Former Obama Advisor Reacts to the Biden-Sanders Debate

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But, here, you know, they came — you know, we’re accustomed to debates in front of large crowds. They came into a skeletal crew of people, you know, podiums six feet apart. And the sobriety of the situation was apparent from the start. They both spoke in wartime language about what we were up against with this virus. And it’s very clear. It took up the first 40 minutes, I think, of the debate. This is what’s on the minds of the American people. As Jason Furman discussed, there are profound economic concerns for everyday people, many of whom can’t work, you know, or have to worry about their children at home and don’t know how to balance that, you know, gig workers who are losing their source of income. There’s a lot of anxiety, on top of the public health anxiety about the virus itself. And that was reflected in the discussion last night. And I think it has a number of effects on the campaign. One is I think that, you know, Joe Biden has experience in these kind of situations. He was in the White House for not just the financial crisis, which had some of the economic features of this, but also the H1N1 epidemic in 2009, the Ebola outbreak in 2014. He understands the levers of power and how they can be used in situations like this. And that was very apparent in his answers to these questions. He seemed very comfortable, in command, very presidential. Bernie Sanders largely stuck to his fundamental points about the need for universal health care, Medicare for all. He had a few unkind words for the pharmaceutical companies and warned that they’re going to try and profiteer off of that. I thought that didn’t ring very well, given the environment we have out there. But he used the time to basically burnish the basic message. Biden was sending a signal: I’m ready to roll here. I know what needs to be done and I can handle a situation like this. So that’s one effect. The terrain has shifted in Biden’s favor. The election had already shifted in Biden’s favor. It is very possible that he can wrap up — effectively wrap up the nomination tomorrow night. He already has an almost impossible lead to surmount.