Like a president

Biden sounds like a president

Nayyera Haq

The challenge with having two septuagenarian, long-term senators on the debate stage is that serious discussion of the big issues facing the country so easily devolve into tirades about decades-old votes and political squabbles. Bernie Sanders reminded all of us that his once radical ideas have now become mainstream parts of the political conversation. But it was Joe Biden, "coming around now," on his adoption of Senator Elizabeth Warren's bankruptcy proposals, his rejection of the Hyde Amendment and his adoption of free public college for families earning less than $125,000, who showed that he is capable of listening and evolving.

When a moderator asked for a commitment to having a woman as vice president on the ticket, the candidates' relative ability to adapt in response to feedback was clearly on display. Biden's answer was an unequivocal yes, followed by a commitment to appointing a black woman to the Supreme Court. Biden used the debate platform to make a first-time declaration aimed at assuaging the female voters who have been disheartened by seeing the debate stage narrow from five female candidates to zero, while also acknowledging that black women are the backbone of the Democratic party.

Whether it was a calculated declaration does not change the fact Biden is committed, which stands in sharp contrast to Sanders' answer: "In all likelihood, I will...for me, it's not just nominating a woman, it's making sure we have a progressive woman."

At a time when many Americans are panicked about the present, moving out of debating policies of the 1990s was critical for both candidates. Sure, Sanders proved that he was the purer, more progressive candidate -- we knew that. Biden consistently stayed focused on the future, with plans he would enact and what he would do differently than Trump. If Biden continues to look forward and embrace ideas from the left, he will show voters that he can do what he has talked about all along -- be the consensus candidate that brings Democrats to the White House in 2020.