Biden steady

Former Vice President Joe Biden has held steady throughout the Democratic race as one of the top two or three candidates by almost any measure. He has done that with debate performances described as flat, uneven, and uninspired.

He had a better night Thursday, even on a question about of one of his views that causes fellow Democrats to groan: that he can work with Republicans once he beats Trump in November.

“If anyone has reason to be angry with the Republicans and not want to cooperate it’s me, the way they’ve attacked me, my son, my family,” Biden said, a reference to Trump’s push to investigate his son Hunter that led to the president’s impeachment. “I have no love. But the fact is we have to be able to get things done and when we can’t convince them, we go out and beat them.”

Unlike others on the stage, he said pointedly that he doesn’t believe it’ll be impossible to ever work together with the other party.

“If that’s the case,” Biden said, “we’re dead as a country.”

He came close to trouble by initially saying he would not commit to a running for a second term, them quickly said that would be presumptuous to presume a first one.

Chris Carlson

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks as former Vice President Joe Biden listens during a Democratic presidential primary debate Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)