The Democratic presidential debate Wednesday was supposed to be a sharp-elbowed argument about the future of the party and how best to defeat Donald Trump.
Surprisingly, the candidates had other ideas.
In a stark reversal from the tense moments of previous debates, the 10 Democratic White House hopefuls gathered in Atlanta featured few personal attacks or memorable clashes _ especially among the primary's leading contenders. Even when encouraged by the debate moderators, candidates often passed the opportunity to bash their rivals while instead preaching about the country's need to unify.
Kamala Harris, for example, declined to lay into Pete Buttigieg over his lack of support among African American voters. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders readily acknowledged agreement with each over a question about criminally prosecuting Trump after he leaves office.
Even the ongoing argument about the political feasibility of "Medicare for All," which has elicited fireworks in previous debates, failed to generate much controversy this time around. One notable exception came when Cory Booker joked that Biden was "high" when he declined to support legalization of marijuana, though the former vice president didn't return fire.
The more sanguine environment was unexpected, especially with the Iowa caucuses less than three months away in a wide-open race, where no candidate has been able to distinguish his or herself as the clear front-runner. But it might be reflective of the fact that many of the candidates who have opted to sharply criticize their rivals in previous debates, such as Julian Castro or Harris, appeared to lose support afterward from rank-and-file voters more interested in defeating Trump than inter-party squabbles.
"The lesson from Castro going after Biden a few debates ago is in an environment where Democrats want to focus on taking on the threat from Trump, there is not much appetite for attacking other Democrats," said Doug Gordon, a Democratic strategist. "If other Democrats are going after Pete, it is likely to come from opposition research where they don't have to put their name and face to it and not on prime time TV."
Here are McClatchy's takeaways on the night:
