kill Obamacare and other health care concerns will now be the main campaign topics.
• The active campaigning might be postponed but the endorsements for Joe Biden keep occurring; On March 22, Biden received the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers.
• Better Late Than Never: On April 7, Rep. John Lewis endorsed Biden, causing some pundits to say it shows the strong support that Biden has among Africa-Americans. Question: Wasn’t that apparent weeks ago?
• Because of a Supreme Court ruling, over the objection by the Democratic governor of Wisconsin, who attempted to lengthen the time necessary for the more than a million of mail-in primary ballots to be counted until April 13 because of the coronavirus epidemic, only mail-in ballots postmarked by April 7 will be counted. And results will not be announced until April 13.

Here’s my evaluation regarding imaginary debate # 12

At long last, Joe Biden was able to gain some TV time. Between the canceling of the primaries and until this debate, the lackluster response by the Biden campaign during the weeks that President Trump (and Gov. Cuomo) dominated the news, demonstrates that Biden’s campaign needs an influx of individuals who know how to create national TV news. Surely Biden has blown an opportunity to present himself as a leader during this time of coronavirus crisis by not proposing his “Biden Plans” to combat future epidemics, or to ensure that the economy would not go into a tailspin if anther health crisis occurs, as well as talking about the current crisis. Doing so should have been easy for him by consulting the many health officials and economists that he must have consulted with during his long tenure in government. Announcing Biden Plans would have have made national news. It’s a failure of his and his advisors to let such an opportunity be wasted. In order for Biden to challenge Trump later this year, Biden must show leadership. Only Trump’s inept handling of the coronavirus situation hasn’t resulted in Biden from appearing unable to lead.

My Take:

An Op-Ed: The most important take from the political scene during the primary season had nothing to do with the candidates, their campaigns and the voting. It has to do with the importance of leadership during a crisis. Until a crisis develops, it’s impossible to know how a person will act. During a crisis, decisive and intelligent leadership is needed, devoid of politics, and the person in the White House has shown that he cannot provide it.Instead of lies, bluster and blaming others for reporting on his shortcomings, President Trump and Vice President Pence, the lackey, are examples of what this country doesn’t need in the next president. What the country needs is a person to act like Mayor Rudy Giuliani did after New York City was attacked on 9/11, how New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now acting on a daily basis and how FDR and Winston Churchill acted during World War 2. If Joe Biden wins the presidency, we hope that he will show that type of leadership. If Trump is reelected, the country will be in trouble. He has demonstrated during his term that the only type of leadership he is proficient in is protecting himself, lies and divisiveness.In times of emergencies, some people flourish, like Gov. Cuomo, and others ebb, like President Trump. Because of his leadership during the coronavirus epidemic, Gov. Cuomo has become a national political “rock star” and in my opinion has superseded Biden as the politician that can handle a crisis best.Gov. Cuomo has proven that he has the leadership qualities that are lacking in Trump. Biden should rethink his commitment to name a woman as his running mate. What the country needs now is a proven leader. Biden should select Cuomo as his vice president.If for no other reason than endangering the life of so many people by calling the coronavirus “a Democratic hoax,” President Trump deserves to be defeated in November. And Fox News deserves condemnation for disseminating the president’s falsehoods, which have endangered the health of so many of its viewers. End Op-Ed.Even though he lost the primary elections to Joe Biden by a significant margin, Sen. Sanders pushed the former veep to back positions that the Vermont senator has been championing for many years. In order to gain the support of Sanders’ backers, Biden will probably select as a running mate an individual that is also to the left of what Democratic candidates have campaigned on in recent elections.The coronavirus outbreak will strengthen Sen. Sanders call for Medicare for All, and at the very least will get Democrats to campaign for much better and greater comprehensive health insurance even more than they did in the 2018 election.The importance of pro-active programs to combat the coronavirus highlighted the importance of state governors and underscored the delayed and inept actions and original denial by President Trump of the coronavirus situation.No matter how many tweets he sends, the president can’t tweet himself out of the coronavirus epidemic. For every tweet he sends congratulating himself on his actions and criticizing others, the record of his lack of urgency was recorded on tape and has been, and will be replayed, during this year’s election. Along with his impeachment, he will go down in history as one of our worst presidents.Exit polls showed that even Biden supporters agreed with positions of Sens. Warren and Sanders. So why did they not cast their ballots for the two? In my opinion, it was the way they acted during the TV debates, which I believe were the biggest mistakes of the primary season. Instead of stating their positions in calm, dignified manners like Biden, Sen. Klobuchar and former NYC Mayor Bloomberg, Warren and Sanders resorted to Trump-like campaigning – attacking Biden and Bloomberg in booming voices that could make an opera soprano diva jealous. In contrast, Biden made his case in a calm, dignified, confident manner that obviously attracted voters. It was apparent from the first debate that the attack-mode would not be popular with voters. Sen. Kamala Harris’ early “I was that little girl” attack on Biden backfired on the California senator. That should have provided a “do-not-copy” warning to the others candidates. It should have, but it didn’t. (In our business, there are many supervisors who use the “scream and threaten” tactic as a means of getting better work from their subordinates. That never works. Shouting at someone doesn’t make them more proficient. Speaking in a reverberating and accusatory voice didn’t help Sens. Sanders and Warren either. The take-a-way from their performances was “Being nice might not have helped them; but being nasty certainly didn’t.”)The title of an Op-Ed by Allysia Finley in the March 17 Wall Street Journal about why younger voters didn’t support Sen. Sanders in the primaries hit the nail on the head. It was labeled “Young Voters Outgrow Bernie Sanders,” which from my personal experience is true. College students are among the most fanatical supporters of far left political figures and their agendas. But when they enter the real world and have to make a living they grow, not necessarily more conservative, but more realistic about what can be done regarding injustices. During the international phase of my PR career, I witnessed similar attitudes in foreign countries. (Ms. Finley’s article gave specific examples of how younger adults voted during the primaries. But the titled of her column said it all.)President Trump said on a scale of 1 to 10 he considers himself a number 10 for the way he is handling the coronavirus epidemic. My friend at Sesame Street said that’s an insult to the number 10.Now that the Bloomberg campaign has transferred $18 million to the Democratic National Committee, isn’t it time for Sen. Warren to apologize for her vicious attacks on the former NYC mayor?During his first inaugural address in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” After listening to virologists contradict the daily cononavirus lies emanating from President Trump and his lackey, Vice President Pence, a new phrase will go down in history -- "The only thing we have to fear are the lies told by the president and his vice-president at their daily coronavirus pressers.”Subject: New dictionary definition: Histrionic Personality Disorder: -- Donald Trump.It’s obvious that the daily White House pressers regarding the coronavirus situation, are nothing but self-serving PR events. I say that because as soon as President Trump and veep Mike Pence, the lackey, announce their own versions of events, health experts contradict the propaganda.

What About The Future: 

New York State’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo will become a major player in national Democratic politics because of the praise he has received for his aggressive handling on how to tackle the coronavirus situation. Many of his suggestions have been adopted by other governors and eventually became Trump administration policies, even though vice president, the lackey, continually praises Trump for his leadership.(With Cuomo receiving national plaudits from health experts across the country for his leadership in trying to control the coronavirus, unlike the poor grades given to President Trump and Vice President Pence, the lackey, both who have lied about the situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if Biden is sorry that he said during his last debate that  he would have a woman as his running mate). Aside from Cuomo’s policies during the outbreak, there was a major difference between him, Trump and Pence, the lackey. From the outside, Cuomo made it clear that the coronavirus epidemic was a danger that needed immediate aggressive action to contain it. Trump and Pence, the lackey, along with another lackey, Larry Kudlow, portrayed the situation as something that will evaporate in a few days.The above is what I would have written if my imaginary Debate # 12 was a reality.The title of this column is: Democratic Debate # 12: Was it Necessary?In my opinion it was. Here’s why:It was originally announced that there would be 12 Democratic TV debates during the primary season, the last one to be held in April. A good public relations strategy would have been for the Democratic leaders to show respect for Sanders and let him make his points even though he had no chance of winning the nomination. Doing that would prevent President Trump and Vice President Pence, the lackey, from saying the Democratic Party conspired against Sanders. Holding the debate wouldn’t have damaged Biden, but it would have provided a welcoming, understanding hand to Sanders’ supporters. In a New York Times article on March 26, Biden was quoted as saying, “We’ve had enough debates.” His comments were in response to Sen. Sanders saying that he would participate in a debate if one was held in April. In my opinion, Biden’s comments were a major blunder if he hopes to attract Sanders’ supporters. The Vermont Senator’s followers are very loyal and might stay home in November, as they did in the 2016 presidential election, if hey feel that Sanders was treated badly.

A Test And A Lesson To Remember For PR People:

Question: How many candidates were campaigning for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination?Answer: 27 (extra credit if you can name them).Lesson to Remember: Read Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse,” which includes the lines, “The best-laid schemes of’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley.” Keep it in mind when planning programs and promising results to clients.

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About the Author: Arthur Solomon, a former journalist, was a senior VP/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, and was responsible for restructuring, managing and playing key roles in some of the most significant national and international sports and non-sports programs. He also traveled internationally as a media adviser to high-ranking government officials. He now is a frequent contributor to public relations publications, consults on public relations projects and is on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee. He can be reached at arthursolomon4pr (at) juno.com or artsolomon4pr@optimum.net.