The Story:
After months of debates that have taken place on some very crowded stages, the Democratic field for the nomination for President of the United States has been winnowed to just two men, Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) and former Vice President Joseph Biden. They met in Washington, DC on Sunday, March 15 for what proved to be a contentious discussion.
Coronavirus:
It is worth noting, too, that not only did this debate have no third candidate, it had no live audience. Because of concerns about the spread of the Coronavirus in the United States, the candidates and the moderators met in an empty room, speaking to television cameras. They did not share the usual ceremonial handshake with one another (bumping elbows instead), and their podiums were placed further apart than would have seemed natural in pre-Corona times.
The Thing to Know:
Near the end of the debate, one of the moderators asked Sanders about one of the signal failures of his campaign: its apparent inability to attract African-American support. Sanders’ response was conspicuously not an answer. He said his campaign is winning the “generational” struggle, and that the nominee will have to be able to attract the votes of young people.
