The New York Times - 12.09.2019

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 A

K N

He tends to meander and misspeak.
She once won a college debate schol-
arship.
He is a relative centrist who is seen by
Democrats in early polls as the strongest
candidate against President Trump. She
is a self-styled progressive fighter whose
ability to appeal to the broad electorate
in a general election still worries some
voters and party officials.
He rarely delves deep into policy on
the campaign trail, preferring to discuss
American values and the dangers of a
second Trump administration. She glee-
fully ticks through her long list of de-
tailed plans.
In style, substance and strategies for
winning the White House, former Vice
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Sena-
tor Elizabeth Warren present two starkly
different options for Democratic voters,
and in many ways they embody compet-
ing theories about what the Democratic
Party should stand for.
Those tensions will be laid bare Thurs-
day night in Houston, when the two can-
didates meet onstage at a debate for the
first time in the presidential race.
It’s a highly anticipated matchup be-
tween the early front-runner, Mr. Biden,
and a liberal standard-bearer, Ms. War-
ren, who has steadily climbed in the polls
to challenge him. Mr. Biden is eager to
stress his experience. And his advisers
and allies suggested in interviews that,
whether obliquely or overtly, he is pre-
pared to seize on one of Ms. Warren’s
perceived strengths — her extensive and
boldly progressive policy plans — and
use that to accentuate his own record of
liberal achievements despite the some-
times-challenging political realities in
Washington.
“You have to have plans, but you have
to be able to execute those plans,” he said
at a fund-raiser last week in Manhattan,
a message he is expected to reiterate.
Ms. Warren is unlikely to pursue the
kind of personal, premeditated broad-
side that Senator Kamala Harris
launched against Mr. Biden in the first
debate. But she has emerged onstage as
a skilled advocate for her message of
“big, structural change” and has shown
that she is capable of crisply defending
her far-reaching proposals.
“We start with a plan, and then we get
out there and fight for it,” she told report-
ers in Austin, Tex., on Tuesday when she
was asked about Mr. Biden’s focus on
what progressive proposals are achiev-
able. “To me, that’s what being president
is all about. It’s about laying those plans
out and showing the direction for this
country, and then getting in the fight,
leading the fight and bringing people
along.”
At Thursday’s debate, Ms. Warren will
have another opportunity to stress the
urgency of fixing what she views as an
economic and political system that ca-
ters to the rich and powerful at the ex-
pense of working people. Mr. Biden, a
Beltway veteran, is expected to preach
pragmatism, with a focus on how to
achieve Democratic priorities in a divid-
ed political moment.
One risk for Mr. Biden is that, while he
connects well with voters in one-on-one
interactions, he is prone to uneven and
sometimes faltering performances on-
stage. And the debate arrives as he has
faced scrutiny for a series of gaffes and
misstatements.
“Vice President Biden has not proven
to be really great on his feet,” said Steve
Drahozal, chairman of the Dubuque
County Democratic Party in Iowa. “I
know he does not think that his gaffes are
a big deal, but he is going up against a
very keen, intelligent, articulate candi-
date who is able to frame issues very
well.”
A strong night for Ms. Warren could
further propel her already-accelerating
campaign both nationally and especially
in Iowa, the state that begins the presi-
dential primary process, where Mr. Bi-
den already faces challenges.
“She’s been the one who’s been gaining
the most,” Mr. Drahozal said. “With Bi-
den being in the front-runner position, I
don’t think he has a lot to gain. He has a
lot to lose.”
Mr. Biden’s team has no illusions about
Ms. Warren’s skill as a debater and her
rise in the polls, advisers and others
close to the campaign acknowledge,
though they insist that they are not fo-
cusing on her alone. Mr. Biden spent the
first two debates facing intense criticism
from his opponents, a reflection in part of
his current standing atop the polls, and
his campaign is bracing for more broad-
sides from all across the stage.
Allies noted that Mr. Biden has sur-
vived rough debate performances be-
fore, with little lasting impact on his na-
tional poll numbers. That, they argue, is
evidence of the deep-seated good will
that Mr. Biden, President Barack Oba-
ma’s vice president, continues to enjoy
from the Democratic base.
They also see several opportunities for
him to draw contrasts that could work to
his benefit. That list includes emphasiz-
ing his foreign policy credentials — as a
former vice president and a former
chairman of the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee — amid several promi-
nent foreign policy-related controversies
involving the Trump administration.

His team is convinced that the Demo-

cratic electorate is far more moderate

than some activists suggest, and wel-

comes a debate over issues like health

care — Mr. Biden supports a public op-

tion but opposes eliminating private in-

surance, something Ms. Warren sup-

ports under “Medicare for all” — and

which social programs should be offered

for free. And allies are eager to deepen

an argument Mr. Biden has been pre-

viewing: that it is not enough to have am-

bitious plans if those proposals cannot

survive the political realities of Washing-

ton.

“Lots of other candidates have great

plans, they have good policy papers,

many of them have, you know, talked

about them on college campuses or in the

Senate,” said Senator Chris Coons, Dem-

ocrat of Delaware. “The difference, I

think, is that Joe has decades of actual

experience getting things enacted in a

bitterly divided and partisan Washing-

ton, and I think he can and should point

to that.”

Ms. Warren did not face significant

scrutiny from other leading contenders

in the first two debates. Mr. Biden’s allies

are privately hopeful that she will be

pressed on the details and practicalities

of her proposals by several of the candi-

dates onstage, as her formidable stand-

ing in the race now makes her a bigger

target for attacks.

Ms. Warren and Mr. Biden have

clashed before, exchanging sharp words

during a fight over the nation’s bank-

ruptcy laws, which culminated in the

passage of a bill in 2005 that Mr. Biden

supported and Ms. Warren opposed.

In April, in response to a reporter’s

question on the day Mr. Biden entered

the race, Ms. Warren took a swipe at him

over the bankruptcy legislation they had

disagreed about. But she has almost al-

ways refrained from overtly criticizing

her rivals, and any kind of premeditated

attack on Mr. Biden on the debate stage

would be a significant departure from

how Ms. Warren has approached the

campaign so far.

“Different candidates have different

imperatives in the debates, and there are

some candidates that need to throw wild

punches in order to get attention,” said

Adam Green, a founder of the Progres-

sive Change Campaign Committee,

which is backing Ms. Warren. “Fortu-

nately, Elizabeth Warren is not in that

camp.”

Still, Mr. Green said, “Just because she

doesn’t throw a punch doesn’t mean that

she doesn’t strongly show a contrast.”

Scott M. Stringer, the New York City

comptroller, who endorsed Ms. Warren

on Monday, said there was no need for

Ms. Warren to confront Mr. Biden on the

debate stage.

“I think she has to challenge the Dem-

ocratic Party and say, we can be incre-

mental or we can be big and bold,” he

said. “And if she can showcase big and

bold, I don’t think she has to look at Joe

Biden. I think she has to look directly into

the camera and speak to the American

people and Democrats.”

Speaking to reporters on Saturday at

the New Hampshire Democratic Party

convention, Ms. Warren portrayed the

debate as an opportunity to share her

message with a large audience. She re-

ceived a far more raucous reception at

the convention than did Mr. Biden, who

was the first presidential candidate to

speak. But asked to compare her wel-

come to Mr. Biden’s, she did not engage.

“All I can do is stand up and talk about

why I’m running,” she said. “I’m not here

to criticize any other Democrat or any-

one else’s campaign.”

Still, veteran Democrats caution that

for all of the momentum she has enjoyed

lately, Ms. Warren still has work to do in

assuaging concerns about whether her

unapologetically progressive candidacy

would resonate in general election bat-

tlegrounds.

“Elizabeth probably needs to show

that she is ready to take on Middle Amer-

ica, the center of our country,” said Sylvia

Larsen, the former New Hampshire Sen-

ate president, who also questioned

whether Mr. Biden could excite younger

voters. “Our primaries push people into

a more left position and so to get back to a

center — Joe already holds the center.

And so, can Elizabeth Warren move back

to the center if she’s our nominee?”

Ms. Warren, for her part, has chal-

lenged the idea that a more moderate

candidate is best positioned to win. At

the convention Saturday, she told the

crowd that “we can’t choose a candidate

we don’t believe in because we’re

scared.” And at a house party in New

Hampshire on Labor Day, she cautioned

against “nibbling around the edges” —

without mentioning Mr. Biden by name.

“I think what’s going to carry us as

Democrats is not playing it safe,” she

said.

Two Heavyweights Prepare to Meet in the Ring

It’s Biden, a garrulous

centrist, vs. Warren, a

progressive with ideas.

By KATIE GLUECK

and THOMAS KAPLAN

Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Iowa. An experienced campaigner, he effortlessly makes connections with voters.

JORDAN GALE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

But Mr. Biden is also known for his verbal gaffes, and for uneven performances on the debate stage.

MADDIE MCGARVEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Elizabeth Warren’s run has been defined by a seemingly comprehensive list of progressive policies.

PHILIP CHEUNG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

But that leaves her open to claims that she is not being practical, given the partisan divide in Congress.

ELIZABETH FRANTZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The campaigns of the

Democratic front-runners

represent contrasting

styles and policies.

ALSO ON THE STAGE

Kamala Harris hopes to reverse a sum-

mer slide; Amy Klobuchar is looking for

a breakthrough. Page A22.