Let's get straight into it.
Tonight was a night where most people
were looking to see how Joe Biden would recover
from his first debate performance.
Do you think he did a good job?
I think, uh, Joe found the magic again.
I think he woke up.
I don't know if he, uh, took some uppers or something,
-but he certainly... -(laughs)
-he certainly was flat the first debate. -Right.
-In this debate, it seemed like he was prepared, ready.
They came at him with a lot of punches,
but he gave as good as he got this evening.
I think he was the adult in the room
that a lot of people thought he would be in the first debate.
This debate he-he came back and had a solid performance.
He really had an interesting tactic this time,
because the first time around he seemed surprised
-by what had happened. -Yes.
But even from the beginning of the debate, as we saw,
when he came out, he said to Kamala,
-"Take it easy on me, kid." -(laughs) Right.
But, I mean, that was him going, "I know what's about to happen,"
-in a way. -Yes.
And, when it came to records,
it was interesting that they brought up his record,
-but then he brought up his record. -Yes.
Is a record a good or a bad thing to have in this situation?
The-The good news for-for his opponents is
he has a long record.
The bad news for his opponents is he has a long record.
I mean, he has a long record of actually accomplishing things
and doing things, right?
The whole thing, (stammers) about the Hyde Amendment--
he pointed out the fact that most of them on the stage
-had-had supported the Hyde Amendment. -Right.
So he does have a-- So he does have a solid record,
but there are some things there that certainly are problematic,
certainly around the crime bill.
But I thought the interesting back and forth
between him and Senator Harris,
like, you've got to be careful, 'cause, obviously,
she has a bit of a glass jaw on the crime bill as well.
-As Tulsi punched her-- -Right. Right. Right.
-But, Tulsi, to me, was the punch of the night. -Yes.
Uh, it was the punch of the night.
And I think, I think she was staggered by-by that punch.
I thought-- That was a line I also thought, uh,
Cory Booker may have had the blackest moment
in presidential primary history.
I don't think anyone has brought Kool-Aid out at a debate.
(stammers) Never anything as black as that
in primary history in debate history.
When you look at Kamala Harris,
why do you think that glass-jaw moment is so severe for her?
Because, you know, Joe Biden gets attacked, but, you know,
his support among black voters remains strong.
With Kamala, it does feel like that's a weakness. Why?
Well, it's interesting because, and by the way,
I will remind people that Obama started off at this point,
he was not winning African-American voters either.
Matter of fact, he wasn't winning anyone.
We were 30 points behind everywhere.
Uh, but African-American voters are such a large swath
of the electorate, and you will notice that in her attacks
from the first debate, which she rose in the poll,
it didn't come primarily from African-American voters.
-Interesting. -Uh, you know, so I think
there's also a part of her where she's got to be careful.
I can't say this on television, right,
but if I were advising her, I'd say,
"There are stereotypes out there about angry black women,
(stammers) "and there's some sort of cues
that you have to be careful 'cause it turns people off."
And it's not fair, but I think there were moments
where she flashed anger tonight,
and I don't think that's particularly helpful.
That's an interesting point that you bring up.
-Because... -But I didn't say that.
No, no, no. You didn't. I mean, we...
We're not live, there's no one here, and no one's seeing this.
No, no, no. But, you know, it is an honest
and interesting point that you bring up is that there is
a double standard in the world that you live in,
where, you know, if you're a man and you get angry, they go like,
-"The passion came through." -Strong. Yeah.
Right. But, now, Kamala has to, like, you know,
-figure out how to-how to, like, -Modulate that.
straddle that line between showing her passion
whilst not coming across as any of the stereotypes.
And it's even worse for African-American women.
African-American women have-have it very tough.
-Right. -News flash.
African-American women have it really tough.
Let's talk about some of the other candidates on the night
who are trying to have their moment.
Who do you think stood out?
Everyone said Marianne Williamson won yesterday,
which is-- I mean, it's such a huge term that people use.
I think it's crazy, but there are moments that stand out.
Were you surprised that Marianne Williamson had a cat?
From that last segment, I thought,
"Of course she has a cat."
Of course she has a cat.
Uh, you actually stole my "missed her hand" joke.
He... (stammers) He totally missed her hand.
Uh, but he did have a-- have a breakout.
I think, um, Inslee had a,
sort of had some moments, but also, Yang.
Listen, I think Yang won the debate,
'cause I want my $1,000 a night.
$1,000 a month, right?
But he also got very big applause lines.
But some of those cats were clearly in the mode where,
"I have to attack; I have to make a breakthrough."
And some of it seemed desperate
but some of those cats will not make the next debate.
And you can tell I'm old 'cause I use the term "cats."
-Yes, I can. -So-So some of them
will not make the next debate.
Who had the breakout?
You know, did de Blasio help himself?
I think he came across as New York tough,
and he certainly went after Biden,
but does he have a breakout?
You know, I think Cory Booker needed a breakout moment, too,
'cause he's been sort of flat.
And I think, I think we will not question
whether Cory Booker's black enough again after this debate.
-Which is a win. -Yeah, that's a win.
That, to me, is a win in a debate.
That's gonna help him in South Carolina.
When we look at the larger narrative, though,
one thing that concerns me,
and people who watched the previous debates,
was the narrative coming into the main debates
was Democrats are not here to fight against each other.
It will be a battle of ideas to present to America
-who should be the next leader. -Yes.
It feels like that has quickly devolved into,
"You're the worst, you're the worst, here's your bad record."
Does this work for Democrats by putting them
and keeping them in the news, or does it hurt them
by basically breaking them apart before the main race?
I don't want to beat up on CNN.
But I'm-a beat up on CNN a little bit.
Uh, the way they set it up,
they almost set it up so there would be contention.
And they-- The way they asked questions
sort of directed back at other candidates,
it set up a format for fights and tension,
which-which can be good ratings.
But I think the substance of the debate was heard.
We were 20 or 30 minutes in on the health care debate,
and we didn't really have a great understanding
of people's health care positions
because they were just defending and attacking.
I done think that was particularly helpful,
and I certainly hope we won't see that again.
I would rather for them to ask questions, okay,
"Tell us about your health-care plan
and why is your health care better than everyone else's?"
Now, if someone else wants to pivot back in on that,
that's fine, but don't set up the tension.
That's an interesting point.
Thank you so much for being on the show,
-Thanks for having me. -Great having you here.
Cornell Belcher, everybody.